HLU-4 Bill 9 (2025) BILL 9 (2025), AMENDING CHAPTERS 19.12, 19.32, AND 19.37, MAUI COUNTY CODE, RELATING TO TRANSIENT VACATION RENTALS IN APARTMENT DISTRICTS (HLU-4)
Thankyou for the opportunity to comment. As a long term owner of a unit in PapaKea I would like to record my opposition to the elimination of short term rentals in PapaKea. I use it more than rent it out or lend it to friends. It was never meant to be a housing development. It has small units, no personal parking or storage, right on the water. It has always had a front desk and many maintenance and house-keeping staff like a hotel. I feel PapaKea should be zoned as hotel. Half of it already is apparently as it has been since being built. Renters facilitate the hiring of many locals in resort work but also local shopping and food establishments.
Please favorably conside zoning it as hotel to allow short term rentals.
Chris Huber
County of Maui
RE: Opposition to Proposed Legislation to Eliminate Transient Vacation Rentals on the Minatoya List
Dear Esteemed Members of the Maui County Council,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to respectfully express strong opposition to the proposed bill that would phase out legally operating transient vacation rentals (TVRs) in Apartment-zoned districts, including those permitted under the Minatoya List.
While I fully support efforts to address Maui’s housing challenges, I believe this bill risks causing serious and lasting harm to the island’s economy without delivering the intended housing relief. The recent UHERO report underscores these risks in stark terms:
- Visitor spending could fall by nearly $900 million annually, cutting deeply into Maui’s tourism-dependent economy.
- Approximately 1,900 jobs could be lost — disproportionately impacting local workers in hospitality, food service, retail, and entertainment.
- A projected 4% decline in real GDP, weakening the community’s ability to recover from the 2023 wildfires.
- Significant losses in County revenue, including an estimated $60 million reduction in annual property tax collections by 2029, along with further declines in General Excise Tax (GET) and Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) revenues.
It is especially troubling that the proposed measure targets lawful TVRs that have complied with zoning and tax requirements, while assuming these units can readily transition into affordable housing stock — an outcome that is far from certain. Many such units are not financially or structurally suited for long-term residential use due to high maintenance costs, HOA fees, or insurance barriers.
Rather than eliminating legally operating TVRs that contribute to Maui’s economy, I respectfully urge the Council to consider alternative, constructive strategies that support housing goals without inflicting disproportionate economic harm. Potential solutions could include:
- Creating incentives for the construction of new workforce and affordable housing, including tax credits, expedited permitting, and infrastructure subsidies to reduce barriers for local builders.
- Establishing County-supported programs to assist with the rebuilding of homes lost during the 2023 wildfires, particularly for displaced residents and multi-generational families, ensuring those who wish to remain on Maui have the means to do so.
- Encouraging adaptive reuse of underutilized commercial or public spaces for affordable housing developments, rather than assuming all solutions must come from the residential or vacation rental pool.
- Investing in infrastructure upgrades (water, roads, wastewater) in areas suited for future housing expansion — enabling more homes to be built where land is available but underdeveloped.
- Supporting accessory dwelling unit (ohana unit) development through fee waivers, technical assistance, or financing programs — helping residents create long-term rentals on existing properties without displacing current uses.
- Strengthening enforcement of illegal or nuisance rentals, rather than penalizing longstanding, taxpaying TVR operators who follow the law.
These approaches offer a more balanced, realistic path forward — one that advances the County’s housing goals while maintaining economic security for workers, small businesses, and the broader community. The decision before the Council is not only about land use, but about the sustainability of Maui’s recovery, economy, and future.
Thank you for your time, service, and thoughtful consideration.
As an owner of a STR for over 20 years I follow many visitor travel sites. Since the hotel rates are so expensive STR fill the gap of those travelers that want a kitchen and can not or will not pay outrageous hotel room costs. If this affordable option is no longer available, Hawaii not just Maui will lose out and traveler's will look for more affordable destinations. The loss of income from GE, transient taxes and jobs will have a negative impact on the economy. Less visitors means less money for the hard working island folks -from restaurant's to cleaning services etc. Another consideration is local families need housing that is suitable to their needs. I find it hard to picture a family of 4 or 5 with dogs,cats etc living in a vacation rental condo with no yard.Also many of these units do not allow pets and have limited parking. If I had to turn my condo into a long term rental. The amount charged for monthly rent would be high. As the need to cover the mortgage and HOA fess. For such a small space less the 950 sqft I would need to charge at least 5K to break even. And that does not even include utilities. I can not imagine a family being willing to pay that much for so little. Maui needs more affordable housing for rentals as well as for purchase. Build more and place your effort on this instead of taking away the lively hood of the owners and well as the locals that are employed because of the STRS
Good day Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
We are Janice & Bertus Eksteen, we are owners in the Wailea Ekahi condominium development, and we stand vigorously in opposition to the proposed bill to phase out more than 7,000 Short Term Rental Accommodations on Maui. Thank you for considering the following testimony.
In the past 5 years, my husband and I have paid over $72,000 to the state in property taxes at our STR rate. We have paid $25,000 in GE tax and $57,000 in Transient Accommodation taxes. Additionally, we have paid $15,000 in Maui County Transient Accommodation taxes. We are 2 STR property owners, and if Short Term Rental Accommodations are eliminated I don’t see how this tax revenue, gathered from across thousands of homes, could be replaced, and the public services that Hawaii and Maui deploys as a direct result of this tax revenue will be either insufficient, or disappear altogether, compromising the public infrastructure, impoverishing the county, and degrading the standard of living for everyone living on Maui.
We use Rentals Maui, a local property management company on Maui, to manage our STR guests. In the past 5 years, we have paid them over 120,000 in fees. It is, by far, the best spent money in fees anywhere in our business lives. We speak to David, Cassandra, Jess, Amy, Matt, Abigail and Greyson, all living and working on Maui, on a regular basis to strategize and make decisions around guest activity, home repairs and what is happening on Maui when I am not there. I would be lost without their insight, wisdom and expertise on all things related to business in Maui and Hawaii generally. In the same amount of time, we have paid over $25,000 to our cleaners and we have paid upwards of $25,000 to a variety of repair and maintenance vendors on island. We use a Hawaii-local insurance company for our home insurance, and opened a bank account at a Hawaiian bank to manage some parts of our business.
