Title 19 — Plain-Language Service Free · no account

A plain-language navigator to Maui County Code Title 19 (Zoning): a live parcel lookup, how the process works, what it costs and who pays, your community plan, agriculture, the use table, who decides — plus a form-based code crosswalk modeling the County's rewrite. Every section links to the authoritative source. This is a first version — sections marked expanding are being filled in; nothing here is legal advice.

★ Parcel lookup live data

Enter a Maui County TMK (tax map key) to see all of its designations — county zoning, community-plan land use, state land-use district, SMA, and Important Ag Lands — pulled live from the Hawaiʻi Statewide GIS. For entitlements, conditions, and permit history (which are not in GIS), the result links you to MAPPS and the real-property record.

Live designations: Hawaiʻi Statewide GIS — Parcels & Zoning (MapServer) (Maui Parcels L30, County Zoning L33, Community Plan Boundaries L10, State Land Use L20, SMA L21, Important Ag Lands L4). Permits/entitlements via Maui County MAPPS. No parcel data is stored or fabricated — every field is fetched live. expanding: address search; conditions overlay

1 · Plain-language process navigator

The general path a zoning/permit matter takes under Title 19. Each step notes typical conditions, the expense, and who bears it today.

1. Find your district & community plan
   What zoning district your parcel is in, and which community plan area guides it.
   Expense: free to look up · paid by: you (time)
2. Check the use table
   Is your use permitted, conditional (needs a permit), or prohibited in that district?
   Expense: free to look up
3. Apply for the permit / approval
   e.g. a Special Use Permit, Conditional Permit, or Special Management Area (SMA) approval, with required studies/plans.
   Expense: application + study fees · paid by: applicant
4. Agency & public review
   Planning Department review; notice; hearing before the Planning Commission / committee where required.
   Expense: County staff review · paid by: County (+ applicant fees)
5. Decision, conditions & appeal
   Approval (often with conditions), denial, or appeal. Conditions may impose ongoing requirements.
   Expense: meeting conditions · paid by: applicant

Maui County Code Title 19 (Zoning), Municode · process steps summarized in plain language; exact procedures & fees are in the cited chapters expanding: per-permit fee schedule

2 · Community plans Lāhainā featured

Maui County's community plan areas guide future land use for each region. Community plans guide decisions but do not carry zoning's direct legal force — zoning (Title 19) is the enforceable layer.

Per-district links go to the Maui County Community Plans pages (Long Range Planning Division) + the Office of Recovery for Lāhainā — each verified live (HTTP 200) 2026-06-17. Framework: Maui County Code §19.06.010 + Ch. 2.80B (plans updated every 10 yrs). expanding: per-plan zoning crosswalk + adoption-date detail

3 · Agriculture first-class · ties to Food Security

Maui's agricultural and rural lands are governed primarily by the Agricultural district (Ch. 19.30A) and the Rural district (Ch. 19.29), which set permitted and special (conditional) agricultural uses — farming, ranching, and related activities — central to local food security.

Maui County Code Ch. 19.30A (Agricultural district) & Ch. 19.29 (Rural district), Municode · specific permitted/special-use lists now itemized & cited in §4A below (Ch. 19.30A, through Ord. 5839/5834, 2025). Rural (Ch. 19.29) expanding.

4 · Table of uses starter — expanding to all districts

Starter version: the districts sourced now. P permitted · C conditional (needs a permit) · ✕ prohibited. Authoritative use lists are in each chapter on Municode — verify there. Expanding to all residential/business/apartment districts.

Maui County Code Title 19, Municode. Ag/Rural rows from Ch. 19.30A / 19.29; residential & business rows are starter — district chapter §§ being verified before classifications are asserted. Always confirm against the chapter.

4A · Agricultural district (Ch. 19.30A) — itemized use table sourced

The full permitted / special-use / prohibited lists for the Agricultural district, each row pin-cited to its section on Municode (current through Ord. 5839 & 5834, 2025). P permitted by right · SUP needs a Special Use Permit (§19.510.070) · ✕ prohibited. This is a cited restatement for navigation — confirm at the source before relying on it for a permit.

P Permitted principal uses — §19.30A.050(A)

P Permitted accessory uses — §19.30A.050(B)

SUP Special uses — Special Use Permit (§19.510.070) — §19.30A.060(A)

✕ Prohibited — §19.30A.060(A)(7); §19.30A.050(B)(10)

Airports, heliports, drive-in theaters, country clubs, drag strips, motor sports facilities, golf courses, golf driving ranges. On Molokaʻi: commercial zipline, canopy, rappelling & bungee jumping. Any open-land-recreation use not specifically permitted by §19.30A.050(B)(10), §19.30A.060(A)(7), or ch. 19.40 is default-prohibited.

