I support this Moratorium and ask it to be extended to all of Maui County. Just like in one’s garden, you don’t plant new things if you are having an issue with pests. You first figure out what’s going on. A moratorium such as this would allow various government agencies to align and understand policy as well as send a clear message that Maui County is beyond capacity.
Thank you for the consideration
Nicole Huguenin
Kihei
Well managed development is an important part of our economy. Banning them, even for a length of time, is shooting ourselves in the foot financially. So many people’s livelihoods depend on the tourism industry and are hurting now. Until other viable alternatives are found and developed, we need tourism and tourists.
I have lived in Maui county for about 20 years, and my husband was raised on Molokai. In our experience, the entire state of Hawaii has too much tourism, especially Maui county. Excessive tourism brings burdens to infastructure such as waste water, landfills, and electric grids, and our roads get increasingly more dangerous, resulting in unnecessary fatalies. Even our ocean reefs suffer. These issues lead to more construction in order to accomodate more, more, more...
"I" recognize the need to start limiting tourism to more sustainable quantities. I just wish the local government and planning commissions would recognize this need as well, before we are passed the point of being able to preserve the reason 'tourists' want to come.
Some old timers think we are already there.
Sustainable tourism looks at the bigger picture. It does not discourage tourism. It should be encouraging people to not just visit to 'use' our resources and beaches and leave,
but to invest in our community and culture. We could be encouraging preservation instead of desecration.
We need to progress in a way that will benefit the island of Maui and it's people, for future generations, not just it's current visitors.
We need this moratorium to enable and start this discussion.
Aloha,
I fully support this moratorium and ask that it gets extended to the whole of Maui County. While tourism is an industry that provides for many it’s extremely out of balance. There is a serious housing crisis happening where affordable homes and rentals alike are little to none with hundreds and hundreds of families in need. It’s getting scary for these families. We need resources to be focused on keeping our communities intact before we open up even more opportunities for tourism. Please consider this statement to be a vote for better management of tourism.
Mahalo for your time
Please put a moritorium on visitor accommodations! This island cannot support the thousands of people coming in now. Ruining this island. Have you driven here lately?
I support the proposed moratorium, and extending it to the whole island.
Since travel has opened up again, East Maui is already overwhelmed by so many visitors that our residents are exasperated, and it is severely affecting our quality of life and the capacity of our road and services. I hear from people constantly who are so frustrated and angry about the road to Hana being practically undriveable and hoards of visitors trespassing on private property. Our visitor industry is way out of balance and it’s like we completely missed the opportunity to learn any lessons from the pandemic to reset in a way the prioritizes local quality of life as well as quality visitor experience. A moratorium may seem like a blunt instrument, but it will give us a chance to reassess and focus our priorities.
I urge you to support the moratorium and extend it for the whole island.
Please take into consideration the quality of the local people, not the tourists. We are at a point already where the quality of local life is being negatively impacted by the over built tourism industry and driving locals out, the locals who are vital to the functioning of our economy. So how is accommodating for more tourists going to improve our economical infrastructure?
This moratorium is sorely needed if we are to seriously address the future of Maui. We must plan our growth based on what kind of an island we want and make sure we can execute the plan.
I support a moratorium on building permits for visitor accommodations. Maui has been absolutely overwhelmed by the tourism trade. the number of visitors far exceeds the ratio of visitors to residents outlined in the Maui Island Plan. Furthermore , the visitors are concentrated in Lahaina/Kaanapali/Napili/Kapalua and Kihei/Wailea/Makena areas. The large number of visitors overwhelm the community and severely impact residents, Traffic in Kihei is to the point of gridlock on South Kihei Road. A resident cannot go our to eat, grab a quick cup of coffee or a happy hour drink because there are long lines of visitors overwhelming local businesses More visitor accommodations would worsen and already unacceptable situation. More accommodations would require more water supply from already stressed aquifers and streams, and create more wastewater, and more polluted runoff. Hawaii Tourism Authority surveys show that most residents think we have too many visitors already. Increasing accommodations only brings more. Enuff Already!
Over tourism is not only destroying my quality of life, it is also the reason I'm paying $1400/month to live in a 1 bedroom in Kahului that has not been updated in 30+years with an infestation of cockroaches/termites.
Rent has basically doubled in 5 years and I'm making LESS money. Stop putting tourism over locals. Stop building hotels and shopping malls. We need housing, more schools, and infrastructure before we need more tourists.
