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. Below I have listed some of the reasons I believe Papakea Oceanfront Resort should be excluded from Bill 9:
* 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.
Here are some of 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; many 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.
Here are just some of the individual Owner Contributions to the Community:
* Owners support/hire 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 on the opposition of Bill 9.
I am born and raised on Maui.
I am also a vacation rental cleaner.
While I understand the need for affordable housing for locals, eliminating vacation rentals is not the way to achieve it. As many have pointed out before me, HOA fees, utilities, parking alone can put the affordability of these units out of reach.
The focus should be on our County and it's mismanagement of the Affordable Housing fund which is largely funded by vacation rentals. Why are they allowing luxury developers to minimize their affordable housing allotment? Why do permits take so long? Mayor Bissen has pit Maui residents against eachother, negative media attention has slowed down our arrivals to both hotels and vacation rentals, and now the State is dumping funds into promoting Maui??? Why cant those dollars go to affordable housing that is supposedly first on our Leaders mind?
I am one of many cleaners, handypeople, managers, trades people who would lose work should this bill move forward. The absolutely devastating fires of Lahaina only magnified a pre existing housing crisis. Don't add to Maui's crisis by putting many out of work.
My name is Cyndi Reese and I am an owner of a short term rental on the Minatoya list. I appreciate the work of the Council members and am sure that you have thoroughly examined the analytical work of the UHERO economic study and other reports. My intent is not to repeat verified data, polls and fact-finding that you have already studied, nor is it an attempt to discuss the debate of Bill 9 on social media or opinion letters in the newspapers. It is not to comment on the uncertainty of federal funding and ambitious budgets. You have the responsibility of listening to testimony, including mine. You have the responsibility to make intelligent decisions that will allow Maui to heal, support its residents in an economically responsible manner and to get people to work together instead of being divided.
ABOUT ME
I am a retired teacher, someone who knows the trauma of major fire events. I live in a Northern California county where between 2017 and 2020, more than 300,000 acres burned, destroying close to 7,000 structures and killing 24 people. I have seen my home surrounded on 3 sides by fire and know the agony of evacuations. There is no “my fire was worse than your fire” in my world. Any fire is a tragedy. I set up a GoFundMe account to raise $20K for the employees at my Maui resort who were affected by the Lahaina fire. I am supportive of rebuilding Lahaina as well as creating new low-income housing, especially for teachers. I am not supportive of abolishing Minatoya STRs and its disastrous consequences on Maui economy.
DISCONNECT
There is a total disconnect between abolishing STRs and assuming these units will automatically be made into long-term housing for locals or purchased as “affordable” housing. My condo in West Maui, if no longer a legal STR, would be used for friends and family. I’ll pay less in property taxes and no transient taxes will be generated. It is my choice to use up my life savings making sure that my family has access to my condo throughout the year. My two grandsons have learning disabilities and their time in Maui is spent getting away from the stress of academics and allows them to be kids on the beach while getting thoroughly educated on the beauty of ocean life and the perils of losing coral.
LOCALS LOSE JOBS
When I bought my Maui condo, I made sure to only work with trusted local companies. I bought from a local realtor, Cimi Morgan of Epic Realty, who had worked in Maui real estate for over ten years. I respect her for being a single mother of two girls and now a devoted grandmother. Cimi also manages my condo running a small West Maui vacation rental business. It doesn’t matter whether you phase out STRs now or in 5 years – she will lose everything if this happens along with her employees and subcontractors that she depends on. In a recent email, she quotes “My business doesn’t just provide for my family; it also supports my employees and their families.” I bought kitchen appliances from Hamai Appliance instead of a Home Depot. I use only local plumbers, painters, A/C service technicians, electricians and more, all of whom have become friends. I recommend local restaurants and activities in my guest binder and condo website. If I can no longer rent out my condo, my husband and I will be on an extremely tight budget on fixed teacher pensions and forced to work with big box stores and do repairs ourselves. It’s a simple case of trickle-down economics.
WHAT COULD HAPPEN
Abolishing Minatoya STRs would actually promote more illegal “under the table” STRs who do not pay their fair share of property and transient taxes. The real estate market will not crash enough to make my condo “affordable”, especially with over $2K/month in HOA fees and looming assessments for HOA insurance and anticipated building repairs to aging buildings. When I run out of money paying over $4K/month to keep my condo afloat, I will simply sell to the highest bidder -- my guess that it will probably be an investor and not someone local.
