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)
We have family who have lived in Lahaina for more than 50 years. We decided to purchase our Kuleana condo to be near them. In order to make it financially feasible we rented it out as a STR - often to the same repeat families who came year after year. After the fires we immediately turned it to long term rental to help a family we knew well who lost everything. However, the unit is very small and not conducive for a family of four. It only has one parking space so they have to shuttle their other car around to avoid it getting ticketed/towed. There is no in house laundry. Not to mention that with the increase in insurance and HOA dues, we are subsidizing their monthly rental amount and losing money. They can’t afford to live there without help. This is the case with the majority of the properties on the list. Will the government help me help them? Are there funds to help make the property owners who are doing the “right thing” stay solvent? Think real hard about the economics of your island. Stop creating more insolvency, erasing jobs dependent on STRs, and focus on getting people’s homes rebuilt.
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
My name is Richard Joy, and I own a property at the Kapalua Resort in Maui County. I am writing today to express my deep concern and strong opposition to the proposed legislation to phase out more than 7,000 Short Term Vacation Rentals(STR). I ask that you are selective in identifying the properties that are identified in providing housing for our Maui people.
Owning at the Kapalua Resort has not been easy. We’ve faced huge maintenance costs, special assessments, and massive increases in insurance after the fires. My annual AOAO expense alone is $32,000 annually, and upcoming roof and road repairs will dramatically increase this amount. These costs are necessary to ensure that the property remains safe and functional. The Kapalua Resort was also never intended to be constructed for workforce housing. The residences limit occupancy, prohibit pets, and lack storage space.
This legislation will result in the loss of island required income, the loss of jobs, the loss of homes, and the loss of Maui people who would be forced to ultimately leave the island. I urge the Council to find a fair and balanced path forward — one that protects local jobs, supports the economy, and holds owners to high standards, instead of phasing us out completely. Please exclude the Kapalua Resort from any STR ban.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
This bill is bad for Maui and its financial future. It takes away tax dollars that provide services and cuts jobs for locals by cutting tourism. It’s unfair to people who purchased properties legally with the intention of using them as short term rentals so they could afford them.
Council Members,
After purchasing our condo 16 years ago it became clear that affording a vacation home in paradise would require supplemental support which we found through the authorized STR rental option. Our building was identified as STR when built in 1975. We have legally rented and paid taxes over those 16 years of ownership with in excess of $200K in Property, TAT and GET taxes to feed the Maui revenue needs supporting infrastructure and services. Our renters and ourselves contribute thousands of dollars to the local economy through excursions, dining, purchases, cleaning personnel, repair personnel, etc. Bill 9 is a land grab and a slap in the face of advocates and legal supporters of Maui and will create a huge impact on the ability of Maui to meet their needs going forward. If passed, this poor decision will likely lead to additional poor choices to attempt to stop the spiral. I strongly urge you to VOTE NO on this bill and address it with a balanced and common sense approach. MANY visitors to Maui cannot or prefer not to stay in hotels and resorts. Those visitors will be lost to the many options available to travelers. As Maui continues to bleed revenue and more Hawaiians are forced to leave the islands the true Hawaiian experience may be lost forever.
Thank you for your time,
This will do zero to increase housing stock on Maui while causing deep damage to our largest industry all while reducing are biggest source of tax. You can’t force people to long-term rent their private property. Property that is expensive to own and run and already reduced by 25% in value because of this stupid madness.
Paki Maui has always been a vacation rental resort since its inception and was never intended for workforce housing (there is a ton of evidence to support this). The HOA fees alone are $1300/mo for a studio or one bedroom, and $2700 for a 2 bedroom unit. Special assessments are passed on to the owners to repair sink holes, crumbling sea walls, aging plumbing, cement spalling, etc. These costs need to be built into the rental price, and make it impractical to rent out as an affordable, long term rental.
I am a Maui resident and STVR owner who will not be able to financially support myself if this legislation goes into effect. I will lose everything I have worked for for the last 40 years.
