Kauai, Maui zoning changes would help farmers, food trucks

by Jonathan Helton, Grassroot Institute, April, 2025

Lawmakers on Kaua‘i and Maui are considering bills that would increase income opportunities for farmers and other small businesses.

On Kaua‘i, members of the County Council have introduced Bill 2951, which would create countywide operating standards for farmers and artisans markets in county and private park and community areas.

On Maui, members of the Maui County Council are considering measures that would legalize food trucks and agricultural tourism activities in agricultural zones.

Together, the bills represent a big opportunity for local entrepreneurs to thrive, since they would be able to more fully participate in the state’s biggest economic engine: tourism.

For vendors at the Princeville Farmers Market in Princeville, Kaua‘i, the sooner Bill 2951 passes, the better.

A zoning complaint shut the market down in mid-January, since it was operating in a private park where outdoor commercial markets are technically not allowed.

At the March 11 meeting of the Kaua‘i Planning Commission, photographer and artist Natalie Nishioka said the market shutdown has cost her 75% of her income, and she’s struggling to find other venues where she can sell her art and jewelry.

Bradley Smith told the commission that he and his wife had been farming on Kaua‘i for 25 years, and selling some of their products at farmers markets has been “a huge part of our income.”

“If you want ag and you want farmers, you have to have farmers markets,” he added.

The Kaua‘i Planning Commission subsequently approved Bill 2951, and just last week, the Kaua‘i County Council approved the bill unanimously on its first reading.

For Maui’s farmers and ranchers, the food truck and agricultural tourism bills would also be a lifeline.

Until recently, the Maui Planning Department didn’t have a problem with food trucks operating on agricultural lands. Commercial retail structures — such as farm stands and even restaurants — are a legal use in Maui’s agricultural districts.

But in 2023, the department decided to prohibit food trucks because the code doesn’t explicitly mention them.

“Overnight, I had to lay off six full-time employees,” Jacob Williams, owner of Hāna Harvest Farm and Cafe, testified before the Maui Planning Commission on Feb. 25. “I had to stop ordering from these 30 different producers and farmers throughout Maui County and the Hawaiian Islands. … Now my farm is for sale because of these actions.”

In addition to food trucks not being specifically mentioned in the current law, department officials also expressed concern about over-commercialization in Maui’s agricultural districts.

But Maui County Council member Gabe Johnson noted that the Planning Department expressed fears about over-commercialization back in 2015 when commercial agricultural structures such as farm stands were first allowed in agricultural zones, and “after 10 years there is still no Pizza Hut or Whole Foods on ag land in Maui County.”

As for agricultural tourism, a draft bill would allow it as an accessory use on active farms and ranches. Activities that would qualify as agricultural tourism include demonstrations using farm products, such as coffee roasting or honey production, and events related to wayfinding or cultural historic site restorations.

In testimony on a now-dead state bill related to ag tourism, Robert Horcajo, owner of Mahina Farms Maui, said he had to apply for a time-consuming special-use permit just to allow visitors to his farm to string their own lei.

He later told the Maui Planning Commission that liberalization of the county’s agricultural tourism standards “will help all farmers avoid the lengthy and costly process” of a special-use permit.

The pair of bills were unanimously passed by the Maui Planning Commission in February and now are awaiting introduction at the Maui County Council.

For farmers, ranchers and small-business owners in Kaua‘i and Maui counties, enacting these bills would be a welcome change.