REZONING AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Bill 9 has no fast-track provision for rezoning resorts that “look like a hotel and act like a hotel” and were never built for workforce housing. Rezoning is an expensive process and requires an extensive amount of studies and paperwork which requires years of processing. Why not give the opportunity in Bill 9 to create a rezoning program to maintain steady property tax income, especially since STRs pay more property tax than hotels? Other suggestions:
• Don’t lose the income stream -- use STR taxed money to continue building new low-income long-term housing.
• Leave the legal/grandfathered income-producing STRs in place but put a moratorium on new STR permits.
• Go after illegal STRs who do not pay into the system.
• Realize that delaying until 2030 won’t do anything but give lawyers time to file lawsuits and will cast further public opinion of how unstable Maui is. This is political posturing.
STRS HAVE THEIR PLACE
It's been in the news that “selective tourism” is being promoted to get “better and more respectful” tourists. Do Maui residents going to Disneyland get screened for what kind of tourists they will be? That’s discrimination. Hotels in Maui have a sophisticated lobbyist system in place and are expensive: a family suite for 4 at the Ritz-Carlton with a King and sofa bed is over $2K/night and a standard room at the Sheraton Maui with two double beds is $790/night (neither offer kitchens). That family could stay at any number of STRs for $400/night with a kitchen. I know the profile of guests visiting my condos. My reviews show that I rent to families who need a kitchen. I have repeat guests every year who love and support Maui and now their parents come over, also. I recently talked with a guest who said her family saved up all year for a STR vacation and appreciated being able to cook in the condo because they couldn’t afford going out to restaurants for every meal. I am embarrassed and dismayed to think that Maui would only desire wealthy tourists who can afford expensive hotels. It brings a hypocritical sense to the emphasized culture of ‘Ohana’, doesn’t it? If you make it too hard to visit Maui affordably, people will stop trying.
SUMMARY
I encourage you to reject Bill 9. It’s not the time to lose $900M annually, 1900 jobs and $60M in property tax revenue by 2029. It’s time for Maui to rebuild after the Lahaina fire and find ways to create low cost housing without damaging the existing infrastructure. It’s time to come together to fix things using logic and solid data. Tourism is not a 4-letter word. In an economy that depends on tourist dollars, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
June 5th 2025
To The Maui Council:
We are writing to voice our displeasure over the bill before the Maui Council members outlawing Vacation rentals. We too were saddened by the Lahaina fires and the devastation that resulted, but the recent legislation seems to target something that is bringing in 40 million in tax revenue without thinking about the long-term impact to the Maui workers who rely on the tourism industry. This new Bills potential to disrupt Maui’s future is evident in so many ways. We purchased in early 2013 and since that time we have come to rely on our Property Manager, our Cleaner, our Local handyman, the Restaurants around us and the local grocery stores. They will all feel a dramatic impact when the short-term vacation market ceases to exist. We like many do not make a lot of money from our unit. Mostly it is used by us, our friends and family to offset the counties fees and taxes. We did not get into the market to make money but rather for lifestyle reasons and a safe travel destination. We will be fine if we sell and move on to another vacation destination but those workers that have called Maui home for generations will feel the direct and lasting impact of your decision. With this bill you are actually hurting Maui residents in both real and imagined ways. The very people you think this bill helps, we propose will in fact hurt down to even the airport employees, taxi drivers, car rental agencies. If you think for a minute all visitors will transition to hotels, think again. We will move destinations before staying in a hotel. Please consider all factors before your decision is final. We understand that some of the buildings were not originally intended for rentals and potentially that might be where to look versus the blanket approach you are currently using. We have long considered Maui our second home and it is with extreme sadness that we are forced to consider selling with your looming bill outlawing the majority of rental units.
Respectfully submitted,
Roy & Dianne Obal
We are writing today to oppose Bill 9 which aims to remove approximately 7000 legal STR units from the current Maui inventory.
The idea of phasing out legal transient rental accommodation for affordable or workforce housing does not make sense in many ways especially in the South Maui area. Many of these complexes were not originally built for workforce or affordable housing (as stated in the documents on the DCCA website) but as multi-use units which included owner occupied, long-term rental and transient rental.
