Maui County, HI Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Maui County Code § 19.52.090(E)
- Applies to
- Lahaina historic district no. 1 and no. 2
- Rule
- No selling/soliciting on street, highway, sidewalk
- Park exception
- Needs Cultural Resources Commission approval
- Similar rule
- Historic district no. 3, § 19.52.100(H)
- Max civil fine
- $1,000 per day (§19.530.030)
Summary
Within Lahaina's historic district no. 1 and no. 2, the Front Street area covered by Maui County Code § 19.52.090, it is unlawful for anyone to carry on or solicit business on any street, highway, or sidewalk. That flat ban reaches sidewalk food vending and food trucks parked to sell directly to pedestrians, with a narrower approval path only for vending in a government park or open space.
E.Selling in public places. It is unlawful for any person to carry on or solicit business in any location on any street, highway, or sidewalk. The same is also unlawful in any location, in any park or open space that is owned or maintained by a government agency without the approval of the cultural resources commission, and the responsible government agency having administrative authority over the park or open space.
Full Breakdown
Maui County created historic district no. 1 and no. 2 within the town of Lahaina by ordinance in 1966 to preserve the historic structures and architectural character along Front Street and the surrounding blocks, mapped on the "Lahaina Historic Districts Map" dated December 14, 1966. 090 sets the operating rules inside those two districts, covering everything from permitted uses to building height, and subsection E addresses street and sidewalk commerce directly: it is unlawful for any person to carry on or solicit business in any location on any street, highway, or sidewalk.
That rule draws no distinction between a food truck, a pushcart, or a table of merchandise, so any food vendor selling directly off the sidewalk or roadway inside the historic district is covered by the same flat prohibition. A second sentence in the same subsection addresses parks and open spaces owned or maintained by a government agency, allowing vending there only with the approval of both the Cultural Resources Commission and the government agency with administrative authority over that park. The companion historic district no.
52's historic-district rules, they apply specifically to the mapped Lahaina historic areas rather than island-wide; a food truck operating in Kahului, Kihei, or Wailuku's commercial districts is governed instead by the county's general zoning and mobile-vending standards, not this section.
Violations & Fines
Appeals from a director's decision under chapter 19.52 go to the Board of Variances and Appeals, and appeals from a Cultural Resources Commission decision go to circuit court under HRS § 91-14, per § 19.52.080. Vending violations inside the historic district are otherwise enforced through Maui County Code § 19.530.030, which authorizes a notice of violation, an order to cease the activity, and a civil fine of up to $1,000 plus up to $1,000 for each day the violation continues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a food truck sell on Front Street in Lahaina?
Is there any way to vend legally inside the historic district?
Does the same ban apply in other parts of Maui County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Maui County
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