LĪHU'E, Kaua'i — Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. has signed a bill that reduces the allowable density and number of lots that can be created in open districts.

Noting that efforts to control sprawl on agricultural land have been ongoing for nearly a decade, the mayor said, "Through lessons learned from those past efforts, meetings with stakeholders, and diligent legal analysis by the county attorney's office, the administration was able to hone and codify a set of legal mechanisms that was recently passed largely unchanged by the County Council."

The County Council passed the bill on May 12.

Under the new law, a maximum of five units can be built on all open zoned parcels, while county open district zoned lands are now subject to stricter subdivision standards.

A parcel that is 50 acres or less in a county open district may be subdivided into lots that are at least 5 acres.

Parcels that are larger than 50 acres but less than 300 acres may be subdivided into 10 or fewer lots, none of which may be smaller than 5 acres.

If a parcel is more than 300 acres in the county open district, subdividing the parcel must be done in accordance with the following criteria:

• A maximum of 75 acres may be subdivided into no more than 10 parcels, none of which may be smaller than 5 acres.

• An additional 20 percent of the total parcel area, or 300 acres, whichever is less, may be subdivided into parcels that are no smaller than 25 acres.

• The balance of the parcel may not be subdivided.