These condominium complexes have high HOA fees, special assessments and taxes which would make them difficult for local working families to purchase or rent. Our current costs for a one-bedroom unit are as follows: $1108 monthly HOA, $10000 yearly property taxes, $900 private insurance, $100 per month maintenance/on-island contact, varying electrical bills and a special assessment this year of approximately $32000 to replace the aging pipes and roof. These costs are on top of the purchase price or mortgage costs. There is a small group who feel that the HOA fees will go down once our units become long-term rentals. That will never happen - they will continue to sky-rocket in order to pay for the aging infrastructure of these buildings. The amount of rent we would have to charge to cover these costs would be unaffordable. Again, please remember that they have always been available for long-term rental as stated in governing documents.
Job loss will be significant - cleaners, maintenance, gardeners, plumbers, electricians, front desk workers, etc. that we hire will no longer be employed by us and will not be needed by many other owners. Cleaners make 3-4 times as much at an STR than they do at a hotel. These workers should not be forced to find other jobs due a plan with unintended consequences. Many will not speak up as they are worried about offending others on-island. There are many STR owners who are local and their source of revenue and stability will also be gone. Businesses from Lahaina are opening in Kihei hoping to recover. Their income will also slow once there are fewer tourists to use their services. Since the Mayor’s announcement of Bill 9 tourism has already slowed significantly due to uncertainty.
Our guests frequent local restaurants, businesses, tour companies and other facilities on Maui especially in Kihei. They are not looking for a “high end resort” type accommodation but a place that they can casually enjoy with their families. The resorts are too expensive and not the experience they want. Every dollar that we have earned with our STR has stayed on Maui. Contrary to what a specific group says, we are certainly not getting rich from this. Revenue generated is just enough to cover our expenses.
We are wondering why, at this point, you have choosing to punish STR owners and their employees for your lack of affordable housing initiatives? This has been an issue for at least the past 40 years and little, it seems, has been done to alleviate the problem (UHERO Report and the Governor’s Proclamation on Affordable Housing). The millions of dollars that short-term rentals generate through property taxes will be no longer. STRs contributed 19 million dollars in 2024 and approximately 64 million dollars in the last six years. STRs are the largest contributor to the Affordable Housing Fund. How will this shortfall be remedied? Where has the money gone that was put aside from our taxes to build these homes? How many affordable housing units have been built on Maui with the sole purpose and intention of being affordable for residents? There is an abundance of empty land that would accommodate affordable housing right now. Permitting needs to be swift, allowing potential developers to begin construction immediately. Perhaps some significant incentive for builders would also drive construction.
It is time that more focus was put on illegal STRs in neighborhoods - those that interfere with the daily living of local families. The Minatoya STRs have operated legally since the law was codified many years ago. We all pay GET, TAT, MCAT and high property taxes in order to do this.
STRs on the Minatoya list will not magically become long term rentals.
The unintended consequences and economic devastation will be huge - please look at the numbers generated by legitimate studies. We urge you to think very carefully about Bill 9 and how it will affect not only residents and local businesses but tourism as well.
Thank you for reading our testimony.
Shelley and Howard Longland (Owners)
Kamaole Sands
This bill has already decimated the Maui economy. Please come to your senses. Its been nearly 2 years, getting these units in 5 years will put us at nearly 8 years post fire. Are you kidding me? Just build some dang houses for once!
I own and live full time in Paki Maui complex since 2019. I feel this will devastate Maui’s economy. I hear stories after stories from people who work or own hospitality businesses and they will not be able to make it. Locals for years had just as much opportunity to buy a condo but since they didn’t, mainlanders did. I’ve know many locals who refused or denied the opportunity to live in a condo that was offered by FEMA for free for different reasons. Some because too small, no air conditioning, pets not allowed, not on the Westside, only 1 parking space and the list goes on and on. Being “priced out” of owning property is not new. All along the California coast has the same issue ……many locals can’t afford it. During the journey of life we as adults have to make “hard” decisions that would make our life easier or economically better. I had to make that hard decision years ago moving away from the coast of California to the Central Valley of California. I really didn’t want to move but economically it was my best option to giving me that stepping stone to get ahead. Property owners should not be penalized for those who don’t help themselves.
Aloha ia Maui Council. My name is Iokepa and I live in Kula. I wish to submit my testimony in opposition to this bill. I do not own any STR unit but have done a "staycation" in Ka'anapali maybe around 3x in the past 2 years.