This is unjust.
I respect Kai Duponte very much. I was suffering from writer's block, but I feel responding to Kai's testimony is a good place to start.
**Housing prices are so high here on Maui that regular working people cannot afford to live here. The main reason for this is because investors have decided to make the best bang for their buck via buying condominiums and homes for use as vacation rentals. This means that the people residents rely on cannot afford to live here. Maui is not Disneyland, where teachers, health care workers, electricians, police, fire workers, car mechanics, etc, don’t matter.**
If you google “housing crisis in (city, state or country)”, or “housing affordability in (city, state or country)”, you’ll see that Maui is just one more fill-in-the blank places where housing is expensive. Housing costs increased in New York after they banned STRs there.
The threat of a Minatoya phase-out tanked Minatoya STR values, but single family homes continue to rise.
**Eighty-five (85) % of STVR owners do not live in Hawai’i and it is obvious that they do not care about the welfare the community—yet they insist they have a say in our community. Only 6% of the owners of these units offered their units as long term housing after the Lahaina fire, preferring to rent the units with kitchens and laundry facilities to tourists, while residents lived in hotels for months without those basic amenities. This reminds me of the situation we were in when Maui tourism closed down for COVID. These very mainland owners were fighting us, insisting that we open and that we did not have the right to impact their profit. They did not care about our community’s health and that we have only one hospital—all they cared about was their profit.**
Patently false. Upwards of 500 owners of short term rentals opened their doors to those displaced, only to have no tenants come use their property. Some residents looking for a property were declining potential units 3, 4, 5 times.
https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/05/fema-is-still-spending-millions-on-hundreds-of-empty-housing-units-for-maui-fire-survivors/
**These units are livable for the long term and 73% of the buildings on the Minatoya List have people living in them—so the argument that these units are not suitable for long term living doesn’t wash. In addition, I have owned and lived in condos in Honolulu that were older, and the older units did not have much storage and only had one parking stall. That’s just the way they were built in those days.**
Again, patently false. 73% of 7100 condos is 5183. If 5183 condos already “have people living in them”, then these condos are apparently already doing their job – housing people on a long-term basis. If that’s the case, which you’re clearly making in a public testimony, then the proposal laid out in Bill 9 seeks to toss out these existing long-term owners/residents/tenants. What a deranged proposition - well, unless it’s just a bald-faced lie, fabricated to bolster your argument.
**Opponents of this talk about job loss. Most of these positions are very part-time and without benefits, and must be done in addition to their job that pays for their benefits. Very few residents are making their entire living working at STVRs, and certainly not enough to be able to afford to live here.**
Service industry jobs are like this. A server or a bartender is likely working part-time, likely has no benefits, no 401k. Groundskeepers at the golf courses work mornings. Also part time. Working at a surf shop or clothing store will have erratic scheduling, low pay, no benefits. You’re saying about a low skill job something that can be said of virtually all comparable jobs. Chances are, if you’re a retail clerk, you work more than one job. If you’re a barista, probably working more than one job. I have friends on Maui who clean condos BECAUSE it’s quick and easy money, it's flexible and it works with their schedule. Cousins on the mainland drive uber for this very reason. You’re normalizing your experience and abnormalizing theirs. Get out of your little silo and talk to actual people. Some do it full time and do very well. But that’s an inconvenient fact for your side.
“Opponents also talk about losing tourists. The Maui Island Plan calls for a ratio of 1 to 3 tourists to residents and Maui has exceeded that more and more every year. In order to balance resident needs with the tourism industry, lesser numbers are called for.”
On this, I completely agree. 100%
3:1 needs to be the hard cap.