Also in the past 7 years, we have spent around $15,000, with Maui Dreams on Scuba diving excursions to dive sites around Maui. We are thrilled with the continuity of thier operations in spite of the challenges associated with the Pandemic, the Lahaina fire, and other economic pressures, as we have a deep comfort level with the competence of their guides and instructors, and thier focus on safety in underwater recreation. We have spent around $15,000 in golf green fees at a variety of local golf courses around the island. We pay the non-local rate and we tip generously, directly to the people employed by these local companies. Every time. We run most mornings, and take our post-run coffee and breakfast at hyper-local, independently run cafes, singularly so that we know we are supporting those that live on-island. We dine out preferentially at Mamas Fish House, Mala Ocean Tavern, Coconuts, Stews, Havens, the Food Truck park by the nursery in Kihei.
Lastly, and most personally, my husband and I got married in Maui 4 years ago. We brought 40 guests to Maui and all but 2 of them stayed in STR accommodations. We hosted them on a dinner cruise on the Trilogy, we held a golf tournament, and pizza night at a local golf course and restaurant respectively, and we brought them out to Molokini with Maui Dreams. For our wedding, we employed local musicians, a DJ, a wedding planner, make-up artists, aestheticians, and hair stylists. We used a local baker to make our cake, and spent thousands on flowers from a local florist. We bought bridal jewelry from a local jeweller. Several of our wedding guests have since returned to Maui for their own vacations, and have again stayed in STRs.
We are 2 owners with significant ties to Maui. We have invested heavily in, and will continue to spend preferentially at locally-owned small businesses in the place that we love. There are thousands of owners just like us, with a similar sense of duty and obligation to the continued prosperity of the local economy and businesses operating on Maui. The loss of this segment of the economy would, we are certain, have a devastating and irreparable effect to the economy and tax revenue, and those that would disproportionately bear the fallout of this effect would be local and especially low-income residents and families living and working on Maui year round, therefore, we hope you deny the proposed bill phasing out 7,000 short term rentals.
Thank you again for considering my testimony.
Sincerely,
Janice & Bertus Eksteen
Aloha chairman Kama,
We are Randy and Linda Graham, I first came to Hawaii in 1953 as a child. In 1970 I returned with my wife. We have traveled to the islands with family for 55 years. Acquired a piece of the aloha in 1978 at Kuleana condominiums weeks 30 and 31 which we have returned to every year since. And have our children and grandchildren to experience the aloha spirit.
We have seen changes to property usages and increased cost but still felt at home when there. My wife and I were there when Lahaina Burned.
This latest attack on usage to further restrict property usage is not in the best feel of family aloha.
Please oppose the proposal tomorrow.
Please do not pass this bill. This is not the solution.
There are currently 786 active condo real estate listings on Maui island after 18 months of price reductions over 25-50% prefire listing rates.
No one is buying the properties.
It is not just the housing cost that is at issue, it is the HOA rates, insurance, and cost of home ownership that people cannot afford.
These condo's will not sell for less.
Islanders need the income from tourism which drives 80% of the economy.
The county will lose millions a year in tax revenue, islanders will lose their jobs with no tourism support, long time Maui homeowners will lose their rental income to long-term renters/local islanders whom they support through this housing too--its not just tourists we rent to.
Please do not allow this bill to pass. It is not the solution.
Thank you
-Michelle Benoit
I understand the concern about short-term rentals (STRs) and housing availability, but I believe banning STRs outright is a misguided approach—especially given Maui’s deeply intertwined relationship with tourism. The county relies heavily on the transient accommodation tax and the economic ripple effect of visitor spending, which supports local businesses and jobs across many sectors.
If the long-term goal is to diversify Maui’s economy and reduce dependence on tourism, then that will require strategic investment in people, education, and infrastructure. That’s a generational effort—not something achieved by converting vacation apartments into long-term housing.
Most existing STR units were not designed for full-time occupancy. They lack the space, storage, and layout that make them viable for families or local workers. Repurposing them may provide a political win in the short term, but it doesn’t address the root issue: Maui needs more purpose-built, affordable housing.
A more constructive and lasting solution would be to use revenues from tourism—specifically transient taxes—to fund long-term bonds for developing affordable housing projects. These should be built intentionally for local residents, with the amenities and stability that real housing requires.
We must balance immediate housing needs with the reality that tourism still underwrites much of Maui’s economy. Let’s not undermine that system without first building something better.
Aloha Maui County Council,
My name is Steve Hogan and I have been a Maui resident, business owner and employer here for over 40 years. I am opposed to this bill.
Since the fires, the messaging from Mayor Bissen, Gov. Green, Social Media and other media has shouted “tourists are not welcome here.” And now, the Federal Government is adding tariffs and destroying an already fragile economy nation-wide that was still trying to recover from the Pandemic. Consequently, Maui’s economy has plummeted.
I urge you not to add to the economic devastation at the local level.
Especially when the proposed “solution” will NOT translate to affordable housing.
AOAO fees, utilities, mortgages, insurance and special assessments are far more expensive than the average resident can afford. Even at the currently reduced rate of condos, locals are not rushing out to buy them, because they are not affordable..
This bill will NOT solve the problem (affordable housing) but will cause so many other people hardship—destroying small businesses, destroying jobs, destroying hard-earned retirements and destroying trust in Government.
The opposition is claiming we are prioritizing profit over people, which just isn’t true. We are prioritizing logic over wishful thinking, and Math over Emotions. And we are considering ALL the people. Decimating some parts of the community in the unrealistic hopes of helping another part of the community makes no sense.
This Bill is not affordable and will not achieve the desired result.
This bill will not magically create Affordable housing for the residents.
This bill is not affordable for the property owners, managers, maintenance/yard crews, cleaners, or local businesses that serve this industry.
This bill is not affordable for the county or the state.
The losses are huge. The gain is minimal, if there is any at all.
Please focus on a solution to the housing problem with a win/win instead of a lose, lose, lose, lose.
I am Eve Hogan, business owner, employer and Maui resident over 30 years.
I don’t even want to talk about vacation rentals, you have heard it all. You know the math doesn’t make this bill a good solution to the housing problem.
Instead, I’m going to talk about Trust in our Government.
Trust that when a mayor or a council person says they support vacation rentals as an important part of our economy--when they are running for office-- that are telling the truth.
Trust that when, BEFORE buying a condo, the Director of Planning ensures us that it is a legal use to operate it as a vacation rental, that that is the truth.
With this administration we are repeatedly seeing the Government trying to take away previously legally permitted businesses—like food trucks on ag land. We spent all day in council last week discussing how to right that wrong.
Emotionally, i understand the hope of this bill, but logically, it just makes no sense.
If there was any way that an oceanfront condo- with AOAO fees, high mortgages, high insurance and special assessments equalled “affordable housing”, and didn’t simultaneously destroy other people’s lives, legal businesses and trust in Government, well ok.
but that is not the case here.
I implore you to use creativity to implement solutions that serve your ENTIRE community to solve the very real problems we face.
