With all the time and money you have spent you could have (and still could) buy the units that are for sale. It would have been less expensive and less divisive that this clown show we have seen since the fire. The taking of property rights is illegal. You are just throwing good money after bad and ultimately you will be worse off going down this road. Apply some common sense to the situation or suffer the consequences. Look to Tahoe for guidance, now that they have to allow str again they face millions maybe billions i lost revenue lawsuits. And guess what, rents have only gone up, and there is still a housing shortage.
Dear Chair Kama, Vice Chair Uʻu-Hodgins and Members of the Housing and Land Use Committee:
I oppose Bill 9 as drafted and propose that the Council amend Bill 9 to exclude Papakea Oceanfront Resort which the County has historically identified as having A2-H2 zoning.
Background on Papakea
Papakea was initially marketed and sold as a legal vacation rental property before any zoning restrictions limited transient vacation rentals in apartment zoned properties.
Papakea owners have been operating legal vacation rentals for almost fifty years.
Papakea has never been workforce housing so Papakea is not an example of a property that converted from workforce housing to transient vacation rental use.
The majority of units at Papakea are under 600 square feet and the property has limited parking.
Papakea is not in a residential neighborhood and is located alongside a long stretch of hotel-zoned properties and directly adjacent to multiple commercially-zoned properties.
Unlike apartment buildings designed for long-term residential use, Papakea has a front desk, an activity concierge, shared activity space, and numerous other common resort amenities.
Owners purchased condos at Papakea with the reasonable expectation that short-term rentals were legal based on ordinances as far back as 1989, and as recent as 2022.
In reliance on the Maui County ordinances and published documents, Hawaii state law, and constitutional protections, owners invested in costly renovations, furnishings, and long-term financial commitments such as mortgages that make any phase out of short-term rental right offensive of each buyer’s investment-backed expectations.
Papakea’s Contributions to the Community
Papakea’s resort operations provide full-time, benefited, employment for 35 local resident employees; some have worked at the property for over 17 years; some started in entry-level positions and worked into supervisory roles.
Papakea supports a wide variety of local trade professionals including pest control, HVAC, painting, plumbing, electrical, general contracting, masonry, tile and flooring, fitness instructors, entertainers, and tree trimming.
Individual Owner Contributions to the Community
Many small businesses owned and operated by local residents from the Maui community rely on Papakea short-term rentals including housekeepers, handymen, on-island agents, and contractors. These service providers set their own rates, work hours, select their own clients, work conditions and standard operating procedures. Shutting down short-term rentals at Papakea means telling local entrepreneurs that worked hard to build a small business that they need to just go get a job somewhere else to make less money, have less flexibility, and be subject to oppressive corporate policies.
Papakea STRs support the State of Hawaii and County of Maui through payment of property taxes (many at the short-term rental rate), Transient Accommodations Tax, General Excise Tax, and Maui County Transient Accommodations Tax.
Papakea guests support many small businesses on the island including restaurants, food trucks, tour operators, activities, state parks, the national park, and shops.
Papakea owners and guests regularly participate in community activities including volunteering at beach cleanups, Maui Humane Society, the hospital, and many other local organizations, and contribute to local philanthropic nd cultural efforts.
I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to comment.
People below are arguing totally false stuff below.
The housing crisis has existed in the state and on the island for longer than STRs have been around.
Nearly 1000 STR owners are from the 808, so this idea that " out of state investors who aren’t even local" are the problem is fake news.
They argue that there is an "unchecked spread of STRs" - but no new ones have been built since 1989. The Minatoya ones are permitted, legal according to the Maui County code, and regulated.
Someone who works in the hotel industry praises hotels, yeah, after a bloody 40 day battle over poor wages, poor healthcare benefits, short staffing, unmanageable workloads, and dealing with cuts from COVID 5 years ago. This idea that hotels are the gift from God is a hotel talking point. Yeah, hotels, deep pockets, but dominate beaches, block public access, use 5x the water of an STR, waste thousands of pounds of food, have AC running in common areas that have no people, and grounds that have no native plants and need millions of gallons of water each week.
Hotels take 100% of their profits back to their non-Hawaii HQ. Nearly 1000 STR owners are local, so all of it stays here. The others typically come stay at thier place for long periods and just spend any marginal profits back into Maui. Sounds like someone is working for the hotels and protecting the profits of the hotels. We all know hotels treat employees like garbage, pollute the aina and use or contaminate the wai.
All this talk about getting more housing as a result of the bill passing is an empty promise made by a politican who used to be a lawyer.
Politician lawyers. definitely the most trustworthy person on earth.
I oppose Bill 9 because every argument in support of it is either a lie or wishful thinking based in fantasyland.
I’ve been raised on Maui all life, & Kanaka of this land. I strongly SUPPORT this bill to phase out short-term Rentals. We need more long term rentals for us residents who live on Maui. So we can continue to keep our people here. To live & thrive.