District standards — §19.30A.030

Min lot area 2 acres · min lot width 200 ft · setbacks front 25 ft, side/rear 15 ft · max developable area 10% of lot (applies to farm dwellings; not to ag-support structures — storage, barns, silos, greenhouses, farm labor dwellings, stables — or permitted utilities) · max dwelling height 30 ft (roof vent pipes/fans/chimneys/antennae/solar ≤40 ft; nondwelling structures over 35 ft set back +1 ft per ft of height) · walls ≤4 ft within yard setback (one utility wall ≤7×7 ft). Max lots per parcel keyed to acreage table at §19.30A.030(G); resubdivision limits at §19.30A.040.

Maui County Code Ch. 19.30A, Municode · retrieved 2026-06-17, incl. Ord. 5839/5834 (2025). Companion administrative rules (Planning Dept MC-12, Subtitle 01 — AG rules) carry implementing detail; full rule text expanding.

4A-R · Rural districts (Ch. 19.29) — itemized uses sourced

The Rural districts (RU-0.5, RU-1, RU-2, RU-5, RU-10, and County rural) are the ag-adjacent transition zone — small-scale ag + animal-keeping at low density. P permitted · SUP County Special Use Permit (§19.510.070) · ✕ prohibited. Cited to Ch. 19.29 (incl. Ord. 5832, 2025).

P Permitted principal uses — §19.29.030(A)

P Permitted accessory uses — §19.29.030(B)

SUP Uses permitted with a County Special Use Permit (§19.510.070) — §19.29.040

Maui County Code Ch. 19.29 (Rural districts), Municode · retrieved 2026-06-17 (incl. Ord. 5832, 2025). Standards (lot area/width/yards) at §19.29.020; director may adopt rules (§19.29.060). expanding: full standards table

4B · Enforcement, civil fines & penalties sourced

From Title 19, Article V, Ch. 19.530. A violation can be pursued civilly, criminally, or both. Not legal advice.

Administrative civil fines — §19.530.030

• The director (Planning / Public Works / Environmental Management / Water Supply) serves a notice of violation and order that can require cease-and-desist, correction by a date, and/or fines.
• Civil fine ≤ $1,000, or ≤ $1,000 per day the violation persists — except an unpermitted bed & breakfast / short-term rental / transient vacation rental: ≤ $20,000 initial and ≤ $10,000 per day (unless State law allows higher). Or a fine ≤ 1% of project cost (§20.08.260(E)(2)).
• The order becomes final after 30 days unless appealed to the Board of Variances and Appeals; an appeal does not stay the order.
• Unpaid civil fines may be added to County taxes, fees or charges (except residential water/sewer); the director may also seek judicial enforcement.

Criminal penalties — §19.530.020

1st offense: fine ≤ $1,000 + 32 hrs community service or 48 hrs imprisonment. 2nd (within 5 yrs): ≤ $1,000 + 64 hrs service or 96 hrs imprisonment. Subsequent (within 5 yrs of two priors): $500–$1,000 + 64–140 hrs service or 96 hrs–30 days imprisonment. Each further day of a continuing violation is a separate offense.

1. Determination of violation
   A director finds a violation of Title 19 (or related titles/rules/permits).
2. Notice of violation & order
   Served by mail, personal delivery, or posting on the property.
3. Order requirements
   Cease-and-desist, correct by a date, and/or civil fines (per-violation, per-day, or % of project cost).
4. 30-day finality / appeal
   Final unless appealed to the Board of Variances and Appeals within 30 days; appeal does not stay the order.
5. Collection / judicial enforcement
   Unpaid fines added to County taxes/fees; director may sue to enforce. Criminal prosecution may also apply.

Maui County Code Ch. 19.530 (Enforcement), Municode · §19.530.030 reaches violations of MCC titles 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 + rules/permits. State hooks: HRS §706-605 (community service), HRS ch. 205.

The actual civil-fine schedule — cross-title (Titles 16, 18 & 19) sourced

The assessment schedule that implements §19.530.030 lives in an administrative rule — Rule §15-2 ("Rules for Administrative Procedures and Civil Fines for Violations of Titles 16, 18 and 19," Title MC-15, eff. 9/3/1993). It is one rule that ties the civil-fine machinery to violations across Buildings (16), Subdivisions (18) and Zoning (19) — the exact cross-title linkage the digital twin needs. Appeals go to the Board of Variances and Appeals or Board of Code Appeals; order is final after 30 days.