I implore you to give us cause to trust the government. If you don’t, no one will ever feel safe investing in Maui, building businesses, hiring employees and serving this community.
Thank you.
My name is Kim Christfort. Thank you for review of the proposal to eliminate transient vacation rentals. I am strongly opposed to Bill 9 and urge you to vote NO on this bill.
I have been an owner at Makani a Kai in Ma'alaea Village since 2017. Ma'alaea is a truly unique part of Maui, and well suited to a visitor-oriented community with activities such as the Maui Ocean Center, Pacific Whale Foundation, and Maalaea Harbor and Harbor Shops. Most condos in this area, including ours, are small and have minimal storage and severely limited parking.
I agree that finding sustainable housing for Maui's people is important, and the Lahaina fires were a tragedy. Bill 9 will create more problems than it solves, however. Maui needs more housing that is suitable to full time living for families, and more jobs and income to support essential services and infrastructure. Rentals contribute millions of tax dollars to the County of Maui and the State of Hawaii. I am a legal, tax-paying TVR owner and I agree fully that ALL TVR owners must be legal and current in payment of taxes, fines, etc.
My condominium was built in 1974. We are included in the Minatoya list and have hosted vacation rentals since then. In my building and in our area we have a mix of owners as full time residents, TVR owners, people who don't rent, and visitors. It is a healthy mix that creates a wonderful community and contributes to Maui's economy in a positive and sustainable way.
Please vote NO on this bill and prevent negative consequences to owners, small businesses, and individuals who all depend on these rentals for income and economic viability.
The island of Maui and the neighboring islands have suffered greatly as a result of the mayor and his large hotel Lobbyist. The amount of money that tourists spend on the island has drastically decreased as a result of the bad press. The additional taxes you are levying are absurd for both tourists and STR owners. Businesses in the local Hawaiian towns are struggling since no one is visiting the islands. The mayor, the city council, and even the hotels themselves are aware that occupancy is down. STRs are a fundamental revenue stream for the island. Little investors and part time residents , like myself create income producing options for the island. You all know that- the negative stream of information that this has caused has hurt all Hawaiian Islands. Your own Hawaiian culture and businesses owners are leaving, thus you are endorsing this and shrinking your own Hawaiian Culture. GOD help you all ! Stop punishing STR condo/home owners, stop punishing the tourists and regain your ALOHA to invite the world to come and enjoy and make treasurable memories. Belinda Battistelli-Meeker, Barb Olsen, Jimmy Koch , Rosemary Degano
Subject: Testimony on Bill 9 (2025) – Oppose Bill Entirely; Support Timeshare Exemption if Passed
Aloha Council Members,
I am writing to express my strong opposition to Bill 9 (2025). This bill would eliminate long-standing, legally operating short-term rentals—including timeshare usage—that have contributed positively to Maui’s economy and community for decades.
However, I do appreciate the amendment in the current draft (CD1) that exempts validly existing timeshare units and timeshare plans from the phase-out. If the Council moves forward with Bill 9, I urge you to retain this exemption as a minimum safeguard to prevent serious harm to owners, workers, and the local economy.
I am a timeshare owner at the Kuleana Club. Like hundreds of others, I own one week per year—not a second home, not an investment property. I return regularly, support local restaurants, spend at neighborhood shops, and have built lasting relationships on the island. Timeshare owners like me are part of a stable community of repeat visitors who care deeply about Maui’s well-being.
Timeshare properties are fundamentally different from vacation rentals. Units are deeded one week at a time to hundreds of families, which makes them impossible to convert to long-term housing. Including timeshares in a short-term rental ban would not create housing—but it would devastate workers and remove a reliable source of local tax revenue. Properties like Kuleana Club operate legally under Maui County Code 19.37.010, and are fully compliant with TAT and GET tax regulations. Our occupancy rates are high, and our owners consistently contribute to the island’s economy, even in difficult times.
More importantly, timeshares support stable jobs. Many employees at the Kuleana Club have been with the property for over 25 years. Several lost their homes in the Lahaina fire. If timeshare usage is eliminated, these long-standing staff members risk losing the only thing they have left—their livelihood.
Timeshare owners and resorts have also stepped up in times of crisis. The industry has contributed millions to wildfire recovery and donated thousands of room nights to displaced families and first responders. That commitment continues today.
In summary:
I urge you to oppose Bill 9 entirely.
But if it passes, please retain the CD1 amendment exempting timeshares.
Timeshares are not TVRs.
This exemption is a fair, balanced, and lawful solution that protects jobs, housing neutrality, and tax revenue—without compromising the County’s broader goals.
Mahalo for your time, your service, and for considering the perspective of owners like me.
Glen and Carolynne Lyons
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Kuleana Club Timeshare Owner – Unit 315 and 511, Week 7 to 12
Aloha Committee Members and concerned parties,
My husband and I are blessed to have a Timeshare at Kuleana. We strongly oppose a government entity, trying to resolve a very difficult situation by throwing solutions into the air and hoping something sticks. Why have you not spoken to individual people who own, rent, work and service the properties about how they feel the impact of your decision(s) will affect them? Our situation is very personal as my family moved to Maui in 1958 and as a young child I grew to love this island. That is why I say we are blessed to come to Maui on a regular basis, because it is home to me. Sadly, we had to move back to the mainland years after statehood because of the health of close relatives, so this is now the only way we can come back “home.” Please do not destroy a way of life and break trust with Maui islanders by invading their space and upending laws, contracts and binding legal business pursuits. I believe that would end with disastrous long term results.
Sincerely,
Donna and Ken Fast
I am strongly opposed to the proposal on banning short term rentals. The mayor thinks it is a binary choice. If there is no ban residents will have to leave the island. If there are no jobs providing services to those rentals and the multiplier effect of those jobs, residents will leave the island. There are not enough jobs in government or agriculture to provide good jobs. Like it or not tourists are the lifeblood of Maui. Destroying the property values of thousands of properties in the hopes of providing suitable and inexpensive housing is a risky experiment that can easily backfire on him and the people who vote for this proposal but the residents this proposal is attempting to help will be long gone without jobs. Continue to build affordable housing and continue to lift the building restriction in Lahaina to speed the rebuilding process for residential and commercial properties and be a government that productively helps. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Eric Fess
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,
Dimitra Hnatko
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road, Apartment G104
I have seen the figure that 70 cents of every dollar generated on Maui comes from tourism. I would challenge that, it is much closer to every dollar comes from tourism. There would be no need for schools, if the parents don't have jobs, there would be no need for roads, gas stations, restaurants, life guards, the list is infinite. There is not 1 job that is not tied in some way to tourism. Now the people who bought condos on the Minatoya list did so to be apart of the community, they felt something special, they fell in love with the island and it's people. These are the same people who donated millions of their money for the fire recovery only to have that same money used against them. We really need to go back a century to the creation of Hawaiian Homes in 1920, the government, state and local have stood in the way of affordable housing for over 100 years paving the way for the creation of hotels and resorts in lieu of affordable housing. Who do you think cares more about the community? The hotels or the owners of condos, large corporations that send all their money back to the stock market in NY or the local mom and pops that just want to come to Maui 2x a year and have the opportunity to be able to afford doing so by renting their units out short term.