When measured against the unlimited and diverse damage generated by the tourism industry, the ways in which ‘the dollar’ benefits the islands are not reasonable. The countless negative impacts that are constantly justified and blindly rationalized in the name of economic gain are noticeably seen, felt, heard, tasted, smelled and forced upon the island. We see expedited coastal erosion from an inundation of beach structures (hotels, walls, etc), we smell and taste the effects of excessive sunscreen blowing in the wind, trash overload our landfill and waste seep out of sewage treatment facilities, we hear traffic and construction every hour of every day of the week, we see vibrant coral and fish fade, we feel frustrated, sad and helpless as many beautiful aspects of the island — the Aloha spirit, the living in balance with nature and the health of the environment itself — disappear into the backdrop of development and profits. The loss extends far and wide beyond what is ‘ tangibly' measured, however, and it is bold to assume that only now the lasting footprints of tourism/capitalism/progress are being felt as an entire culture has been historically dismissed and even outlawed. To continue down the current insensitive and unperceptive path means to ensure the eventual destruction of much that is meaningful about Maui beyond repair. We must shift and expand our perspective regarding what is progress (a next hotel or sustainable jobs that invest back into our community with longevity) and begin to regard mistreatment, disrespect, and disregard for the island and its sensitivities as completely irresponsible and arguably criminal against future generations of all living things. I believe everyone truly knows this.
Support the community! Stop making more and more and more for the tourists and start working on sustainability for the people of Hawaii. NO MORE HOTELS, YOU GREEDY BASTARDS!
The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, Local 1, writes to strongly oppose IT-54, which deals with a Miscellaneous Communication, dated May 10, 2021, from the County Clerk, relating to a moratorium on building permits for visitor accommodations.
Our members would be dramatically and detrimentally affected by the proposed moratorium. Due to the discerning nature of Maui’s visitors, hotel construction and renovations typically involve a substantial amount of high-quality, high-finish stone, marble, terrazzo, and tile work – the type of work that our well-equipped contractors and well-trained members perform. Hotel construction and renovation work provides our members with living wage jobs so they can support their families on Maui County.
If the proposed moratorium were to pass, our members and contractors would find it nearly impossible to find stable and economically-sustaining work opportunities in Maui County. While the moratorium purports to only be in effect for a few years, if our Maui members are forced to move way from the island, it will be much more difficult for them to return home afterwards even if hotel construction were to be permitted again. If local contractors close up shop and are unable to open back up after the moratorium expires, the void will be filled by mainland contractors which would further harm the local economy.
With the tourism industry in a tenuous position due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with an uncertain future ahead for the local construction industry due to the state of the global economy, we are extremely concerned by this proposal. Thus, we must respectfully urge the Council to reject this very problematic moratorium proposal.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this matter.
Aloha Chair & Council,
I support this Moratorium and ask it to be extended to all of Maui County. Just like in one’s garden, you don’t plant new things if you are having an issue with pests. You first figure out what’s going on. A moratorium such as this would allow various government agencies to align and understand policy as well as send a clear message that Maui County is beyond capacity.
Thank you for the consideration
Nicole Huguenin
Kihei
Please stop this and help the island and it’s people.
Well managed development is an important part of our economy. Banning them, even for a length of time, is shooting ourselves in the foot financially. So many people’s livelihoods depend on the tourism industry and are hurting now. Until other viable alternatives are found and developed, we need tourism and tourists.
I have lived in Maui county for about 20 years, and my husband was raised on Molokai. In our experience, the entire state of Hawaii has too much tourism, especially Maui county. Excessive tourism brings burdens to infastructure such as waste water, landfills, and electric grids, and our roads get increasingly more dangerous, resulting in unnecessary fatalies. Even our ocean reefs suffer. These issues lead to more construction in order to accomodate more, more, more...
"I" recognize the need to start limiting tourism to more sustainable quantities. I just wish the local government and planning commissions would recognize this need as well, before we are passed the point of being able to preserve the reason 'tourists' want to come.
Some old timers think we are already there.
Sustainable tourism looks at the bigger picture. It does not discourage tourism. It should be encouraging people to not just visit to 'use' our resources and beaches and leave,
but to invest in our community and culture. We could be encouraging preservation instead of desecration.
We need to progress in a way that will benefit the island of Maui and it's people, for future generations, not just it's current visitors.
We need this moratorium to enable and start this discussion.
~Crystal Bush, Kihei resident
I fully support this moratorium and ask that it gets extended to the whole of Maui County.
Reduce visitors staying at condos and residential
Aloha,
I fully support this moratorium and ask that it gets extended to the whole of Maui County. While tourism is an industry that provides for many it’s extremely out of balance. There is a serious housing crisis happening where affordable homes and rentals alike are little to none with hundreds and hundreds of families in need. It’s getting scary for these families. We need resources to be focused on keeping our communities intact before we open up even more opportunities for tourism. Please consider this statement to be a vote for better management of tourism.
Mahalo for your time
Please put a moritorium on visitor accommodations! This island cannot support the thousands of people coming in now. Ruining this island. Have you driven here lately?
Aloha Chair and Members of the Committee,
I support the proposed moratorium, and extending it to the whole island.
