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Maui County, HI Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Scope
County bus stops/transit facilities only
Banned items
Tents, tarps, bedding, shopping carts
Penalty
Up to 30 days jail or $1,000
Enforcing agency
Maui Police Department
Added by
Ord. No. 3628 (2009)

Summary

Maui County has no general anti-camping ordinance, but Chapter 11.04 bans camping-style setups specifically at County bus stops and transit facilities: no tent, tarp, sleeping bag, bedding, cardboard, or shopping cart may be erected, installed, or placed at a bus stop, shelter, or other transit amenity anywhere on the island.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Maui County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

17.No person shall erect, install, or place any structure, fixture, tarp, towel, blanket, sleeping bag, bedding, chair, tent, cardboard, ply board, shopping cart, or any other object or material at any County bus stop, transit facilities, and transit facility amenities.

Full Breakdown

04, Prohibited Activities on the County Bus System, and its reach is limited to transit property: County bus stops, transit facilities, and transit facility amenities, not sidewalks, parks, or riverbeds elsewhere on the island. Within that footprint it is broad, listing structures, fixtures, tarps, towels, blankets, sleeping bags, bedding, chairs, tents, cardboard, ply board, and shopping carts by name, plus a catch-all for any other object or material. The same section separately bans abandoning a vehicle at a bus stop (paragraph 18, subject to towing at owner's expense) and abandoning personal property there (paragraph 23, which the department may dispose of).

Bus drivers, other transit-system agents, and police officers may all order a person to cease and desist under paragraph 14, and refusing to comply after that request is itself a separate violation. Because the prohibition is written into the transit code rather than the general nuisance or park-use chapters, it does not by itself reach an encampment on a sidewalk, beach park, or vacant lot outside a bus stop's footprint; the code reviewed here contains no broader camping ban.

Violations & Fines

A violation of paragraph 17 falls under the higher penalty tier in section 11.04.020(B), covering paragraphs 8 through 23: a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine, rather than the $100 cap that applies to the lower-numbered paragraphs. Each item placed, and each day it remains, can be charged as a separate offense under section 11.04.020(C).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can homeless encampments be cited under Maui County law?
Only at County bus stops and transit facilities. Section 11.04.010(A)(17) bans erecting tents, tarps, sleeping bags, bedding, or shopping carts at any County bus stop or transit amenity, but the code reviewed here has no general public-camping ban reaching parks, sidewalks, or other public land.
What is the penalty for setting up a tent at a Maui bus stop?
Up to 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine, under section 11.04.020(B), which covers this and other higher-tier violations of Chapter 11.04. Each tent, tarp, or other item placed can be charged as its own separate offense under section 11.04.020(C).
Who enforces the bus stop encampment ban in Maui County?
Bus drivers, other agents of the transit system, and police officers can order removal on the spot, and police officers issue the citation. The department may also dispose of abandoned personal property left at a bus stop under the related provision in paragraph 23.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Maui County

All Maui County rules

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