As a west Maui resident I strongly oppose this measure. Its time for Maui to do the right thing, passing this bill only creates more problems and in 5 years we will be back at this again. Lets get a legitimate plan together to not only rebuild, but to create affordable housing.
Aloha Chair Kama and Councilmembers,
My name is Ronaldo Halog, and I am writing in strong opposition to Bill 9. I urge you to vote NO on this bill for the reasons I outline below. Bill 9, as currently written, will not meet our community’s need of affordable housing. Bill 9 will instead have a negative on the community. I am against phasing out the Transient Vacation Rentals (TVRs) or Short Term Rental (STRs).
One of my concerns with the reduction of short term rental units in my area is the significant reduction of purchases that will be made here locally. That will mean less jobs, and probably young people moving off island to find employment opportunities on the main land or elsewhere. Each month our unit pays local maintenance people (plumbers, electricians, painters, independent cleaners) on average $600 per month. Our property maintenance fees which pay grounds keepers, managers, assistant managers, is over $1,000 per month. In addition to these expenses that are our property taxes as well as GET/TAT/MCTAT monthly payments. So every month one unit can contribute easily over $3500 locally. That doesn’t take into account the money spent locally by each vacationer like luau’s, boat excursions, dinners, shaved ice, etc.
Another Concern: These condos are not affordable as long-term housing options for most local families. A 1 bedroom unit currently sells for approximately $650k. If a buyer put down 20%, that would be $120,000, leaving a $480,000 mortgage. With interest rates at approximately 6.25%, a monthly mortgage payment would be over $3,000 a month. Monthly AOAO payments are standing at least $1,000 depending on the complex. These AOAO fees go up substantially each year. Not including property taxes, insurance or utilities, the payments per month on a 1 bedroom condo would be at least $4,200. This is NOT affordable housing. A person would need an income of $14,000 a month to afford a 1 bedroom condo in many of the complexes on the Minatoya List.
Also, many of our guests who have stayed at our home have made comments on how affordable it was to come to Maui. They had looked at the resort option and were not able to afford a $400+ a night stay. Maui should be a place where everyone is welcome to the island and not just the rich and wealthy. Hard-working people deserve a vacation in paradise too! IF they can’t afford to come to Maui, people will look at other affordable places to go for vacation, This will greatly impact the tourist economy; restaurants, tours, luaus, etc. We’ve seen this impact already due to the fires. Many locals were let go due to people not coming to Maui
I recommend that a possible solution to address the affordable housing issue is to open up (Accessory Dwelling Units) ADU’s that people can add to their property (Backyard). The county could reduce the restrictions, property owners could get a tax break purchase and build an ADU, people looking for places to live could rent an ADU at an affordable rent and then the County could get taxes from the property owners for the rent they are receiving for the rent of the ADU. It’s truly a Win, Win, Win solution. Property owners WIN with another stream of income, People looking for a more affordable place will WIN by finding a place, and the County will WIN by having additional income from ADU rental income.
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,
Randy Hnatko
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road, Apartment G104
My name is Katherine Szem. I am 73 years old. My husband, Jeff, is 82 years old and we are one of 5 permanent resident households in the Kapalua Bay Villas (“KBV”) in the Kapalua Resort. There are 141 units in KBV of which 80% are in active rental programs and 19% are non-rented second homes. All permanent residents are kupuna like us, with no children living on premises. We purchased our 2BR unit in 2003, rented it out and managed to hold on to it through the real estate depression of 2008-2012 with 32% occupancy rates. We moved here permanently after retiring in 2015. In my career, I headed up the Tax Division of an international accounting firm in Honolulu and served on the Tax Committee of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce. I frequently spoke publicly on tax matters for the Chamber and for the Tax Foundation of Hawaii. I currently serve on the Board of KBV and do my best to ensure high-quality governance at KBV that is engaged and contributing to our Maui community.
My husband and I worked part time at the Kapalua Plantation golf course until we were let go after the Lahaina fires in the interest of allocating the reduced workload to full-time employees. We saw so many people around us struggling to keep jobs as tourism disappeared on the Westside. We felt blessed that TY Management committed to keeping all full-time golf course employees on payroll regardless of the steep decline in revenue. We are happy that our golf Ohana has this safety net. There is no safety net and never has been for all our other working Ohana in the Kapalua Resort – housekeepers, groundskeepers, shuttle drivers, window cleaners, activity staff, rental management personnel, florists, maintenance crews, waitstaff, cooks and musicians at the restaurants. We have personally witnessed our Kapalua Ohana worry as the threat of job loss looms under the shadow of the short-term rental ban.
When I asked one of the window cleaners what he thought about the ban on short-term rentals in Kapalua, he said that he was deeply concerned. How will he replace this job if he is laid off? If the ban goes through his workload will decrease by 75% and he is certain he will lose his job. He is not alone and certainly a cloud hangs over all our Kapalua Ohana whose jobs serve Maui visitors. We’ve had two of our personal housekeepers move off island because there hasn’t been enough work to help them pay their bills. One 40-year-old woman said that three part-time jobs aren’t enough to replace a good full-time job. Can our Kapalua Ohana families survive a potential 75% cut in the workforce?
I cannot speak for the rest of Maui County. I can only speak about what I know will happen if the ban is applied to KBV, the Ridge and the Golf Villas. It would be truly heartbreaking and a tragedy.
I ask you, please don’t make the mistake of prioritizing housing, which I agree is incredibly important, to the detriment and destruction of job security and economic opportunity for our Kapalua Ohana. Yes, we need places to live. However, we need jobs to pay for our places to live.
Mahalo for taking on the task of solving such grave issues. Although I am kupuna and no longer working, my heart aches as I see our Kapalua Ohana endure doubt and worry and a precarious future. Don’t let this happen.
