The Hawaiʻi Ledger Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026

Kauaʻi · planning district

Waimea-Kekaha

What this area is
One of Kauaʻi's planning districts, as the state's development plan area layer draws it (labeled “WAIMEA-KEKAHA”). The layer was digitized from paper maps, so its lines are approximate.
The council
The Kauaʻi County Council has seven members elected at-large, for two-year terms (County Charter §§ 3.02, 3.03).
On the ballot
Mayor; Councilmember, 7 seats, Tuesday, November 3, 2026. What the ballot decides.
ZIP codes it overlaps
96752, 96769, 96796

What's happening here

On Oct. 13 the Planning Commission holds a hearing on changing the Waimea town plan map for a parcel next to the Waimea Hawaiian Church, from village neighborhood to village center; the hearing notice numbers it ZA-2025-7, while the commission's August agenda numbered it ZA-2026-7. [source]

The Navy's final environmental impact statement on keeping its use of 8,172 acres of state land for the Pacific Missile Range Facility, with NASA's 23 acres at Kōkeʻe, is before the Board of Land and Natural Resources for acceptance. [source]

The county has begun an environmental impact statement for building Cell 3 of the Kekaha landfill higher. [source]

The Ledger's brief, written Sept. 19, 2026 from the records linked. Briefs are written by the Ledger in a session from the records linked in each sentence, and dated. They say what is on the record, in plain words; they do not predict outcomes or take sides. The full list for each area follows below the brief.

Coming up: 1 item on agendas and notices ahead.

Kauaʻi Planning Commission (hearing notice)
Kauaʻi Planning Commission and its Subdivision Committee
Kauaʻi Planning Commission (hearing notice)
Environmental Notice: Shoreline certification: proposed or rejected

See what is on the record near a particular address · New on the record across Hawaiʻi

Every record the Ledger reads that places an item in this planning district by its tax map key or map point, newest and upcoming first, from all sources at once: county agendas and notices, state boards and the Environmental Notice. The sections below break it down by source.

Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha LPCS Elementary-Middle-High · charter · grades K-12
8135 Kekaha Road, Kekaha · 808.337.0481 · school website · Waimea complex

Kekaha Elementary Elementary · grades K-5
8140 Kekaha Road, Kekaha · 808.337.7655 · school website · Waimea complex

Kula Aupuni Niihau PCS Elementary-Middle-High · charter · grades K-12
8315 Kekaha Road Suite P, Kekaha · 808.337.2022 · school website · Waimea complex

Waimea Canyon Middle Middle · grades 6-8
9555 Huakai Road, Waimea · 808.338.6830 · school website · Waimea complex

Waimea High High · grades 9-12
9707 Tsuchiya Road, Waimea · 808.338.6800 · school website · Waimea complex

Niihau High and Elementary Elementary-Middle-High · grades K-12
c/o Waimea High School 9707 Tsuchiya Road, Waimea · 808.338.6800 · school website · Waimea complex

Public schools whose grounds fall in this planning district, from the State of Hawaiʻi GIS public schools layer, read Sept. 20, 2026: the department's own names, grades, complexes and contact details. Charter schools are marked. Private schools are not listed. Which school serves a particular address is a separate question, answered by the department's attendance areas: look up an address.

Weather and ocean alerts

NWS Honolulu

Checking the National Weather Service for alerts in effect…

Ocean water advisories on Kauaʻi

Checking the Department of Health…

Read live when this page opens: the National Weather Service's alerts for the forecast zones covering Waimea-Kekaha (HIZ003, HIZ004, HIZ029), and the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch's open advisories (brown water, sewage spills, high bacteria) for the island, which the department names by beach or coastline rather than by area. Nothing here is stored or rewritten; each agency's own wording and dates are shown.

State highway lane closures

HDOT roadwork

Checking the Department of Transportation's closure schedule…

Read live from the state Department of Transportation's lane closure map layer when this page opens: approved closures on state highways in and near Waimea-Kekaha (within the area's bounding box, so a closure just outside may appear), from now through the next seven days, in the department's words. County streets are not included. Schedules can change without notice and all work is weather permitting, the department says.

Who represents this planning district

Mayor: Derek S.K. Kawakami. Next election 2026.

Councilmembers: Addison Bulosan; Bernard P. Carvalho Jr.; Felicia Cowden; Fern A. Holland; Arryl J. Kaneshiro; KipuKai Kualii; Mel Rapozo. Next election 2026.

Kauaʻi's councilmembers are all elected at-large. From the Office of Elections' Elected Officials page, read Sept. 19, 2026.

In the Environmental Notice

Every item
Shoreline certification: proposed or rejected · KA-503

From the State of Hawaiʻi's Environmental Notice (7 issues read), in its words. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this planning district.

Before state boards

All state boards

No state board item read so far prints a tax map key in this planning district.

From state board agendas the Ledger has read (4 so far), in the agencies' words. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this planning district.

Before the planning commissions and the Planning Department

All of Kauaʻi

From the county's legal notices as published in the local paper, in its words. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this planning district.

On county agendas

Kauaʻi

From the County of Kauaʻi's agendas the Ledger has read (1 so far), in the county's words; the full list of meetings is on the Kauaʻi page. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this planning district.

Who lives here, by ZIP code

ZIP codePeopleHouseholdsMedian household incomeOwner-occupied homesMedian age
967523,809 ±6991,094 ±138$90,174 ±$24,793722 of 1,09441.4
967961,840 ±378655 ±119$89,205 ±$41,610316 of 65545.5
96769292 ±18186 ±38$46,250 ±$34,2230 of 8628.8
All of Kauai County, HI73,73123,632$97,66816,210 of 23,63243.1

U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, read through the Census Reporter API. Survey estimates; ± is the 90% margin of error. ZIP code areas do not follow these boundaries, so each row describes the ZIP, not this area.

Waimea-Kekaha, once a week

A free weekly digest for this area: agendas that touch it and what the County Council takes up.

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