Ask the Mayor: Is it Legal? Roadside Vendors Near Residential Areas

The mayor answers questions from the public in this series.

By Mayor Alan Arakawa

Q: Is there an ordinance that dictates or prevents roadside vendors from selling at a location that is too close to residential areas?

There is a homeless couple who live out of their van adjacent to Mākena park and set up a roadside stand adjacent to private property on Mākena Road.

Who can be contacted about this if it is in fact illegal? Mahalo.

A: Mākena Road is a State road, thus the State Department of Land and Natural Resources would be tasked with enforcement.

Since vending may only be conducted on property zoned for such use, the county could also enforce if it’s a zoning violation.

For road-side vendors along county roadsides, vendor licenses from the County of Maui Department of Finance are required.

The licensing process dictates where they are allowed to sell on county right-of-ways, such as along county roads and parking stalls.

The permits are issued after comments are received from the Departments of Planning and Police.

The issuance of a county vendor permit is based on Maui County Code Chapter 5.12, which requires vendors to display their permit at all times but does not place any specific restrictions on the distance from a residential area to the vendor’s truck.

If a vendor is located along a county roadway and does not have a county vending permit displayed, a Request for Service complaint may be filed online.

Want to Ask the Mayor?

Submit your questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa via email: [email protected], phone: 270-7855 or mail: 200 S. High Street, 9th Floor, Wailuku, Hawaii 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the Ask the Mayor column.