Hawaii County, HI Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

Section 25-4-13 of the Hawai'i County Code lets any dwelling host a home occupation as long as it stays incidental and subordinate to residential use and does not change the home's outward character. Subsection (b)(6) is the customer-traffic rule: if the occupation involves customer or client visits or meetings, the building site must carry a minimum of one parking space beyond what the dwelling use already requires, and the planning director can order additional spaces on top of that minimum if needed to keep visitors from parking off-site or in inappropriate spots.

Residents of multi-family buildings can meet the requirement with guest parking, but only with the written approval of the building owner, manager, or condominium association, not just by using an open guest stall. Subsection (c) adds a paperwork step for anyone whose client contact is frequent rather than occasional: before starting, the operator must file a declaration with the director verifying the business meets every subsection (b) standard and will not cross into the banned uses listed in subsection (e), which include contractor storage yards, vehicle repair or painting, paid animal boarding, and any use reserved for industrial districts.

A home occupation on a building site inside the State land use rural or agricultural district needs a special permit under subsection (d) regardless of how light the client traffic is. Only one non-household employee is allowed under subsection (b)(5), which matters for businesses that rely on staff to handle walk-in customers. The county enacted these standards by ordinance 96-160 in 1996 and ratified them April 6, 1999; a one-time grandfather window for existing home occupations to file a declaration closed September 30, 1997, so every current filing runs on the ordinary process in subsection (c).