**Adjusting tax rates for non-owner occupied properties can offset revenue loss and is absolutely crucial to do, as it will also serve to discourage people from buying homes here as investments. Homes are shelters and are meant to be lived in. If they are your investment as well, better yet. Aligning non-owner occupied tax rates more closely with STR rates can compensate for lost revenue. Additionally, the economic benefits of a stable and diversified local economy can help balance out any losses and support the long-term recovery of our community. Working residents pay taxes too.**
Residents pay nearly 10x less in RPT than an STR. Instead of $20,000, they will pay $2200. If all these STRs and “investment” properties land in local hands, these taxes are an “earned benefit”. Good luck pencilling out a $1.5B budget on locals-only revenues.
**May I suggest a compromise—that some of the buildings that were built as resorts and are not in residential areas be rezoned as Hotels, while the majority of the buildings, that were built as long term housing, should be used they were intended—for long term housing.**
Again, 100% in agreement. There are 3 planned resort communities on Maui. Definitely not desirable areas for raising a family given they have nothing geared to family living. Koa Kai? Definitely meant for long term housing.
**Please consider supporting this initiative to phase out of STVRs in residential neighborhoods (including Apartment Zones) and put our local community at the forefront of recovery and stability. Prioritizing the tourism industry over residents is just not kind or sustainable. Most of the people asking for STVRs to continue are not your constituents. Please listen to your constituents.**
Why is no one talking about Green’s claim that there are 75,000 ILLEGAL STRs in the state? Surely there are plenty on Maui. Seems this is the unspoken villain here. Kai, can we look to you to lead the way on fining and then shutting down the illegal STRs?
Mahalo for your commitment to the well-being of our community.
Aloha Council Members: My name is Jennifer Lazzaro. I'm a full time resident of Kihei and have lived on island for 12 years. I primarily earn my living by working with the STR owners. I provide cleaning and a variety of other services to multiple units that are on the Minatoya list and am in danger of losing my livelihood should Bill 9 pass. I am a single mother raising my daughter here and the loss of the STR revenue would make it impossible for us to stay on Maui. I hope you will take folks like me who depend on the short term rentals and the dollars that they bring for our every day lives. I pay taxes here, I shop locally, I am the PTA President of Kamali'i Elementary school.. I am giving back to my community and hope that my community does not take away my means of support. Thank you for your consideration.
Aloha, my name is Pauahi Kekauoha and I oppose this bill not because I oppose what it promises. I just don't think that it will deliver what is promised. After a year of this madness, nobody has been able to take us on a journey from phase-out to affordable housing. no one. Not the mayor, not council, and not Lahaina Strong. Nobody. Phase out STRs and the world will spin on its axis once again. Yeah but how? Denying the financial reality of these properties won't help us.
Enough economic impact studies have shown what this will do to local business owners, to local short term rental owners, to local cleaning staff, to local handymen, to local property management companies, to local restaurants and food trucks, etc These are the known knowns. Will this wreak havoc on the economy? Yes. How bad will it be? Well, anywhere between Brewbaker and UHERO. Neither looks good, especially with Trump doing to the US what Bissen is attempting to do to Maui.
The single greatest UNKNOWN is the singular promise this bill is hinged upon, and even after 12 months, it's a complete unknown!
The person below me in the testimony said "this is the chance to support the residents over the investors". What does that even mean? "People before profits". What does THAT mean? Lahaina Strong just posted on Instagram "You love Maui? It's your second home? Maui needs to fight for people that don't have a home."
What kind of propaganda trash is this? From page 2 of Bridging The Gap's 2024 MAUI COUNTY POINT IN TIME COUNT TOPLINE REPORT, they show that 2024's homeless population was lower than that of 2023, and that of 2022, and of 2021. In fact, and I quote, "Maui County has shown a consistent decline in total homelessness for the last seven years. "
https://www.btghawaii.org/media/uploads/2024_maui_county_pit_topline_report_v2.pdf
Additionally, there are currently 278 properties listed for under $600k, 71 under $400k, 38 under $300k and 9 under $200k.
There is a 1-bedroom that has been on MLS for nearly 2 months, and has been reduced $20k already.
ForRent.com shows 177 properties for rent that are under $3500/month, 111 under $3000, 20 under $2000.