I 100% oppose this bill . I own 2-STR properties on the West shore that generate a modest return while employing local residents. I also visit the Island multiple times annually and choose to stay in Wailea where I spend double the amount of what my rental properties generate which also supports the local economy but due to the negative mid guidance by Mayor Bissen I do not plan on visiting until he is voted out of office or recalled as his actions and incompetence have single handedly destroyed the Maui economy and he continues to mis guide the local residents
Thankyou for the opportunity to comment. As a long term owner of a unit in PapaKea I would like to record my opposition to the elimination of short term rentals in PapaKea. I use it more than rent it out or lend it to friends. It was never meant to be a housing development. It has small units, no personal parking or storage, right on the water. It has always had a front desk and many maintenance and house-keeping staff like a hotel. I feel PapaKea should be zoned as hotel. Half of it already is apparently as it has been since being built. Renters facilitate the hiring of many locals in resort work but also local shopping and food establishments.
Please favorably conside zoning it as hotel to allow short term rentals.
Chris Huber
County of Maui
RE: Opposition to Proposed Legislation to Eliminate Transient Vacation Rentals on the Minatoya List
Dear Esteemed Members of the Maui County Council,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to respectfully express strong opposition to the proposed bill that would phase out legally operating transient vacation rentals (TVRs) in Apartment-zoned districts, including those permitted under the Minatoya List.
While I fully support efforts to address Maui’s housing challenges, I believe this bill risks causing serious and lasting harm to the island’s economy without delivering the intended housing relief. The recent UHERO report underscores these risks in stark terms:
- Visitor spending could fall by nearly $900 million annually, cutting deeply into Maui’s tourism-dependent economy.
- Approximately 1,900 jobs could be lost — disproportionately impacting local workers in hospitality, food service, retail, and entertainment.
- A projected 4% decline in real GDP, weakening the community’s ability to recover from the 2023 wildfires.
- Significant losses in County revenue, including an estimated $60 million reduction in annual property tax collections by 2029, along with further declines in General Excise Tax (GET) and Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) revenues.
It is especially troubling that the proposed measure targets lawful TVRs that have complied with zoning and tax requirements, while assuming these units can readily transition into affordable housing stock — an outcome that is far from certain. Many such units are not financially or structurally suited for long-term residential use due to high maintenance costs, HOA fees, or insurance barriers.
Rather than eliminating legally operating TVRs that contribute to Maui’s economy, I respectfully urge the Council to consider alternative, constructive strategies that support housing goals without inflicting disproportionate economic harm. Potential solutions could include:
- Creating incentives for the construction of new workforce and affordable housing, including tax credits, expedited permitting, and infrastructure subsidies to reduce barriers for local builders.
- Establishing County-supported programs to assist with the rebuilding of homes lost during the 2023 wildfires, particularly for displaced residents and multi-generational families, ensuring those who wish to remain on Maui have the means to do so.
- Encouraging adaptive reuse of underutilized commercial or public spaces for affordable housing developments, rather than assuming all solutions must come from the residential or vacation rental pool.
- Investing in infrastructure upgrades (water, roads, wastewater) in areas suited for future housing expansion — enabling more homes to be built where land is available but underdeveloped.
- Supporting accessory dwelling unit (ohana unit) development through fee waivers, technical assistance, or financing programs — helping residents create long-term rentals on existing properties without displacing current uses.
- Strengthening enforcement of illegal or nuisance rentals, rather than penalizing longstanding, taxpaying TVR operators who follow the law.
These approaches offer a more balanced, realistic path forward — one that advances the County’s housing goals while maintaining economic security for workers, small businesses, and the broader community. The decision before the Council is not only about land use, but about the sustainability of Maui’s recovery, economy, and future.
Thank you for your time, service, and thoughtful consideration.
Sincerely,
Tami O’Neill
(650) 224-4911
As an owner of a STR for over 20 years I follow many visitor travel sites. Since the hotel rates are so expensive STR fill the gap of those travelers that want a kitchen and can not or will not pay outrageous hotel room costs. If this affordable option is no longer available, Hawaii not just Maui will lose out and traveler's will look for more affordable destinations. The loss of income from GE, transient taxes and jobs will have a negative impact on the economy. Less visitors means less money for the hard working island folks -from restaurant's to cleaning services etc. Another consideration is local families need housing that is suitable to their needs. I find it hard to picture a family of 4 or 5 with dogs,cats etc living in a vacation rental condo with no yard.Also many of these units do not allow pets and have limited parking. If I had to turn my condo into a long term rental. The amount charged for monthly rent would be high. As the need to cover the mortgage and HOA fess. For such a small space less the 950 sqft I would need to charge at least 5K to break even. And that does not even include utilities. I can not imagine a family being willing to pay that much for so little. Maui needs more affordable housing for rentals as well as for purchase. Build more and place your effort on this instead of taking away the lively hood of the owners and well as the locals that are employed because of the STRS
Good day Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
We are Janice & Bertus Eksteen, we are owners in the Wailea Ekahi condominium development, and we stand vigorously in opposition to the proposed bill to phase out more than 7,000 Short Term Rental Accommodations on Maui. Thank you for considering the following testimony.
In the past 5 years, my husband and I have paid over $72,000 to the state in property taxes at our STR rate. We have paid $25,000 in GE tax and $57,000 in Transient Accommodation taxes. Additionally, we have paid $15,000 in Maui County Transient Accommodation taxes. We are 2 STR property owners, and if Short Term Rental Accommodations are eliminated I don’t see how this tax revenue, gathered from across thousands of homes, could be replaced, and the public services that Hawaii and Maui deploys as a direct result of this tax revenue will be either insufficient, or disappear altogether, compromising the public infrastructure, impoverishing the county, and degrading the standard of living for everyone living on Maui.
We use Rentals Maui, a local property management company on Maui, to manage our STR guests. In the past 5 years, we have paid them over 120,000 in fees. It is, by far, the best spent money in fees anywhere in our business lives. We speak to David, Cassandra, Jess, Amy, Matt, Abigail and Greyson, all living and working on Maui, on a regular basis to strategize and make decisions around guest activity, home repairs and what is happening on Maui when I am not there. I would be lost without their insight, wisdom and expertise on all things related to business in Maui and Hawaii generally. In the same amount of time, we have paid over $25,000 to our cleaners and we have paid upwards of $25,000 to a variety of repair and maintenance vendors on island. We use a Hawaii-local insurance company for our home insurance, and opened a bank account at a Hawaiian bank to manage some parts of our business.
Also in the past 7 years, we have spent around $15,000, with Maui Dreams on Scuba diving excursions to dive sites around Maui. We are thrilled with the continuity of thier operations in spite of the challenges associated with the Pandemic, the Lahaina fire, and other economic pressures, as we have a deep comfort level with the competence of their guides and instructors, and thier focus on safety in underwater recreation. We have spent around $15,000 in golf green fees at a variety of local golf courses around the island. We pay the non-local rate and we tip generously, directly to the people employed by these local companies. Every time. We run most mornings, and take our post-run coffee and breakfast at hyper-local, independently run cafes, singularly so that we know we are supporting those that live on-island. We dine out preferentially at Mamas Fish House, Mala Ocean Tavern, Coconuts, Stews, Havens, the Food Truck park by the nursery in Kihei.