I strongly oppose this bill. I am a voting resident of Maui County and I live in a condo that would be affected by this proposed bill. The monthly costs for a long term rental in most of these complexes is 1500-2000 NOT including mortgage principal and interest. The UHERO excludes mortgage costs from their analysis. But mortgages do exist and are a part of the monthly costs of operating a long term rental. Even based on lower interest property tax costs with the long term tax category, long term rental exemption, AND a lowered property value, the costs for a landlord to long term rent a one bedroom unit in many of those complexes would exceed 4,000 - 5,000/month and much more in certain complexes. This is far above the affordable rental guidelines published on the Maui County website. The county may want to identify specific units that are currently for sale, use the affordable housing fund to purchase those units and lease them back to locals for no less than the monthly condo fees. This would be a truly affordable option and allow the county to ensure they remain in the affordable housing pool for many many years. While continuing to collect tax revenue from the remaining STRs to continue to bolster the affordable housing fund.
I appreciate the committee members attention to this subject. Please don’t hurt Maui’s families by doing something that will damage our economy and not have the desired effect of getting local families into affordable housing.
I work as a handyman on the west side and have been doing this for almost 20 years now. Most all of my work is short term rentals on the lower road. These people pay good rates for my work. I like it because I can control how much I make based on how much I work. If this ban on STRs happens, I am not going to have enough work to support myself. Mayor says he doesn’t want people to leave but not sure I can stay because I’m not taking handouts from government.
I am a full time maui resident and I strongly support the bill to phase out short-term rentals. I would like the Council to vote yes this Monday.
We are in the middle of an housing crisis and the last thing maui residents need is STRs. STRS do not support the local economy or the people that live here. They are owned by out of state investors and most sit empty for a portion of the year. Any income generated from them is not put back into our local economy. The hotels provide adequate properties to be used for tourists and provide jobs to the community here. While STRS operate with minimal staff if any. For the majority of these units the people that would be affected are not maui residents, but off island investors, who are only worried about their profit margin and are not worried about taking more resources for the local community. Please vote Yes to this bill. Maui needs to start taking care of Maui.
I live in a Minatoya property, and I strongly support the bill to phase out short-term rentals. I urge the Council to vote yes this Monday. It’s clear. this is the right thing to do for Maui.
The unchecked spread of STRs has gone too far. We are in the middle of a devastating housing crisis, and STRs are making it worse. As someone who works in the hotel industry, I see firsthand the difference in economic impact: hotels create hundreds of stable, union jobs for local residents. STRs do not. Most STRs operate with minimal staffing, and many bypass the kind of accountability hotels must meet.
Let’s be honest about who benefits here. The majority of STRs are owned by off-island investors. Every time a visitor books one of these rentals, money is taken out of our community, not reinvested in it. When STR owners claim this bill will hurt the economy, they’re not talking about our economy. They’re talking about their own profits.
This is about putting housing and people before profit.
Aloha, I am a 25 year Maui resident raising two children in West Maui. I oppose Bill 9. This bill has already caused financial loss for my family. The hotels are seeing a significant decrease in visitors and currently our income is only 25% of what it was before this Bill and the Fire. We own 4 long term units. Our tenants keep moving out as they all are having significant income problems. They work for the hotels as well and have had significant decreases in income. This bill has already destroyed our economy. The confusion it is causing the tourists gives reason for them to stay away from Maui and go elsewhere. If you do pass this, as it appears this is your intention regardless of what the residents you represent say, the lawsuits will begin. The amount of lost money this has caused so far will only increase as our county will have to spend money on lawsuits they already know they can't win. Taking away someones existing property rights will not win in court. This bill is a waste of time and money. Please oppose Bill 9 so we can get back to work and repair our town and quality of life. Mahalos, Diana Mullen
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
Our names are Simone and Justin Wang, and we own a short-term rental property at Kihei Bay Vista, unit A101 in Maui County. We are writing today to express our deep concern and strong opposition to the proposed legislation to phase out more than 7,000 vacation rentals.
We have worked hard to be responsible and community-oriented owners. We recommend local restaurants and tour guides in our welcome guide. We employ local service providers — cleaners, maintenance techs, and landscapers — many of whom have become like family over the years. We have had our maintenance person over to eat in our home with our children as family.
We immediately volunteered our unit after the fires for displaced people and families before we were even contacted to possibly do so. We’ve also donated after the fires in the form of furniture, home goods, and money.
Some of our guests have even said they wouldn’t have come at all if they didn’t have a vacation rental option. That matters — not just to us, but to all the small businesses they supported during their stay. We’ve lent out our unit to friends and servicemen/women who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford to stay and therefore were able to use that money to frequent local restaurants and local attractions.
Owning in this complex has not been easy. We’ve faced huge maintenance costs, special assessments, and massive increases in insurance after the fires. These aren’t luxuries — they’re costs that ensure the property remains safe, functional, and appealing. STR income helps cover those costs while supporting local workers.
This legislation feels rushed and one-sided. We urge the Council to work with owners like us to find a fair and balanced path forward — one that protects local jobs, supports the economy, and holds STR owners to high standards, instead of phasing us out completely.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Best,
Simone and Justin Wang
simonegasperi@gmail.com and justintwang@aol.com
Dear Chair Kama, Vice Chair Uʻu-Hodgins and Members of the Housing and Land Use Committee:
I oppose Bill 9 as drafted and propose that the Council amend Bill 9 to exclude Papakea Oceanfront Resort which the County has historically identified as having A2-H2 zoning.
