Honolulu retailers say the $100 fine currently on the books for illegal street peddling is little more than a rounding error for repeat violators working Waikīkī’s sidewalks, and the city council is now weighing a fix that could push penalties as high as $1,000 with jail time attached. Bill 52, which cleared its second reading before the full council on September 3, would overhaul the fine structure under Section 13-6.4 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu.
What Bill 52 Would Actually Change
As reported by Aloha State Daily, the measure would raise fines from $100 to $500 for a first offense, from $250 to $750 for a second offense, and from $500 to $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense, all within a two-year window. Under the current text of the bill, a third offense could also carry up to 30 days of imprisonment, according to details published by the Honolulu City Council. The bill is sponsored by council chair Tommy Waters, who introduced it on July 14, and it was referred to the International & Legal Affairs Committee before advancing.
The stated goal, per the same account, is to discourage unlawful peddling and ensure adequate pedestrian access in public places — language that echoes decades of concern about sidewalk congestion in Waikīkī, where millions of annual visitors funnel through a compact commercial strip. Honolulu’s peddling prohibitions trace back through Chapter 13, Article 6 of the city code, which bars unauthorized vending along stretches of the Pali Highway, Diamond Head Road, Fort Street Mall, Union Street Mall, Waimea Bay, Chinatown, and the Waikīkī peninsula, the bill’s supporters note.
Retailers Say Fines Are Just a Cost of Doing Business
Retail Merchants of Hawaiʻi interim president and CEO David Erdman told the council in a letter that Bill 52 would create a stronger enforcement tool against unlawful peddling in public places. Erdman said the core concern is commercial activity that violates city regulations and continues through repeat violations, and he argued that unlawful commercial activity should not create an unfair competitive environment for retailers who are already paying taxes, wages, insurance, utilities, and licensing and permitting costs. Illegal kiosks and unlawful peddling, he said, create hardship for compliant businesses and can obstruct sidewalks and affect pedestrian flow. Existing penalties, in his view, do not effectively deter people who pay a small fine and simply resume the same unlawful activity.
John Mark Mageo, employee relations and government affairs manager for Hawaiʻi’s ABC Stores, backed the fine increase and said some violators view the current penalties as little more than a cost of doing business. Trevor Abarzua, president and chief executive officer of the Waikīkī Improvement Association, made a similar case, saying current penalties do not meaningfully deter operators who can earn considerably more through unlawful activity than they’d ever pay in fines. Abarzua argued the bill would support Hawaiʻi’s economy by protecting Waikīkī’s reputation and advocated for lawful, safe, accessible, and respectful commercial activity in public spaces.
Police Testimony and a Recent Waikīkī Sweep
Honolulu Police Department Major Paul Okamoto testified before the Waikīkī Neighborhood Board in support of regulating peddling in the district, telling the council that current penalties are not sufficient deterrence for many peddling operators, since many view the fines as simply a cost of doing business. Okamoto, who gave testimony in April, reported that during at least one peddling operation, officers cited multiple people and arrested a person on felony drug charges…