First of all, I do not understand how putting these STR units to long term rental will bring affordable housing to the locals. I have asked these STR owners the cost of maintaining their one to two bedroom places and could not believe the HOA fees, the property taxes, the GE taxes, the utility costs, the transient taxes, and the insurance fees they need to pay. Even if you change the tax structure of these units to long term, the monthly rent would still be way over what a resident can afford.
I think it's quite apparent that this bill is being driven by the hotel industry and that fringe group who seem incredibly unrealistic in their goals in having more housing. The taxes these owners pay are high enough for the county to build affordable housing, and yet I do not understand why these funds are not being allocated to such.
I own a condo and rent it short term. My costs is $4500 a month for a 1 bedroom with 1 parking place. Taking away STRs will devastate Mauis economy and costs thousands of jobs. The Lahaina residents deserve a better option.
Aloha! My husband has a medical problem. We have to go to the mainland for treatments. We don’t want to, we have to. We pay for lodging while there. Are you going to tell us we can’t rent our own place while we are gone?
Trying to change current STR complexes into apartment housing in an effort to make them affordable will never work. Even if the prices of the units go down to an ‘affordable price’, the HOA dues alone will crush any dream of making it affordable. In my case, if the prices go down, I’ll just keep it for my friends and family to use for free (no more tax revenue for Hawaii). I would never sell at a loss. Like me, many will never sell at a loss or those that choose to sell at a lower price will likely still be selling to mainland owners. Without renting it out many will need to cut costs. Owners will let go of their property managers (job loss) and the homes will begin to sit empty. Interior maintenance will suffer which will allow the critters and mold to take over, thus creating a new housing issue. Furthermore, how many locals own STR’s? It isn’t just mainlanders. They will be severely impacted as many rely on the revenue from their STR’s and managing them. Thank you for hearing those of us in opposition.
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. Below I have listed some of the reasons I believe Papakea Oceanfront Resort should be excluded from Bill 9:
* 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.
Here are some of 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; many 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.
Here are just some of the individual Owner Contributions to the Community:
* Owners support/hire 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 on the opposition of Bill 9.
Sincerely,
Kristin Ringstad
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road, Apartment K206
OPPOSE
This is a bad business idea from start to finish. It won’t solve anything
This would impact the economy while not meeting our housing needs!
Oppose bill 9
I am born and raised on Maui.
I am also a vacation rental cleaner.
While I understand the need for affordable housing for locals, eliminating vacation rentals is not the way to achieve it. As many have pointed out before me, HOA fees, utilities, parking alone can put the affordability of these units out of reach.
The focus should be on our County and it's mismanagement of the Affordable Housing fund which is largely funded by vacation rentals. Why are they allowing luxury developers to minimize their affordable housing allotment? Why do permits take so long? Mayor Bissen has pit Maui residents against eachother, negative media attention has slowed down our arrivals to both hotels and vacation rentals, and now the State is dumping funds into promoting Maui??? Why cant those dollars go to affordable housing that is supposedly first on our Leaders mind?
I am one of many cleaners, handypeople, managers, trades people who would lose work should this bill move forward. The absolutely devastating fires of Lahaina only magnified a pre existing housing crisis. Don't add to Maui's crisis by putting many out of work.
Dear Maui Council Members,
I strongly oppose Bill 9 as outlined in the attached document.
Kind regards
Ekkehard Priss
Strongly oppose
Strongly Oppose
My name is Cyndi Reese and I am an owner of a short term rental on the Minatoya list. I appreciate the work of the Council members and am sure that you have thoroughly examined the analytical work of the UHERO economic study and other reports. My intent is not to repeat verified data, polls and fact-finding that you have already studied, nor is it an attempt to discuss the debate of Bill 9 on social media or opinion letters in the newspapers. It is not to comment on the uncertainty of federal funding and ambitious budgets. You have the responsibility of listening to testimony, including mine. You have the responsibility to make intelligent decisions that will allow Maui to heal, support its residents in an economically responsible manner and to get people to work together instead of being divided.