Background on Papakea
• Papakea was initially marketed and sold as a legal vacation rental property before any zoning restrictions limited transient vacation rentals in apartment zoned properties.
• Papakea owners have been operating legal vacation rentals for almost fifty years.
• Papakea has never been workforce housing so Papakea is not an example of a property that converted from workforce housing to transient vacation rental use.
• The majority of units at Papakea are under 600 square feet and the property has limited parking.
• Papakea is not in a residential neighborhood and is located alongside a long stretch of hotel-zoned properties and directly adjacent to multiple commercially-zoned properties.
Unlike apartment buildings designed for long-term residential use, Papakea has a front desk, an activity concierge, shared activity space, and numerous other common resort amenities.
• Owners purchased condos at Papakea with the reasonable expectation that short-term rentals were legal based on ordinances as far back as 1989, and as recent as 2022.
• In reliance on the Maui County ordinances and published documents, Hawaii state law, and constitutional protections, owners invested in costly renovations, furnishings, and long-term financial commitments such as mortgages that make any phase out of short-term rental right offensive of each buyer’s investment-backed expectations.
Papakea’s Contributions to the Community
• Papakea’s resort operations provide full-time, benefited, employment for 35 local resident employees; some have worked at the property for over 17 years; some started in entry-level positions and worked into supervisory roles.
• Papakea supports a wide variety of local trade professionals including pest control, HVAC, painting, plumbing, electrical, general contracting, masonry, tile and flooring, fitness instructors, entertainers, and tree trimming.
Individual Owner Contributions to the Community
• Many small businesses owned and operated by local residents from the Maui community rely on Papakea short-term rentals including housekeepers, handymen, on-island agents, and contractors. These service providers set their own rates, work hours, select their own clients, work conditions and standard operating procedures. Shutting down short-term rentals at Papakea means telling local entrepreneurs that worked hard to build a small business that they need to just go get a job somewhere else to make less money, have less flexibility, and be subject to oppressive corporate policies.
• Papakea STRs support the State of Hawaii and County of Maui through payment of property taxes (many at the short-term rental rate), Transient Accommodations Tax, General Excise Tax, and Maui County Transient Accommodations Tax.
• Papakea guests support many small businesses on the island including restaurants, food trucks, tour operators, activities, state parks, the national park, and shops.
• Papakea owners and guests regularly participate in community activities including volunteering at beach cleanups, Maui Humane Society, the hospital, and many other local organizations, and contribute to local philanthropic and cultural efforts.
I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Steve and Sherrill Harris
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road, L106
I am an owner/full-time resident at Wavecrest Resort on Molokai and am writing to request that Wavecrest Resort be excluded from Bill 9 for the following reasons:
Wavecrest Resort has existed since 1975 as a place where one could own, rent long-term, or rent short-term since 1975. We are currently occupied by a mix of owners who reside here full-time, owners who reside here part-time, long-term renters, and short-term rentals. A majority of our units are one bedroom units of slightly over 600 square feet, adequate for one or two occupants. An article in The Molokai Dispatch (July 31, 2024) noted that “with 10% of Molokai STRs currently resident occupied, Pfrost believed that there STR units will be suitable for long-term resident housing.” Yes, they are suitable long-term housing for a very small segment of the Molokai population: households of one or two adults who can afford a sum that covers all costs associated with the property (mortgage, taxes, HOA fees and special assessments, utilities, and repairs), do not require a lot of storage space, who have 1 vehicle, and will treat the aging infrastructure with care. And there are a number of units currently available for purchase, and some available as long-term rentals, but very few takers as these units cannot comfortably accommodate larger families on a long-term basis.
Removing these units from the short-term rental market will not alleviate the shortage of affordable housing for families on Molokai, but will have a negative impact on our local economy by reducing the taxes the county receives from the STRs, reducing our tourist spending that bolsters our local island businesses, and reducing the need for local services that support out tourist sector, such a housekeeping services, car rentals, and locally-run activity and tour providers.
We currently have a balance of owner-residents and long-term renters who respect and care for the island and strongly encourage our short-term guests to do so as well, for the benefit of the island as a whole. Our short-term rental units provide affordable options for local families needing to house off-island family members for special events. In summary, outlawing short-term rentals at Wavecrest will reduce benefits to our island community as a whole while doing nothing to address the affordable housing crisis in Maui County.
Thank you for your attention to and consideration of my request.
Plesse enforce zoning laws to prevent vacation rentals from operating in places zoned for apartments and long-term housing. So our local residents have more long term places to live than what's available now. And help our Maui community continue to live on Maui.
Please create a transition process for the STRs and the owners to make this a smooth transition.