Lastly, and most personally, my husband and I got married in Maui 4 years ago. We brought 40 guests to Maui and all but 2 of them stayed in STR accommodations. We hosted them on a dinner cruise on the Trilogy, we held a golf tournament, and pizza night at a local golf course and restaurant respectively, and we brought them out to Molokini with Maui Dreams. For our wedding, we employed local musicians, a DJ, a wedding planner, make-up artists, aestheticians, and hair stylists. We used a local baker to make our cake, and spent thousands on flowers from a local florist. We bought bridal jewelry from a local jeweller. Several of our wedding guests have since returned to Maui for their own vacations, and have again stayed in STRs.
We are 2 owners with significant ties to Maui. We have invested heavily in, and will continue to spend preferentially at locally-owned small businesses in the place that we love. There are thousands of owners just like us, with a similar sense of duty and obligation to the continued prosperity of the local economy and businesses operating on Maui. The loss of this segment of the economy would, we are certain, have a devastating and irreparable effect to the economy and tax revenue, and those that would disproportionately bear the fallout of this effect would be local and especially low-income residents and families living and working on Maui year round, therefore, we hope you deny the proposed bill phasing out 7,000 short term rentals.
Thank you again for considering my testimony.
Sincerely,
Janice & Bertus Eksteen
Aloha chairman Kama,
We are Randy and Linda Graham, I first came to Hawaii in 1953 as a child. In 1970 I returned with my wife. We have traveled to the islands with family for 55 years. Acquired a piece of the aloha in 1978 at Kuleana condominiums weeks 30 and 31 which we have returned to every year since. And have our children and grandchildren to experience the aloha spirit.
We have seen changes to property usages and increased cost but still felt at home when there. My wife and I were there when Lahaina Burned.
This latest attack on usage to further restrict property usage is not in the best feel of family aloha.
Please oppose the proposal tomorrow.
Please do not pass this bill. This is not the solution.
There are currently 786 active condo real estate listings on Maui island after 18 months of price reductions over 25-50% prefire listing rates.
No one is buying the properties.
It is not just the housing cost that is at issue, it is the HOA rates, insurance, and cost of home ownership that people cannot afford.
These condo's will not sell for less.
Islanders need the income from tourism which drives 80% of the economy.
The county will lose millions a year in tax revenue, islanders will lose their jobs with no tourism support, long time Maui homeowners will lose their rental income to long-term renters/local islanders whom they support through this housing too--its not just tourists we rent to.
Please do not allow this bill to pass. It is not the solution.
Thank you
-Michelle Benoit
I understand the concern about short-term rentals (STRs) and housing availability, but I believe banning STRs outright is a misguided approach—especially given Maui’s deeply intertwined relationship with tourism. The county relies heavily on the transient accommodation tax and the economic ripple effect of visitor spending, which supports local businesses and jobs across many sectors.
If the long-term goal is to diversify Maui’s economy and reduce dependence on tourism, then that will require strategic investment in people, education, and infrastructure. That’s a generational effort—not something achieved by converting vacation apartments into long-term housing.
Most existing STR units were not designed for full-time occupancy. They lack the space, storage, and layout that make them viable for families or local workers. Repurposing them may provide a political win in the short term, but it doesn’t address the root issue: Maui needs more purpose-built, affordable housing.
A more constructive and lasting solution would be to use revenues from tourism—specifically transient taxes—to fund long-term bonds for developing affordable housing projects. These should be built intentionally for local residents, with the amenities and stability that real housing requires.
We must balance immediate housing needs with the reality that tourism still underwrites much of Maui’s economy. Let’s not undermine that system without first building something better.
Aloha Maui County Council,
My name is Steve Hogan and I have been a Maui resident, business owner and employer here for over 40 years. I am opposed to this bill.
Since the fires, the messaging from Mayor Bissen, Gov. Green, Social Media and other media has shouted “tourists are not welcome here.” And now, the Federal Government is adding tariffs and destroying an already fragile economy nation-wide that was still trying to recover from the Pandemic. Consequently, Maui’s economy has plummeted.
I urge you not to add to the economic devastation at the local level.
Especially when the proposed “solution” will NOT translate to affordable housing.
AOAO fees, utilities, mortgages, insurance and special assessments are far more expensive than the average resident can afford. Even at the currently reduced rate of condos, locals are not rushing out to buy them, because they are not affordable..
This bill will NOT solve the problem (affordable housing) but will cause so many other people hardship—destroying small businesses, destroying jobs, destroying hard-earned retirements and destroying trust in Government.
The opposition is claiming we are prioritizing profit over people, which just isn’t true. We are prioritizing logic over wishful thinking, and Math over Emotions. And we are considering ALL the people. Decimating some parts of the community in the unrealistic hopes of helping another part of the community makes no sense.
This Bill is not affordable and will not achieve the desired result.
This bill will not magically create Affordable housing for the residents.
This bill is not affordable for the property owners, managers, maintenance/yard crews, cleaners, or local businesses that serve this industry.
This bill is not affordable for the county or the state.
The losses are huge. The gain is minimal, if there is any at all.
Please focus on a solution to the housing problem with a win/win instead of a lose, lose, lose, lose.
I am Eve Hogan, business owner, employer and Maui resident over 30 years.
I don’t even want to talk about vacation rentals, you have heard it all. You know the math doesn’t make this bill a good solution to the housing problem.
Instead, I’m going to talk about Trust in our Government.
Trust that when a mayor or a council person says they support vacation rentals as an important part of our economy--when they are running for office-- that are telling the truth.
Trust that when, BEFORE buying a condo, the Director of Planning ensures us that it is a legal use to operate it as a vacation rental, that that is the truth.
With this administration we are repeatedly seeing the Government trying to take away previously legally permitted businesses—like food trucks on ag land. We spent all day in council last week discussing how to right that wrong.
Emotionally, i understand the hope of this bill, but logically, it just makes no sense.
If there was any way that an oceanfront condo- with AOAO fees, high mortgages, high insurance and special assessments equalled “affordable housing”, and didn’t simultaneously destroy other people’s lives, legal businesses and trust in Government, well ok.
but that is not the case here.
I implore you to use creativity to implement solutions that serve your ENTIRE community to solve the very real problems we face.
I implore you to give us cause to trust the government. If you don’t, no one will ever feel safe investing in Maui, building businesses, hiring employees and serving this community.
Thank you.