ABOUT ME
I am a retired teacher, someone who knows the trauma of major fire events. I live in a Northern California county where between 2017 and 2020, more than 300,000 acres burned, destroying close to 7,000 structures and killing 24 people. I have seen my home surrounded on 3 sides by fire and know the agony of evacuations. There is no “my fire was worse than your fire” in my world. Any fire is a tragedy. I set up a GoFundMe account to raise $20K for the employees at my Maui resort who were affected by the Lahaina fire. I am supportive of rebuilding Lahaina as well as creating new low-income housing, especially for teachers. I am not supportive of abolishing Minatoya STRs and its disastrous consequences on Maui economy.
DISCONNECT
There is a total disconnect between abolishing STRs and assuming these units will automatically be made into long-term housing for locals or purchased as “affordable” housing. My condo in West Maui, if no longer a legal STR, would be used for friends and family. I’ll pay less in property taxes and no transient taxes will be generated. It is my choice to use up my life savings making sure that my family has access to my condo throughout the year. My two grandsons have learning disabilities and their time in Maui is spent getting away from the stress of academics and allows them to be kids on the beach while getting thoroughly educated on the beauty of ocean life and the perils of losing coral.
LOCALS LOSE JOBS
When I bought my Maui condo, I made sure to only work with trusted local companies. I bought from a local realtor, Cimi Morgan of Epic Realty, who had worked in Maui real estate for over ten years. I respect her for being a single mother of two girls and now a devoted grandmother. Cimi also manages my condo running a small West Maui vacation rental business. It doesn’t matter whether you phase out STRs now or in 5 years – she will lose everything if this happens along with her employees and subcontractors that she depends on. In a recent email, she quotes “My business doesn’t just provide for my family; it also supports my employees and their families.” I bought kitchen appliances from Hamai Appliance instead of a Home Depot. I use only local plumbers, painters, A/C service technicians, electricians and more, all of whom have become friends. I recommend local restaurants and activities in my guest binder and condo website. If I can no longer rent out my condo, my husband and I will be on an extremely tight budget on fixed teacher pensions and forced to work with big box stores and do repairs ourselves. It’s a simple case of trickle-down economics.
WHAT COULD HAPPEN
Abolishing Minatoya STRs would actually promote more illegal “under the table” STRs who do not pay their fair share of property and transient taxes. The real estate market will not crash enough to make my condo “affordable”, especially with over $2K/month in HOA fees and looming assessments for HOA insurance and anticipated building repairs to aging buildings. When I run out of money paying over $4K/month to keep my condo afloat, I will simply sell to the highest bidder -- my guess that it will probably be an investor and not someone local.
REZONING AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Bill 9 has no fast-track provision for rezoning resorts that “look like a hotel and act like a hotel” and were never built for workforce housing. Rezoning is an expensive process and requires an extensive amount of studies and paperwork which requires years of processing. Why not give the opportunity in Bill 9 to create a rezoning program to maintain steady property tax income, especially since STRs pay more property tax than hotels? Other suggestions:
• Don’t lose the income stream -- use STR taxed money to continue building new low-income long-term housing.
• Leave the legal/grandfathered income-producing STRs in place but put a moratorium on new STR permits.
• Go after illegal STRs who do not pay into the system.
• Realize that delaying until 2030 won’t do anything but give lawyers time to file lawsuits and will cast further public opinion of how unstable Maui is. This is political posturing.
STRS HAVE THEIR PLACE
It's been in the news that “selective tourism” is being promoted to get “better and more respectful” tourists. Do Maui residents going to Disneyland get screened for what kind of tourists they will be? That’s discrimination. Hotels in Maui have a sophisticated lobbyist system in place and are expensive: a family suite for 4 at the Ritz-Carlton with a King and sofa bed is over $2K/night and a standard room at the Sheraton Maui with two double beds is $790/night (neither offer kitchens). That family could stay at any number of STRs for $400/night with a kitchen. I know the profile of guests visiting my condos. My reviews show that I rent to families who need a kitchen. I have repeat guests every year who love and support Maui and now their parents come over, also. I recently talked with a guest who said her family saved up all year for a STR vacation and appreciated being able to cook in the condo because they couldn’t afford going out to restaurants for every meal. I am embarrassed and dismayed to think that Maui would only desire wealthy tourists who can afford expensive hotels. It brings a hypocritical sense to the emphasized culture of ‘Ohana’, doesn’t it? If you make it too hard to visit Maui affordably, people will stop trying.