Councilmember Tasha Kama, Chair
Councilmember Tom Cook, Vice Chair
Committee on Housing and Land Use
RE: Bill 9 – A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTERS 19.12, 19.32, AND 19.37, MAUI COUNTY CODE, RELATING TO TRANSIENT VACATION RENTALS IN APARTMENT DISTRICTS
Hearing Date – June 9, 2025
Aloha Chair Kama, Vice Chair Cook, and Committee Members,
My name is Susan DeLoria, and I have lived on Maui for over 33 years, I am a Broker with Keller Williams Realty and an owner of a short term rental. I am here in strong opposition to Bill 9, which seeks to phase out legal transient vacation rentals (TVRs) in apartment-zoned districts.
While I support efforts to address the housing crisis, this bill will create unintended harm to local families, small businesses, and Maui’s economy. Thousands of residents rely on TVRs for employment—cleaners, handymen, contractors, property managers, and many others. Removing these rentals will lead to job loss, income reduction, and decreased spending at local businesses.
The county will also lose significant revenue from TAT, GET, MCTAT and general economic activity. This will likely increase pressure on other property owners and renters, raising costs across the board.
We should focus on real solutions:
• Enforce illegal rentals, not punish legal ones.
• Require developers to include affordable housing.
• Tax large hotels fairly.
• Allocate resources to Hawaiian Homes and HUD programs.
• Utilize County and State Land to actually build affordable housing.
TVRs have existed legally for decades—long before many large hotels. They keep money circulating locally, unlike corporate resorts. This bill threatens our recovery and risks legal challenges that will cost the county even more.
Please vote no on Bill 9. Let’s work together on solutions that strengthen, not divide, our community.
Mahalo, Susan DeLoria
As someone born and raised on Maui, I understand the urgent need for housing and the pressures our community faces. However, the push to eliminate short-term rentals will deeply impact many of us who depend on that income to survive here.
I fully support efforts to address the housing crisis on Maui. Our people deserve to live and thrive here. But eliminating short-term rentals without offering any financial transition plan or meaningful economic alternatives puts a huge burden on locals like me.
If the goal is to help local families stay on Maui, then taking away one of the few viable sources of income many of us have is counterproductive. If we eliminate STRs without creating alternative income opportunities or meaningful economic support for those affected, we risk forcing out even more local families—exactly the opposite of what we all want. We need a balanced approach that includes transitional support, clear pathways to alternative housing options, and viable local job opportunities so that residents like me can continue to live, work, and contribute to the island we call home. We need solutions that protect housing and the people already living here. Please don’t make it harder for locals to remain on Maui.
My name is Brenda Lane, and my husband Mark and I have owned a short-term rental property in Maui County since 1984. I am writing today to express my deep concern and strong opposition to the proposed legislation to phase out more than 7,000 vacation rentals.
I’ve worked hard to be a responsible and community-oriented owner. I recommend local restaurants and businesses in my welcome guide. I employ local service providers — rental managers, cleaners, maintenance techs, and landscapers — many of whom have become like family over the years. We have watched each other’s children grow up over the years. They are very worried about how they will support themselves if this bill passes. We have spent many months a year in Maui since 1984, making many local friends. We support the Maui Food Bank, and have volunteered with Hale Kau Kau to provide meals for the homeless. We offered our condo free of charge immediately to people who lost their homes in the Lahaina fire, cancelling previous bookings to do so, and had two families stay until they found something to rent long term. We also paid the utilities for them.
I have guests who have returned year after year who have also developed a relationship with local businesses and residents. Some of my guests have even said they wouldn’t have come at all if they didn’t have a vacation rental option. A hotel is not an option for many families. That matters — not just to me, but to all the small businesses they supported during their stay.
Owning in this complex has not been easy. We’ve faced huge maintenance costs, special assessments ($72,000 over the past two years), and massive increases in insurance after the fires. These aren’t luxuries — they’re costs that ensure the property remains safe, functional, and appealing. STR income helps cover those costs while supporting local workers. We have supported local businesses over the past 40 years – remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms (twice!), buying appliances, carpet and furniture locally as well as employing local cleaners, managers, landscapers, etc. Losing the STR income would mean that we would no longer be able to make these updates as often. After Covid had a devastating effect on the Maui economy, we decided to purchase all new appliances to support the local economy (we usually wait until something breaks), and replaced our old car with a newer model from Island Honda. Similarly, when replacing furniture and appliances we give away the old pieces to local charities.
This legislation feels rushed and one-sided. I urge the Council to work with owners like us to find a fair and balanced path forward — one that protects local jobs, supports the economy, and holds STR owners to high standards, instead of phasing us out completely.
If the intent of this bill is store restore housing that was intended to be workforce housing when it was built, it would be useful to have staff determine which complexes were actually built to be workforce housing, or at least establish criteria to determine what makes a project workforce housing. I’m sure ours (Hale Kamaole) was not, as they were originally sold (in 1974) completely furnished down to dishes and linens, which is not typical for workforce housing. Also, Hawaiian banks would not make loans to purchase condos here, since not enough units were owner occupied to qualify as a residential loan. They have always been rented as short-term vacation rentals.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Mark and Brenda Lane
2737 S Kihei Rd. #309
Kihei, HI 96753
HK309lanes@aol.com
With all the time and money you have spent you could have (and still could) buy the units that are for sale. It would have been less expensive and less divisive that this clown show we have seen since the fire. The taking of property rights is illegal. You are just throwing good money after bad and ultimately you will be worse off going down this road. Apply some common sense to the situation or suffer the consequences. Look to Tahoe for guidance, now that they have to allow str again they face millions maybe billions i lost revenue lawsuits. And guess what, rents have only gone up, and there is still a housing shortage.