Never mind the fact that there were close to 500 STRs that were generously offered after the fire but were DECLINED by entitled brats who preferred these bumper sticker catch-phrases over being able to be housed for free for up to 24 months. Was this a majority of locals? Not even close, But there were some who would rather complain about a commute than have a place for my family to live after a major tragedy. I have family in San Francisco and they commute 90 minutes each way, AND pay full rent for their home. Lahaina Strong loves to talk about entitled tourists, entitled property owners, but never think to turn the mirror inward to see the entitlement they perpetuate. Sorry being from here doesn't give you permission to be a complete hypocrite. Imagine the number of propaganda videos DeAndre would put out if an STR owner turned down something generous, something needed, and something essential, then spent a whole year complaining they needed it and never received it, then demanded locals provide that thing to them. LS's social media accounts would all finally get 100 followers from all the doom scrolling of the entitlement!
Lahaina Strong is the literal definition of a propaganda mill. It's about time that gets said. I know these people and the public persona is not what is being said in private. They are all model parents, friends, siblings etc, but this issue changes them fundamentally. It's not good.
It is the job of HLU and then of council to see through these social media blitzes, to see through the propaganda and walk yourself through the A-Z of this all.
Phase out the Minatoya condos.
Then what?
Fight lawsuits until you term-limit out of council?
Have to explain to all these angry red-shirt radicals that "there were no guarantees" for new and affordable housing?
Explain why you ignored Paul Brewbaker?
Why you ignored Kloniger?
Why you ignored UHERO?
Explain to your constituents why you saw job losses on the horizon but supported the bill that led to those losses?
Watch as more locals leave for the mainland?
The winning position here is to finally kick Lahaina Strong to the curb. They have passed their "best before" date.
Understand that they are all monetizing their roles, either as a paid lobbyist, as a social media "influencer", or as a general grifter who profits off the division they are sewing
Kill Bill 9.
Make it so that this destabilizing dumpster fire doesn't come back in another failed form
Resume status quo with these STRs
Work symbiotically with these STR owners. They all wish so badly that they were Hawaiian they will do anything to help Hawaii stay Hawaiian. Trust me.
Don't break their bottom line because if they can't pay their bills, they will sell to someone wealthier who won't have a problem with high ownership costs.The symbiosis needs to be mostly mutual, or you lose them as an ally.
-Ease up on the property taxes, see above
-To the extent that you can, launch an investigation into possible collusion between hotels, the mayor and Lahaina Strong. It's there, trust me, and it goes all the way up to Green.
-Realign the local politics such that Minatoya condo owners are your ally. They are.
-triangulate the local population with these owners - these two groups have far more in common than LS and hotels, and rather than one group running around looking for tomorrow's paycheck, the STR owners will provide steady paychecks. Happily. All this talk about not being community minded, these LS people live in a bubble. They can't tell a Minatoya condo guest from an owner, can't differentiate a hotel zoned STR owner from an apartment zoned one, and have no clue if those walking on the beach are hotel guests, Minatoya guests, or hotel zoned STR guests.
Work with the STR revenue streams to:
-help restore water to the public trust
-put a moratorium on hotel expansion
-cease the approvals for new hotel developments
-cease any new STR permits, and/or any new STR developments.
-Lock the accommodation space on Maui as though it was 2023
-Pour everything you can into building affordable housing
-work with the land trusts to secure affordable ownership in perpetuity
Take your pick. One is provably and demonstrably a lose-lose-lose situation.
Or take the other option, which is the old status quo, but with a focus on Maui, on the community you represent, on affordable housing, and with the welfare queens in Lahaina Strong sidelined and the ATMs (STR owners) making your job look easy, chalking up win after win for council and for the local community.