Aloha Chair Kama and Council Members,
My name is Kim Christfort. Thank you for review of the proposal to eliminate transient vacation rentals. I am strongly opposed to Bill 9 and urge you to vote NO on this bill.
I have been an owner at Makani a Kai in Ma'alaea Village since 2017. Ma'alaea is a truly unique part of Maui, and well suited to a visitor-oriented community with activities such as the Maui Ocean Center, Pacific Whale Foundation, and Maalaea Harbor and Harbor Shops. Most condos in this area, including ours, are small and have minimal storage and severely limited parking.
I agree that finding sustainable housing for Maui's people is important, and the Lahaina fires were a tragedy. Bill 9 will create more problems than it solves, however. Maui needs more housing that is suitable to full time living for families, and more jobs and income to support essential services and infrastructure. Rentals contribute millions of tax dollars to the County of Maui and the State of Hawaii. I am a legal, tax-paying TVR owner and I agree fully that ALL TVR owners must be legal and current in payment of taxes, fines, etc.
My condominium was built in 1974. We are included in the Minatoya list and have hosted vacation rentals since then. In my building and in our area we have a mix of owners as full time residents, TVR owners, people who don't rent, and visitors. It is a healthy mix that creates a wonderful community and contributes to Maui's economy in a positive and sustainable way.
Please vote NO on this bill and prevent negative consequences to owners, small businesses, and individuals who all depend on these rentals for income and economic viability.
The island of Maui and the neighboring islands have suffered greatly as a result of the mayor and his large hotel Lobbyist. The amount of money that tourists spend on the island has drastically decreased as a result of the bad press. The additional taxes you are levying are absurd for both tourists and STR owners. Businesses in the local Hawaiian towns are struggling since no one is visiting the islands. The mayor, the city council, and even the hotels themselves are aware that occupancy is down. STRs are a fundamental revenue stream for the island. Little investors and part time residents , like myself create income producing options for the island. You all know that- the negative stream of information that this has caused has hurt all Hawaiian Islands. Your own Hawaiian culture and businesses owners are leaving, thus you are endorsing this and shrinking your own Hawaiian Culture. GOD help you all ! Stop punishing STR condo/home owners, stop punishing the tourists and regain your ALOHA to invite the world to come and enjoy and make treasurable memories. Belinda Battistelli-Meeker, Barb Olsen, Jimmy Koch , Rosemary Degano
Subject: Testimony on Bill 9 (2025) – Oppose Bill Entirely; Support Timeshare Exemption if Passed
Aloha Council Members,
I am writing to express my strong opposition to Bill 9 (2025). This bill would eliminate long-standing, legally operating short-term rentals—including timeshare usage—that have contributed positively to Maui’s economy and community for decades.
However, I do appreciate the amendment in the current draft (CD1) that exempts validly existing timeshare units and timeshare plans from the phase-out. If the Council moves forward with Bill 9, I urge you to retain this exemption as a minimum safeguard to prevent serious harm to owners, workers, and the local economy.
I am a timeshare owner at the Kuleana Club. Like hundreds of others, I own one week per year—not a second home, not an investment property. I return regularly, support local restaurants, spend at neighborhood shops, and have built lasting relationships on the island. Timeshare owners like me are part of a stable community of repeat visitors who care deeply about Maui’s well-being.
Timeshare properties are fundamentally different from vacation rentals. Units are deeded one week at a time to hundreds of families, which makes them impossible to convert to long-term housing. Including timeshares in a short-term rental ban would not create housing—but it would devastate workers and remove a reliable source of local tax revenue. Properties like Kuleana Club operate legally under Maui County Code 19.37.010, and are fully compliant with TAT and GET tax regulations. Our occupancy rates are high, and our owners consistently contribute to the island’s economy, even in difficult times.
More importantly, timeshares support stable jobs. Many employees at the Kuleana Club have been with the property for over 25 years. Several lost their homes in the Lahaina fire. If timeshare usage is eliminated, these long-standing staff members risk losing the only thing they have left—their livelihood.
Timeshare owners and resorts have also stepped up in times of crisis. The industry has contributed millions to wildfire recovery and donated thousands of room nights to displaced families and first responders. That commitment continues today.
In summary:
I urge you to oppose Bill 9 entirely.
But if it passes, please retain the CD1 amendment exempting timeshares.
Timeshares are not TVRs.
This exemption is a fair, balanced, and lawful solution that protects jobs, housing neutrality, and tax revenue—without compromising the County’s broader goals.
Mahalo for your time, your service, and for considering the perspective of owners like me.
Glen and Carolynne Lyons
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Kuleana Club Timeshare Owner – Unit 315 and 511, Week 7 to 12
Aloha Committee Members and concerned parties,
My husband and I are blessed to have a Timeshare at Kuleana. We strongly oppose a government entity, trying to resolve a very difficult situation by throwing solutions into the air and hoping something sticks. Why have you not spoken to individual people who own, rent, work and service the properties about how they feel the impact of your decision(s) will affect them? Our situation is very personal as my family moved to Maui in 1958 and as a young child I grew to love this island. That is why I say we are blessed to come to Maui on a regular basis, because it is home to me. Sadly, we had to move back to the mainland years after statehood because of the health of close relatives, so this is now the only way we can come back “home.” Please do not destroy a way of life and break trust with Maui islanders by invading their space and upending laws, contracts and binding legal business pursuits. I believe that would end with disastrous long term results.
Sincerely,
Donna and Ken Fast
I am strongly opposed to the proposal on banning short term rentals. The mayor thinks it is a binary choice. If there is no ban residents will have to leave the island. If there are no jobs providing services to those rentals and the multiplier effect of those jobs, residents will leave the island. There are not enough jobs in government or agriculture to provide good jobs. Like it or not tourists are the lifeblood of Maui. Destroying the property values of thousands of properties in the hopes of providing suitable and inexpensive housing is a risky experiment that can easily backfire on him and the people who vote for this proposal but the residents this proposal is attempting to help will be long gone without jobs. Continue to build affordable housing and continue to lift the building restriction in Lahaina to speed the rebuilding process for residential and commercial properties and be a government that productively helps. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Eric Fess
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,
Dimitra Hnatko
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road, Apartment G104
I have seen the figure that 70 cents of every dollar generated on Maui comes from tourism. I would challenge that, it is much closer to every dollar comes from tourism. There would be no need for schools, if the parents don't have jobs, there would be no need for roads, gas stations, restaurants, life guards, the list is infinite. There is not 1 job that is not tied in some way to tourism. Now the people who bought condos on the Minatoya list did so to be apart of the community, they felt something special, they fell in love with the island and it's people. These are the same people who donated millions of their money for the fire recovery only to have that same money used against them. We really need to go back a century to the creation of Hawaiian Homes in 1920, the government, state and local have stood in the way of affordable housing for over 100 years paving the way for the creation of hotels and resorts in lieu of affordable housing. Who do you think cares more about the community? The hotels or the owners of condos, large corporations that send all their money back to the stock market in NY or the local mom and pops that just want to come to Maui 2x a year and have the opportunity to be able to afford doing so by renting their units out short term.