Oppose
Dear Chair Kama, Vice Chair Uʻu-Hodgins and Members of the Housing and Land Use Committee:
I oppose Bill 9 as drafted and propose that the Council amend Bill 9 to exclude Papakea Oceanfront Resort which the County has historically identified as having A2-H2 zoning.
Background on Papakea
Papakea was initially marketed and sold as a legal vacation rental property before any zoning restrictions limited transient vacation rentals in apartment zoned properties.
Papakea owners have been operating legal vacation rentals for almost fifty years.
Papakea has never been workforce housing so Papakea is not an example of a property that converted from workforce housing to transient vacation rental use.
The majority of units at Papakea are under 600 square feet and the property has limited parking.
Papakea is not in a residential neighborhood and is located alongside a long stretch of hotel-zoned properties and directly adjacent to multiple commercially-zoned properties.
Unlike apartment buildings designed for long-term residential use, Papakea has a front desk, an activity concierge, shared activity space, and numerous other common resort amenities.
Owners purchased condos at Papakea with the reasonable expectation that short-term rentals were legal based on ordinances as far back as 1989, and as recent as 2022.
In reliance on the Maui County ordinances and published documents, Hawaii state law, and constitutional protections, owners invested in costly renovations, furnishings, and long-term financial commitments such as mortgages that make any phase out of short-term rental right offensive of each buyer’s investment-backed expectations.
Papakea’s Contributions to the Community
Papakea’s resort operations provide full-time, benefited, employment for 35 local resident employees; some have worked at the property for over 17 years; some started in entry-level positions and worked into supervisory roles.
Papakea supports a wide variety of local trade professionals including pest control, HVAC, painting, plumbing, electrical, general contracting, masonry, tile and flooring, fitness instructors, entertainers, and tree trimming.
Individual Owner Contributions to the Community
Many small businesses owned and operated by local residents from the Maui community rely on Papakea short-term rentals including housekeepers, handymen, on-island agents, and contractors. These service providers set their own rates, work hours, select their own clients, work conditions and standard operating procedures. Shutting down short-term rentals at Papakea means telling local entrepreneurs that worked hard to build a small business that they need to just go get a job somewhere else to make less money, have less flexibility, and be subject to oppressive corporate policies.
Papakea STRs support the State of Hawaii and County of Maui through payment of property taxes (many at the short-term rental rate), Transient Accommodations Tax, General Excise Tax, and Maui County Transient Accommodations Tax.
Papakea guests support many small businesses on the island including restaurants, food trucks, tour operators, activities, state parks, the national park, and shops.
Papakea owners and guests regularly participate in community activities including volunteering at beach cleanups, Maui Humane Society, the hospital, and many other local organizations, and contribute to local philanthropic nd cultural efforts.
I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Ron Sedlic
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road, Apartment H402
People below are arguing totally false stuff below.
The housing crisis has existed in the state and on the island for longer than STRs have been around.
Nearly 1000 STR owners are from the 808, so this idea that " out of state investors who aren’t even local" are the problem is fake news.
They argue that there is an "unchecked spread of STRs" - but no new ones have been built since 1989. The Minatoya ones are permitted, legal according to the Maui County code, and regulated.
Someone who works in the hotel industry praises hotels, yeah, after a bloody 40 day battle over poor wages, poor healthcare benefits, short staffing, unmanageable workloads, and dealing with cuts from COVID 5 years ago. This idea that hotels are the gift from God is a hotel talking point. Yeah, hotels, deep pockets, but dominate beaches, block public access, use 5x the water of an STR, waste thousands of pounds of food, have AC running in common areas that have no people, and grounds that have no native plants and need millions of gallons of water each week.
Hotels take 100% of their profits back to their non-Hawaii HQ. Nearly 1000 STR owners are local, so all of it stays here. The others typically come stay at thier place for long periods and just spend any marginal profits back into Maui. Sounds like someone is working for the hotels and protecting the profits of the hotels. We all know hotels treat employees like garbage, pollute the aina and use or contaminate the wai.
All this talk about getting more housing as a result of the bill passing is an empty promise made by a politican who used to be a lawyer.
Politician lawyers. definitely the most trustworthy person on earth.
I oppose Bill 9 because every argument in support of it is either a lie or wishful thinking based in fantasyland.
Kawika Kekoa
kawikaffinity
I’ve been raised on Maui all life, & Kanaka of this land. I strongly SUPPORT this bill to phase out short-term Rentals. We need more long term rentals for us residents who live on Maui. So we can continue to keep our people here. To live & thrive.