This bill has already wrecked havoc on the jobs and real estate market. Condos are not selling, not even the "affordable" ones, prices are down 30-40%. Most qualified people have left the island. As an onsite property manager for a Minatoya property, I am required to live onsite. I am being contact daily by other complexes looking for new managers as so many have left the island. Many people are stating that onsite managers can be offsite. That is not true and they keep spreading lies and falsehoods. Lets rebuild our community, we don't need the 7000 units in 5 years not to mention the loss of economic opportunity for all Mauians.
To: County of Maui Planning Department Subject: Agenda Item Policy Section 2.2.25
Aloha CPAC Chair and Members,
I am writing in strong opposition to Bill 9.
I have been a Maui resident for the past 40 years. My wife and I put our lives saving to buy two condos at the Kuau Plaza in Paia that we have been running as STRs for the last 12 years. We do about 80 of the management, maintenance and cleanings of the units, and for the other 20% we hire local contractors or cleaners to help us out. These condos are our Maui born and raised son and daughter future inheritance.
We understand the great pressure for affordable housing that has arise in Maui, specially after the horrible tragedy of the Lahaina Fire. However we don’t believe the solution is to eliminate short term rentals in Maui. This will only create more hardships for Maui residents and potentially put more residents out of jobs or not able to afford housing.
We would like to list below our concerns as briefs as possible and then a suggestion for a posible solution to the problem that might be able to help all people in Maui.
Personal concern affecting our situation: With the high costs of living in Maui, the insurance premiums rising, HOA costs rising and Mortgages involved on our units. The long term rental rent that we would have to charge just to break even would be already very expensive for such a small unit and probably unaffordable for most people in Maui, which could cause us to loose the properties to the bank.
Concerns affecting rest of Maui residents: Like it or not, Maui lives out of tourism. Not all the tourist that come to Maui can afford the $800 plus per day that hotels charge and many of them want to have a kitchen in their room in order to make their holiday more affordable. So we will have less visitors in the island which accounts for less money coming into all businesses in Maui. In addition all the people that work doing cleaning, maintenance and remodeling of condo’s would be out of work or with their workload drastically reduced. How would all these people affected be able to pay their rents or mortgages if this happens?
Our humble suggestion on a possible solution: Impose a additional tax to out of state STR owners similar to how University of Hawaii charges out of state students, or how some of the parking lots in Maui (Ahihi Kinau) where only non-residents pay. Then use the additional funds to build and subsidize affordable housing in Maui. Out of state Owners can choose between paying the additional tax, and feel good about it since it is helping the Maui community with the housing crisis, or put their units for long term rentals. Whatever makes more economic sense for each owner.
In addition, current construction costs are out control and probably the biggest factor on affordable housing in Maui. According to the an article on CivilBeat: , https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/04/a-low-income-housing-complex-is-ready-to-rebuild-after-lahaina-fire-it-just-needs-36m/ the Kaiaulu o Kupuohi apartment complex for low-income families in Lahaina cost to rebuild the 89 unit 5th story building will be $80,000,000, That is $900,000 per unit. If those are the cost of just rebuilding how can the people of Maui afford these prices? Getting construction cost under control should be a priority for the council in order to develop affordable housing.
We respectuly urge you to oppose Bill 9.
Sincerely,
Mauricio and Silvia Toscano Kuau Plaza
I oppose this bill. Short Term Rental units provide lots of business to local vendors. I always send my renters to places like That's A Wrap and the Maui Bread Company, just to name two of the dozen or so nearby vendors. Also locals who run their own private companies are the ones who we use to do things like clean our condo.
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify. I am a Maui resident. I am a short-term rental owner. I have three boys who were all raised here. One is an apprentice, one is in college, and the third is in highschool. I oppose this bill.
I am very concerned about the lack of affordable housing on Maui. I worry about our boys, if they will be able to stay on Maui.
We bought our short-term rental as an investment. We manage it ourselves. We hire a cleaner who is well paid. We hire a local handyman who is well paid. The STR has to pay for itself, we depend on the income. I can’t afford to rent it long-term, not even to my own kids. These 40-60-year-old buildings are expensive to maintain and fix. Insurance premiums are through the roof.