As a west Maui resident I strongly oppose this measure. Its time for Maui to do the right thing, passing this bill only creates more problems and in 5 years we will be back at this again. Lets get a legitimate plan together to not only rebuild, but to create affordable housing.
Aloha Chair Kama and Councilmembers,
My name is Ronaldo Halog, and I am writing in strong opposition to Bill 9. I urge you to vote NO on this bill for the reasons I outline below. Bill 9, as currently written, will not meet our community’s need of affordable housing. Bill 9 will instead have a negative on the community. I am against phasing out the Transient Vacation Rentals (TVRs) or Short Term Rental (STRs).
One of my concerns with the reduction of short term rental units in my area is the significant reduction of purchases that will be made here locally. That will mean less jobs, and probably young people moving off island to find employment opportunities on the main land or elsewhere. Each month our unit pays local maintenance people (plumbers, electricians, painters, independent cleaners) on average $600 per month. Our property maintenance fees which pay grounds keepers, managers, assistant managers, is over $1,000 per month. In addition to these expenses that are our property taxes as well as GET/TAT/MCTAT monthly payments. So every month one unit can contribute easily over $3500 locally. That doesn’t take into account the money spent locally by each vacationer like luau’s, boat excursions, dinners, shaved ice, etc.
Another Concern: These condos are not affordable as long-term housing options for most local families. A 1 bedroom unit currently sells for approximately $650k. If a buyer put down 20%, that would be $120,000, leaving a $480,000 mortgage. With interest rates at approximately 6.25%, a monthly mortgage payment would be over $3,000 a month. Monthly AOAO payments are standing at least $1,000 depending on the complex. These AOAO fees go up substantially each year. Not including property taxes, insurance or utilities, the payments per month on a 1 bedroom condo would be at least $4,200. This is NOT affordable housing. A person would need an income of $14,000 a month to afford a 1 bedroom condo in many of the complexes on the Minatoya List.
Also, many of our guests who have stayed at our home have made comments on how affordable it was to come to Maui. They had looked at the resort option and were not able to afford a $400+ a night stay. Maui should be a place where everyone is welcome to the island and not just the rich and wealthy. Hard-working people deserve a vacation in paradise too! IF they can’t afford to come to Maui, people will look at other affordable places to go for vacation, This will greatly impact the tourist economy; restaurants, tours, luaus, etc. We’ve seen this impact already due to the fires. Many locals were let go due to people not coming to Maui
I recommend that a possible solution to address the affordable housing issue is to open up (Accessory Dwelling Units) ADU’s that people can add to their property (Backyard). The county could reduce the restrictions, property owners could get a tax break purchase and build an ADU, people looking for places to live could rent an ADU at an affordable rent and then the County could get taxes from the property owners for the rent they are receiving for the rent of the ADU. It’s truly a Win, Win, Win solution. Property owners WIN with another stream of income, People looking for a more affordable place will WIN by finding a place, and the County will WIN by having additional income from ADU rental income.
Ronaldo Halog
A205
Kihei Bay Vista
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,
Randy Hnatko
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road, Apartment G104
Maui County Housing and Land Use Committee
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and Committee Members:
My name is Katherine Szem. I am 73 years old. My husband, Jeff, is 82 years old and we are one of 5 permanent resident households in the Kapalua Bay Villas (“KBV”) in the Kapalua Resort. There are 141 units in KBV of which 80% are in active rental programs and 19% are non-rented second homes. All permanent residents are kupuna like us, with no children living on premises. We purchased our 2BR unit in 2003, rented it out and managed to hold on to it through the real estate depression of 2008-2012 with 32% occupancy rates. We moved here permanently after retiring in 2015. In my career, I headed up the Tax Division of an international accounting firm in Honolulu and served on the Tax Committee of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce. I frequently spoke publicly on tax matters for the Chamber and for the Tax Foundation of Hawaii. I currently serve on the Board of KBV and do my best to ensure high-quality governance at KBV that is engaged and contributing to our Maui community.
My husband and I worked part time at the Kapalua Plantation golf course until we were let go after the Lahaina fires in the interest of allocating the reduced workload to full-time employees. We saw so many people around us struggling to keep jobs as tourism disappeared on the Westside. We felt blessed that TY Management committed to keeping all full-time golf course employees on payroll regardless of the steep decline in revenue. We are happy that our golf Ohana has this safety net. There is no safety net and never has been for all our other working Ohana in the Kapalua Resort – housekeepers, groundskeepers, shuttle drivers, window cleaners, activity staff, rental management personnel, florists, maintenance crews, waitstaff, cooks and musicians at the restaurants. We have personally witnessed our Kapalua Ohana worry as the threat of job loss looms under the shadow of the short-term rental ban.
When I asked one of the window cleaners what he thought about the ban on short-term rentals in Kapalua, he said that he was deeply concerned. How will he replace this job if he is laid off? If the ban goes through his workload will decrease by 75% and he is certain he will lose his job. He is not alone and certainly a cloud hangs over all our Kapalua Ohana whose jobs serve Maui visitors. We’ve had two of our personal housekeepers move off island because there hasn’t been enough work to help them pay their bills. One 40-year-old woman said that three part-time jobs aren’t enough to replace a good full-time job. Can our Kapalua Ohana families survive a potential 75% cut in the workforce?
I cannot speak for the rest of Maui County. I can only speak about what I know will happen if the ban is applied to KBV, the Ridge and the Golf Villas. It would be truly heartbreaking and a tragedy.
I ask you, please don’t make the mistake of prioritizing housing, which I agree is incredibly important, to the detriment and destruction of job security and economic opportunity for our Kapalua Ohana. Yes, we need places to live. However, we need jobs to pay for our places to live.
Mahalo for taking on the task of solving such grave issues. Although I am kupuna and no longer working, my heart aches as I see our Kapalua Ohana endure doubt and worry and a precarious future. Don’t let this happen.
Mahalo,
Katherine Szem
I 100% oppose this bill . I own 2-STR properties on the West shore that generate a modest return while employing local residents. I also visit the Island multiple times annually and choose to stay in Wailea where I spend double the amount of what my rental properties generate which also supports the local economy but due to the negative mid guidance by Mayor Bissen I do not plan on visiting until he is voted out of office or recalled as his actions and incompetence have single handedly destroyed the Maui economy and he continues to mis guide the local residents