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
I strongly oppose this bill. I am a voting resident of Maui County and I live in a condo that would be affected by this proposed bill. The monthly costs for a long term rental in most of these complexes is 1500-2000 NOT including mortgage principal and interest. The UHERO excludes mortgage costs from their analysis. But mortgages do exist and are a part of the monthly costs of operating a long term rental. Even based on lower interest property tax costs with the long term tax category, long term rental exemption, AND a lowered property value, the costs for a landlord to long term rent a one bedroom unit in many of those complexes would exceed 4,000 - 5,000/month and much more in certain complexes. This is far above the affordable rental guidelines published on the Maui County website. The county may want to identify specific units that are currently for sale, use the affordable housing fund to purchase those units and lease them back to locals for no less than the monthly condo fees. This would be a truly affordable option and allow the county to ensure they remain in the affordable housing pool for many many years. While continuing to collect tax revenue from the remaining STRs to continue to bolster the affordable housing fund.
I appreciate the committee members attention to this subject. Please don’t hurt Maui’s families by doing something that will damage our economy and not have the desired effect of getting local families into affordable housing.
Mahalo
I work as a handyman on the west side and have been doing this for almost 20 years now. Most all of my work is short term rentals on the lower road. These people pay good rates for my work. I like it because I can control how much I make based on how much I work. If this ban on STRs happens, I am not going to have enough work to support myself. Mayor says he doesn’t want people to leave but not sure I can stay because I’m not taking handouts from government.
I am a long term Maui resident that supports phasing out STR’s, it’s time to put local residents first, we need a solution to this housing crisis NOW.
I am a full time maui resident and I strongly support the bill to phase out short-term rentals. I would like the Council to vote yes this Monday.
We are in the middle of an housing crisis and the last thing maui residents need is STRs. STRS do not support the local economy or the people that live here. They are owned by out of state investors and most sit empty for a portion of the year. Any income generated from them is not put back into our local economy. The hotels provide adequate properties to be used for tourists and provide jobs to the community here. While STRS operate with minimal staff if any. For the majority of these units the people that would be affected are not maui residents, but off island investors, who are only worried about their profit margin and are not worried about taking more resources for the local community. Please vote Yes to this bill. Maui needs to start taking care of Maui.
Strongly support this bill. Housing crisis abominable.
You guys know what the right decision is. Don’t let these out of state investors who aren’t even local cloud your vision.
I live in a Minatoya property, and I strongly support the bill to phase out short-term rentals. I urge the Council to vote yes this Monday. It’s clear. this is the right thing to do for Maui.
The unchecked spread of STRs has gone too far. We are in the middle of a devastating housing crisis, and STRs are making it worse. As someone who works in the hotel industry, I see firsthand the difference in economic impact: hotels create hundreds of stable, union jobs for local residents. STRs do not. Most STRs operate with minimal staffing, and many bypass the kind of accountability hotels must meet.
Let’s be honest about who benefits here. The majority of STRs are owned by off-island investors. Every time a visitor books one of these rentals, money is taken out of our community, not reinvested in it. When STR owners claim this bill will hurt the economy, they’re not talking about our economy. They’re talking about their own profits.
This is about putting housing and people before profit.
Aloha, I am a 25 year Maui resident raising two children in West Maui. I oppose Bill 9. This bill has already caused financial loss for my family. The hotels are seeing a significant decrease in visitors and currently our income is only 25% of what it was before this Bill and the Fire. We own 4 long term units. Our tenants keep moving out as they all are having significant income problems. They work for the hotels as well and have had significant decreases in income. This bill has already destroyed our economy. The confusion it is causing the tourists gives reason for them to stay away from Maui and go elsewhere. If you do pass this, as it appears this is your intention regardless of what the residents you represent say, the lawsuits will begin. The amount of lost money this has caused so far will only increase as our county will have to spend money on lawsuits they already know they can't win. Taking away someones existing property rights will not win in court. This bill is a waste of time and money. Please oppose Bill 9 so we can get back to work and repair our town and quality of life. Mahalos, Diana Mullen
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
Our names are Simone and Justin Wang, and we own a short-term rental property at Kihei Bay Vista, unit A101 in Maui County. We are writing today to express our deep concern and strong opposition to the proposed legislation to phase out more than 7,000 vacation rentals.
We have worked hard to be responsible and community-oriented owners. We recommend local restaurants and tour guides in our welcome guide. We employ local service providers — cleaners, maintenance techs, and landscapers — many of whom have become like family over the years. We have had our maintenance person over to eat in our home with our children as family.
We immediately volunteered our unit after the fires for displaced people and families before we were even contacted to possibly do so. We’ve also donated after the fires in the form of furniture, home goods, and money.
Some of our guests have even said they wouldn’t have come at all if they didn’t have a vacation rental option. That matters — not just to us, but to all the small businesses they supported during their stay. We’ve lent out our unit to friends and servicemen/women who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford to stay and therefore were able to use that money to frequent local restaurants and local attractions.
Owning in this complex has not been easy. We’ve faced huge maintenance costs, special assessments, and massive increases in insurance after the fires. These aren’t luxuries — they’re costs that ensure the property remains safe, functional, and appealing. STR income helps cover those costs while supporting local workers.