Since travel has opened up again, East Maui is already overwhelmed by so many visitors that our residents are exasperated, and it is severely affecting our quality of life and the capacity of our road and services. I hear from people constantly who are so frustrated and angry about the road to Hana being practically undriveable and hoards of visitors trespassing on private property. Our visitor industry is way out of balance and it’s like we completely missed the opportunity to learn any lessons from the pandemic to reset in a way the prioritizes local quality of life as well as quality visitor experience. A moratorium may seem like a blunt instrument, but it will give us a chance to reassess and focus our priorities.
I urge you to support the moratorium and extend it for the whole island.
Mahalo
Scott Crawford, Hana
I fully support the moratorium!
Please, we need to house our own first
Please take into consideration the quality of the local people, not the tourists. We are at a point already where the quality of local life is being negatively impacted by the over built tourism industry and driving locals out, the locals who are vital to the functioning of our economy. So how is accommodating for more tourists going to improve our economical infrastructure?
Please, please extend this moratorium to all of Maui county.
Please extend this moratorium to include all of Maui county.
This moratorium is sorely needed if we are to seriously address the future of Maui. We must plan our growth based on what kind of an island we want and make sure we can execute the plan.
I support a moratorium on building permits for visitor accommodations. Maui has been absolutely overwhelmed by the tourism trade. the number of visitors far exceeds the ratio of visitors to residents outlined in the Maui Island Plan. Furthermore , the visitors are concentrated in Lahaina/Kaanapali/Napili/Kapalua and Kihei/Wailea/Makena areas. The large number of visitors overwhelm the community and severely impact residents, Traffic in Kihei is to the point of gridlock on South Kihei Road. A resident cannot go our to eat, grab a quick cup of coffee or a happy hour drink because there are long lines of visitors overwhelming local businesses More visitor accommodations would worsen and already unacceptable situation. More accommodations would require more water supply from already stressed aquifers and streams, and create more wastewater, and more polluted runoff. Hawaii Tourism Authority surveys show that most residents think we have too many visitors already. Increasing accommodations only brings more. Enuff Already!
Over tourism is not only destroying my quality of life, it is also the reason I'm paying $1400/month to live in a 1 bedroom in Kahului that has not been updated in 30+years with an infestation of cockroaches/termites.
Rent has basically doubled in 5 years and I'm making LESS money. Stop putting tourism over locals. Stop building hotels and shopping malls. We need housing, more schools, and infrastructure before we need more tourists.
When measured against the unlimited and diverse damage generated by the tourism industry, the ways in which ‘the dollar’ benefits the islands are not reasonable. The countless negative impacts that are constantly justified and blindly rationalized in the name of economic gain are noticeably seen, felt, heard, tasted, smelled and forced upon the island. We see expedited coastal erosion from an inundation of beach structures (hotels, walls, etc), we smell and taste the effects of excessive sunscreen blowing in the wind, trash overload our landfill and waste seep out of sewage treatment facilities, we hear traffic and construction every hour of every day of the week, we see vibrant coral and fish fade, we feel frustrated, sad and helpless as many beautiful aspects of the island — the Aloha spirit, the living in balance with nature and the health of the environment itself — disappear into the backdrop of development and profits. The loss extends far and wide beyond what is ‘ tangibly' measured, however, and it is bold to assume that only now the lasting footprints of tourism/capitalism/progress are being felt as an entire culture has been historically dismissed and even outlawed. To continue down the current insensitive and unperceptive path means to ensure the eventual destruction of much that is meaningful about Maui beyond repair. We must shift and expand our perspective regarding what is progress (a next hotel or sustainable jobs that invest back into our community with longevity) and begin to regard mistreatment, disrespect, and disregard for the island and its sensitivities as completely irresponsible and arguably criminal against future generations of all living things. I believe everyone truly knows this.
Support the community! Stop making more and more and more for the tourists and start working on sustainability for the people of Hawaii. NO MORE HOTELS, YOU GREEDY BASTARDS!
The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, Local 1, writes to strongly oppose IT-54, which deals with a Miscellaneous Communication, dated May 10, 2021, from the County Clerk, relating to a moratorium on building permits for visitor accommodations.
Our members would be dramatically and detrimentally affected by the proposed moratorium. Due to the discerning nature of Maui’s visitors, hotel construction and renovations typically involve a substantial amount of high-quality, high-finish stone, marble, terrazzo, and tile work – the type of work that our well-equipped contractors and well-trained members perform. Hotel construction and renovation work provides our members with living wage jobs so they can support their families on Maui County.
If the proposed moratorium were to pass, our members and contractors would find it nearly impossible to find stable and economically-sustaining work opportunities in Maui County. While the moratorium purports to only be in effect for a few years, if our Maui members are forced to move way from the island, it will be much more difficult for them to return home afterwards even if hotel construction were to be permitted again. If local contractors close up shop and are unable to open back up after the moratorium expires, the void will be filled by mainland contractors which would further harm the local economy.
With the tourism industry in a tenuous position due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with an uncertain future ahead for the local construction industry due to the state of the global economy, we are extremely concerned by this proposal. Thus, we must respectfully urge the Council to reject this very problematic moratorium proposal.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this matter.