SUMMARY
I encourage you to reject Bill 9. It’s not the time to lose $900M annually, 1900 jobs and $60M in property tax revenue by 2029. It’s time for Maui to rebuild after the Lahaina fire and find ways to create low cost housing without damaging the existing infrastructure. It’s time to come together to fix things using logic and solid data. Tourism is not a 4-letter word. In an economy that depends on tourist dollars, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
Thank you for reading my testimony.
June 5th 2025
To The Maui Council:
We are writing to voice our displeasure over the bill before the Maui Council members outlawing Vacation rentals. We too were saddened by the Lahaina fires and the devastation that resulted, but the recent legislation seems to target something that is bringing in 40 million in tax revenue without thinking about the long-term impact to the Maui workers who rely on the tourism industry. This new Bills potential to disrupt Maui’s future is evident in so many ways. We purchased in early 2013 and since that time we have come to rely on our Property Manager, our Cleaner, our Local handyman, the Restaurants around us and the local grocery stores. They will all feel a dramatic impact when the short-term vacation market ceases to exist. We like many do not make a lot of money from our unit. Mostly it is used by us, our friends and family to offset the counties fees and taxes. We did not get into the market to make money but rather for lifestyle reasons and a safe travel destination. We will be fine if we sell and move on to another vacation destination but those workers that have called Maui home for generations will feel the direct and lasting impact of your decision. With this bill you are actually hurting Maui residents in both real and imagined ways. The very people you think this bill helps, we propose will in fact hurt down to even the airport employees, taxi drivers, car rental agencies. If you think for a minute all visitors will transition to hotels, think again. We will move destinations before staying in a hotel. Please consider all factors before your decision is final. We understand that some of the buildings were not originally intended for rentals and potentially that might be where to look versus the blanket approach you are currently using. We have long considered Maui our second home and it is with extreme sadness that we are forced to consider selling with your looming bill outlawing the majority of rental units.
Respectfully submitted,
Roy & Dianne Obal
To the Chair, Vice-Chair and Committee Members,
We are writing today to oppose Bill 9 which aims to remove approximately 7000 legal STR units from the current Maui inventory.
The idea of phasing out legal transient rental accommodation for affordable or workforce housing does not make sense in many ways especially in the South Maui area. Many of these complexes were not originally built for workforce or affordable housing (as stated in the documents on the DCCA website) but as multi-use units which included owner occupied, long-term rental and transient rental.
These condominium complexes have high HOA fees, special assessments and taxes which would make them difficult for local working families to purchase or rent. Our current costs for a one-bedroom unit are as follows: $1108 monthly HOA, $10000 yearly property taxes, $900 private insurance, $100 per month maintenance/on-island contact, varying electrical bills and a special assessment this year of approximately $32000 to replace the aging pipes and roof. These costs are on top of the purchase price or mortgage costs. There is a small group who feel that the HOA fees will go down once our units become long-term rentals. That will never happen - they will continue to sky-rocket in order to pay for the aging infrastructure of these buildings. The amount of rent we would have to charge to cover these costs would be unaffordable. Again, please remember that they have always been available for long-term rental as stated in governing documents.
Job loss will be significant - cleaners, maintenance, gardeners, plumbers, electricians, front desk workers, etc. that we hire will no longer be employed by us and will not be needed by many other owners. Cleaners make 3-4 times as much at an STR than they do at a hotel. These workers should not be forced to find other jobs due a plan with unintended consequences. Many will not speak up as they are worried about offending others on-island. There are many STR owners who are local and their source of revenue and stability will also be gone. Businesses from Lahaina are opening in Kihei hoping to recover. Their income will also slow once there are fewer tourists to use their services. Since the Mayor’s announcement of Bill 9 tourism has already slowed significantly due to uncertainty.
Our guests frequent local restaurants, businesses, tour companies and other facilities on Maui especially in Kihei. They are not looking for a “high end resort” type accommodation but a place that they can casually enjoy with their families. The resorts are too expensive and not the experience they want. Every dollar that we have earned with our STR has stayed on Maui. Contrary to what a specific group says, we are certainly not getting rich from this. Revenue generated is just enough to cover our expenses.