This legislation feels rushed and one-sided. We urge the Council to work with owners like us to find a fair and balanced path forward — one that protects local jobs, supports the economy, and holds STR owners to high standards, instead of phasing us out completely.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Best,
Simone and Justin Wang
simonegasperi@gmail.com and justintwang@aol.com
Dear Chair Kama, Vice Chair Uʻu-Hodgins and Members of the Housing and Land Use Committee:
I oppose Bill 9 as drafted and propose that the Council amend Bill 9 to exclude Papakea Oceanfront Resort which the County has historically identified as having A2-H2 zoning.
Background on Papakea
• Papakea was initially marketed and sold as a legal vacation rental property before any zoning restrictions limited transient vacation rentals in apartment zoned properties.
• Papakea owners have been operating legal vacation rentals for almost fifty years.
• Papakea has never been workforce housing so Papakea is not an example of a property that converted from workforce housing to transient vacation rental use.
• The majority of units at Papakea are under 600 square feet and the property has limited parking.
• Papakea is not in a residential neighborhood and is located alongside a long stretch of hotel-zoned properties and directly adjacent to multiple commercially-zoned properties.
Unlike apartment buildings designed for long-term residential use, Papakea has a front desk, an activity concierge, shared activity space, and numerous other common resort amenities.
• Owners purchased condos at Papakea with the reasonable expectation that short-term rentals were legal based on ordinances as far back as 1989, and as recent as 2022.
• In reliance on the Maui County ordinances and published documents, Hawaii state law, and constitutional protections, owners invested in costly renovations, furnishings, and long-term financial commitments such as mortgages that make any phase out of short-term rental right offensive of each buyer’s investment-backed expectations.
Papakea’s Contributions to the Community
• Papakea’s resort operations provide full-time, benefited, employment for 35 local resident employees; some have worked at the property for over 17 years; some started in entry-level positions and worked into supervisory roles.
• Papakea supports a wide variety of local trade professionals including pest control, HVAC, painting, plumbing, electrical, general contracting, masonry, tile and flooring, fitness instructors, entertainers, and tree trimming.
Individual Owner Contributions to the Community
• Many small businesses owned and operated by local residents from the Maui community rely on Papakea short-term rentals including housekeepers, handymen, on-island agents, and contractors. These service providers set their own rates, work hours, select their own clients, work conditions and standard operating procedures. Shutting down short-term rentals at Papakea means telling local entrepreneurs that worked hard to build a small business that they need to just go get a job somewhere else to make less money, have less flexibility, and be subject to oppressive corporate policies.
• Papakea STRs support the State of Hawaii and County of Maui through payment of property taxes (many at the short-term rental rate), Transient Accommodations Tax, General Excise Tax, and Maui County Transient Accommodations Tax.
• Papakea guests support many small businesses on the island including restaurants, food trucks, tour operators, activities, state parks, the national park, and shops.
• Papakea owners and guests regularly participate in community activities including volunteering at beach cleanups, Maui Humane Society, the hospital, and many other local organizations, and contribute to local philanthropic and cultural efforts.
I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Steve and Sherrill Harris
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road, L106
I am an owner/full-time resident at Wavecrest Resort on Molokai and am writing to request that Wavecrest Resort be excluded from Bill 9 for the following reasons:
Wavecrest Resort has existed since 1975 as a place where one could own, rent long-term, or rent short-term since 1975. We are currently occupied by a mix of owners who reside here full-time, owners who reside here part-time, long-term renters, and short-term rentals. A majority of our units are one bedroom units of slightly over 600 square feet, adequate for one or two occupants. An article in The Molokai Dispatch (July 31, 2024) noted that “with 10% of Molokai STRs currently resident occupied, Pfrost believed that there STR units will be suitable for long-term resident housing.” Yes, they are suitable long-term housing for a very small segment of the Molokai population: households of one or two adults who can afford a sum that covers all costs associated with the property (mortgage, taxes, HOA fees and special assessments, utilities, and repairs), do not require a lot of storage space, who have 1 vehicle, and will treat the aging infrastructure with care. And there are a number of units currently available for purchase, and some available as long-term rentals, but very few takers as these units cannot comfortably accommodate larger families on a long-term basis.
Removing these units from the short-term rental market will not alleviate the shortage of affordable housing for families on Molokai, but will have a negative impact on our local economy by reducing the taxes the county receives from the STRs, reducing our tourist spending that bolsters our local island businesses, and reducing the need for local services that support out tourist sector, such a housekeeping services, car rentals, and locally-run activity and tour providers.
We currently have a balance of owner-residents and long-term renters who respect and care for the island and strongly encourage our short-term guests to do so as well, for the benefit of the island as a whole. Our short-term rental units provide affordable options for local families needing to house off-island family members for special events. In summary, outlawing short-term rentals at Wavecrest will reduce benefits to our island community as a whole while doing nothing to address the affordable housing crisis in Maui County.
Thank you for your attention to and consideration of my request.
Plesse enforce zoning laws to prevent vacation rentals from operating in places zoned for apartments and long-term housing. So our local residents have more long term places to live than what's available now. And help our Maui community continue to live on Maui.
Please create a transition process for the STRs and the owners to make this a smooth transition.