Continuing violation: the daily fine doubles at the start of each 30-day period after the correction deadline, up to a $1,000/day max. Repeat violation (same section, same property, within a year): initial daily fine doubled. Daily fines may be waived on payment of the initial fine + written request. Joint & several liability (§15-2-10).

Rule §15-2 (Title MC-15, Dept. of Public Works & Waste Mgmt; Auth: HRS §46-1.5(24), §46-4; Imp: MCC §19.530.030), mauicounty.gov ↗ · retrieved 2026-06-17. Verbatim schedule in corpus/raw/county_docs/.

Is a warning required before a fine? — SMA/shoreline vs. county ordinances

A useful contrast for coastal matters: county ordinance/rule violations (e.g., Title 19 under county authority, HRS §46-1.5(24)(A)) call for "reasonable notice and requests to correct" before fining — the Corporation Counsel office has read this to expect at least two warnings. But SMA & shoreline-setback violations run on a separate, independent track — HRS §205A-32 (civil fine up to $100,000; up to $10,000/day), the Maui SMA Rules (Ch. 202, as amended 08/25/2024: §12-202-23/-25 now ≤$100,000/violation + ≤$10,000/day; Molokaʻi Ch. 302 & Lānaʻi Ch. 402 SMA at the same tier), and the Shoreline Rules (§12-5-15 → HRS 205A-32; Lānaʻi Ch. 403 at ≤$10,000 + ≤$1,000/day). Historically no prior warning was required — a notice of violation and civil fine could issue at once (with a ch. 91 hearing).

4C · Rules → Code: candidates for codification analysis

• Commercial ag structures — open rule grant. §19.30A.072(J): "Additional regulation … may be established by administrative rules." → Elevate any operative standards into §19.30A.072. rule text expanding
• AG rule-making authority. §19.30A.120 lets directors adopt rules "regarding administration of this chapter." → Codify binding use/standard requirements (farm-plan content, gross-sales verification, ag-tourism limits); leave pure procedure to rules. rule text expanding
• Civil-fine schedule. §19.530.030 sets caps but routes mechanics to "such administrative rules as the director may adopt." → Codify a single penalty schedule (default amounts, mitigation/escalation) so exposure is readable from the Code. rule text expanding
• Farm-plan definition. Rights hinge on "an approved farm plan" (§§19.30A.050(B)(2),(11),(12); 19.30A.072) but contents aren't defined in-chapter. → Codify minimum farm-plan contents & approval criteria.
• $35,000 gross-sales verification. Threshold is codified; the audit/look-back procedure is administrative. → Codify the verification standard to prevent drift.

Analysis grounded in MCC ch. 19.30A + ch. 19.530 (code text sourced); admin-rule contents expanding pending verbatim ingest. Full write-up in the service corpus.

5 · Planning bodies — who decides

• Maui Planning Commission(s) — reviews/decides zoning permits, plan amendments, SMA. Maui County Code Ch. 2.28 (Planning Commission), Municode
• Hāna Advisory Committee — the East-Maui referral path: Hāna-region matters route through the Hāna Advisory Committee before/alongside Commission action. Maui County Code Ch. 2.28 (advisory committee provisions) verify subsection §

6 · What can the County do to focus the community plans? analysis

Labeled analysis — options the County could pursue, framed as questions for the community, not as adopted law.

• Align zoning to the adopted plan — rezone where Title 19 districts lag the community plan's stated future use, so the plan's intent becomes enforceable.
• Fund what it requires — pair imposed requirements (studies, infrastructure) with County funding (the ⚖️ position above), so plans don't stall on cost shifted to residents.
• Prioritize recovery — give the Lāhainā recovery module an expedited, well-resourced track.
• Make it legible — keep a free, plain-language service like this so residents can navigate Title 19 without a consultant.

7 · Charts

Who pays (today):

⚖️ The middle bar is where James's position applies: requirements the County imposes should be County-borne. expanding: charted fee schedule from the code

8 · Form-based code crosswalk proposed model

Model framework: the Form-Based Codes Institute transect definitions, mapped against current Maui County Code Title 19 districts and the Maui County General Plan / Maui Island Plan. District-to-transect assignments are our proposed demonstration, not County designations. expanding: building-form & frontage standards per transect

9 · Answering the County's rewrite goals

How this service already embodies the audit findings the Title 19 rewrite is fixing and the goals it is pursuing (as presented by the County). Labeled mapping — our features beside the County's stated aims.

County findings & goals as presented in the Maui County Title 19 Comprehensive Zoning Code rewrite (audit findings & rewrite goals). See the Maui County Planning Department. Mapping is our own. expanding: historic, housing & short-term-rental modules