We are wondering why, at this point, you have choosing to punish STR owners and their employees for your lack of affordable housing initiatives? This has been an issue for at least the past 40 years and little, it seems, has been done to alleviate the problem (UHERO Report and the Governor’s Proclamation on Affordable Housing). The millions of dollars that short-term rentals generate through property taxes will be no longer. STRs contributed 19 million dollars in 2024 and approximately 64 million dollars in the last six years. STRs are the largest contributor to the Affordable Housing Fund. How will this shortfall be remedied? Where has the money gone that was put aside from our taxes to build these homes? How many affordable housing units have been built on Maui with the sole purpose and intention of being affordable for residents? There is an abundance of empty land that would accommodate affordable housing right now. Permitting needs to be swift, allowing potential developers to begin construction immediately. Perhaps some significant incentive for builders would also drive construction.
It is time that more focus was put on illegal STRs in neighborhoods - those that interfere with the daily living of local families. The Minatoya STRs have operated legally since the law was codified many years ago. We all pay GET, TAT, MCAT and high property taxes in order to do this.
STRs on the Minatoya list will not magically become long term rentals.
The unintended consequences and economic devastation will be huge - please look at the numbers generated by legitimate studies. We urge you to think very carefully about Bill 9 and how it will affect not only residents and local businesses but tourism as well.
Thank you for reading our testimony.
Shelley and Howard Longland (Owners)
Kamaole Sands
This bill will bankrupt Maui
This bill has already decimated the Maui economy. Please come to your senses. Its been nearly 2 years, getting these units in 5 years will put us at nearly 8 years post fire. Are you kidding me? Just build some dang houses for once!
I own and live full time in Paki Maui complex since 2019. I feel this will devastate Maui’s economy. I hear stories after stories from people who work or own hospitality businesses and they will not be able to make it. Locals for years had just as much opportunity to buy a condo but since they didn’t, mainlanders did. I’ve know many locals who refused or denied the opportunity to live in a condo that was offered by FEMA for free for different reasons. Some because too small, no air conditioning, pets not allowed, not on the Westside, only 1 parking space and the list goes on and on. Being “priced out” of owning property is not new. All along the California coast has the same issue ……many locals can’t afford it. During the journey of life we as adults have to make “hard” decisions that would make our life easier or economically better. I had to make that hard decision years ago moving away from the coast of California to the Central Valley of California. I really didn’t want to move but economically it was my best option to giving me that stepping stone to get ahead. Property owners should not be penalized for those who don’t help themselves.
Aloha ia Maui Council. My name is Iokepa and I live in Kula. I wish to submit my testimony in opposition to this bill. I do not own any STR unit but have done a "staycation" in Ka'anapali maybe around 3x in the past 2 years.
First of all, I do not understand how putting these STR units to long term rental will bring affordable housing to the locals. I have asked these STR owners the cost of maintaining their one to two bedroom places and could not believe the HOA fees, the property taxes, the GE taxes, the utility costs, the transient taxes, and the insurance fees they need to pay. Even if you change the tax structure of these units to long term, the monthly rent would still be way over what a resident can afford.
I think it's quite apparent that this bill is being driven by the hotel industry and that fringe group who seem incredibly unrealistic in their goals in having more housing. The taxes these owners pay are high enough for the county to build affordable housing, and yet I do not understand why these funds are not being allocated to such.
OPPOSE
I own a condo and rent it short term. My costs is $4500 a month for a 1 bedroom with 1 parking place. Taking away STRs will devastate Mauis economy and costs thousands of jobs. The Lahaina residents deserve a better option.
Aloha! My husband has a medical problem. We have to go to the mainland for treatments. We don’t want to, we have to. We pay for lodging while there. Are you going to tell us we can’t rent our own place while we are gone?
Trying to change current STR complexes into apartment housing in an effort to make them affordable will never work. Even if the prices of the units go down to an ‘affordable price’, the HOA dues alone will crush any dream of making it affordable. In my case, if the prices go down, I’ll just keep it for my friends and family to use for free (no more tax revenue for Hawaii). I would never sell at a loss. Like me, many will never sell at a loss or those that choose to sell at a lower price will likely still be selling to mainland owners. Without renting it out many will need to cut costs. Owners will let go of their property managers (job loss) and the homes will begin to sit empty. Interior maintenance will suffer which will allow the critters and mold to take over, thus creating a new housing issue. Furthermore, how many locals own STR’s? It isn’t just mainlanders. They will be severely impacted as many rely on the revenue from their STR’s and managing them. Thank you for hearing those of us in opposition.