Councilmember Tasha Kama, Chair
Councilmember Tom Cook, Vice Chair
Committee on Housing and Land Use
RE: Bill 9 – A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTERS 19.12, 19.32, AND 19.37, MAUI COUNTY CODE, RELATING TO TRANSIENT VACATION RENTALS IN APARTMENT DISTRICTS
Hearing Date – June 9, 2025
Aloha Chair Kama, Vice Chair Cook, and Committee Members,
My name is Susan DeLoria, and I have lived on Maui for over 33 years, I am a Broker with Keller Williams Realty and an owner of a short term rental. I am here in strong opposition to Bill 9, which seeks to phase out legal transient vacation rentals (TVRs) in apartment-zoned districts.
While I support efforts to address the housing crisis, this bill will create unintended harm to local families, small businesses, and Maui’s economy. Thousands of residents rely on TVRs for employment—cleaners, handymen, contractors, property managers, and many others. Removing these rentals will lead to job loss, income reduction, and decreased spending at local businesses.
The county will also lose significant revenue from TAT, GET, MCTAT and general economic activity. This will likely increase pressure on other property owners and renters, raising costs across the board.
We should focus on real solutions:
• Enforce illegal rentals, not punish legal ones.
• Require developers to include affordable housing.
• Tax large hotels fairly.
• Allocate resources to Hawaiian Homes and HUD programs.
• Utilize County and State Land to actually build affordable housing.
TVRs have existed legally for decades—long before many large hotels. They keep money circulating locally, unlike corporate resorts. This bill threatens our recovery and risks legal challenges that will cost the county even more.
Please vote no on Bill 9. Let’s work together on solutions that strengthen, not divide, our community.
Mahalo, Susan DeLoria
As someone born and raised on Maui, I understand the urgent need for housing and the pressures our community faces. However, the push to eliminate short-term rentals will deeply impact many of us who depend on that income to survive here.
I fully support efforts to address the housing crisis on Maui. Our people deserve to live and thrive here. But eliminating short-term rentals without offering any financial transition plan or meaningful economic alternatives puts a huge burden on locals like me.
If the goal is to help local families stay on Maui, then taking away one of the few viable sources of income many of us have is counterproductive. If we eliminate STRs without creating alternative income opportunities or meaningful economic support for those affected, we risk forcing out even more local families—exactly the opposite of what we all want. We need a balanced approach that includes transitional support, clear pathways to alternative housing options, and viable local job opportunities so that residents like me can continue to live, work, and contribute to the island we call home. We need solutions that protect housing and the people already living here. Please don’t make it harder for locals to remain on Maui.
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
My name is Brenda Lane, and my husband Mark and I have owned a short-term rental property in Maui County since 1984. I am writing today to express my deep concern and strong opposition to the proposed legislation to phase out more than 7,000 vacation rentals.
I’ve worked hard to be a responsible and community-oriented owner. I recommend local restaurants and businesses in my welcome guide. I employ local service providers — rental managers, cleaners, maintenance techs, and landscapers — many of whom have become like family over the years. We have watched each other’s children grow up over the years. They are very worried about how they will support themselves if this bill passes. We have spent many months a year in Maui since 1984, making many local friends. We support the Maui Food Bank, and have volunteered with Hale Kau Kau to provide meals for the homeless. We offered our condo free of charge immediately to people who lost their homes in the Lahaina fire, cancelling previous bookings to do so, and had two families stay until they found something to rent long term. We also paid the utilities for them.
I have guests who have returned year after year who have also developed a relationship with local businesses and residents. Some of my guests have even said they wouldn’t have come at all if they didn’t have a vacation rental option. A hotel is not an option for many families. That matters — not just to me, but to all the small businesses they supported during their stay.
Owning in this complex has not been easy. We’ve faced huge maintenance costs, special assessments ($72,000 over the past two years), and massive increases in insurance after the fires. These aren’t luxuries — they’re costs that ensure the property remains safe, functional, and appealing. STR income helps cover those costs while supporting local workers. We have supported local businesses over the past 40 years – remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms (twice!), buying appliances, carpet and furniture locally as well as employing local cleaners, managers, landscapers, etc. Losing the STR income would mean that we would no longer be able to make these updates as often. After Covid had a devastating effect on the Maui economy, we decided to purchase all new appliances to support the local economy (we usually wait until something breaks), and replaced our old car with a newer model from Island Honda. Similarly, when replacing furniture and appliances we give away the old pieces to local charities.
This legislation feels rushed and one-sided. I urge the Council to work with owners like us to find a fair and balanced path forward — one that protects local jobs, supports the economy, and holds STR owners to high standards, instead of phasing us out completely.
If the intent of this bill is store restore housing that was intended to be workforce housing when it was built, it would be useful to have staff determine which complexes were actually built to be workforce housing, or at least establish criteria to determine what makes a project workforce housing. I’m sure ours (Hale Kamaole) was not, as they were originally sold (in 1974) completely furnished down to dishes and linens, which is not typical for workforce housing. Also, Hawaiian banks would not make loans to purchase condos here, since not enough units were owner occupied to qualify as a residential loan. They have always been rented as short-term vacation rentals.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Mark and Brenda Lane
2737 S Kihei Rd. #309
Kihei, HI 96753
HK309lanes@aol.com