This bill won’t create long-term housing, it will just cause a turnover in mainland investors and further kill the Maui economy. Most local STR owners like myself will be forced to sell as these investment properties need to pay for themselves. Mainland owners bought their condos to use throughout the year themselves. Some will be able to keep them for personal use, others will sell, but it is unlikely they will long-term rent, as it precludes personal use. Who will buy these condos? It will be other mainland investors. The maintenance costs of these old buildings are just too high to make them affordable.
Build affordable housing. Keep the taxpayer-subsidized affordable housing affordable in perpetuity.
June 5, 2025
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
We are Greg and Charlene Sheehan, owners of a 550-square-foot short-term rental unit in the Hono Kai Resort in Maalaea.
We respectfully oppose the proposed phase-out of short-term rentals like ours, and ask that you consider the following:
1. Historical Zoning and Use
Hono Kai was built in 1970 after the County rezoned Maalaea to Apartment zoning—specifically to encourage tourism development under the County’s general plan. At the time, "short-term rental" zoning did not exist. Vacation rentals were the intended and approved use.
2. Original Intent
Recorded County documents from the time of construction clearly designated this complex for vacation rental use—not for local workforce housing.
3. Financial Viability
This is a 55-year-old building with high maintenance costs. Current monthly AOAO dues are $1,495. If converted to local housing, combined costs—including dues, taxes, insurance, and mortgage—would exceed $4,000 a month for just 550 square feet, making it unaffordable to most local residents. We current lose about $2,000 per month versus our costs.
4. Local Economic Impact
Our rental supports local jobs and businesses—cleaners, maintenance staff, hardware stores, furniture shops, and more. We bring outside dollars into Maui’s economy year-round.
5. Wider Economic Consequences
A broad STR ban would lead to job losses and reduced economic activity. Without enough hotel inventory to replace STR income, the County’s revenue and local livelihoods will suffer. Even if units are made available, most locals will still not be able to afford them.
We support efforts to address affordable housing, but urge you not to eliminate long-standing vacation rentals like Hono Kai Resort that were previously evaluated and included in the Minatoya exemption. These properties were developed under different expectations and continue to support Maui’s economy.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Greg and Charlene Sheehan
We have family who have lived in Lahaina for more than 50 years. We decided to purchase our Kuleana condo to be near them. In order to make it financially feasible we rented it out as a STR - often to the same repeat families who came year after year. After the fires we immediately turned it to long term rental to help a family we knew well who lost everything. However, the unit is very small and not conducive for a family of four. It only has one parking space so they have to shuttle their other car around to avoid it getting ticketed/towed. There is no in house laundry. Not to mention that with the increase in insurance and HOA dues, we are subsidizing their monthly rental amount and losing money. They can’t afford to live there without help. This is the case with the majority of the properties on the list. Will the government help me help them? Are there funds to help make the property owners who are doing the “right thing” stay solvent? Think real hard about the economics of your island. Stop creating more insolvency, erasing jobs dependent on STRs, and focus on getting people’s homes rebuilt.
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
My name is Richard Joy, and I own a property at the Kapalua Resort in Maui County. I am writing today to express my deep concern and strong opposition to the proposed legislation to phase out more than 7,000 Short Term Vacation Rentals(STR). I ask that you are selective in identifying the properties that are identified in providing housing for our Maui people.
Owning at the Kapalua Resort has not been easy. We’ve faced huge maintenance costs, special assessments, and massive increases in insurance after the fires. My annual AOAO expense alone is $32,000 annually, and upcoming roof and road repairs will dramatically increase this amount. These costs are necessary to ensure that the property remains safe and functional. The Kapalua Resort was also never intended to be constructed for workforce housing. The residences limit occupancy, prohibit pets, and lack storage space.
This legislation will result in the loss of island required income, the loss of jobs, the loss of homes, and the loss of Maui people who would be forced to ultimately leave the island. I urge the Council to find a fair and balanced path forward — one that protects local jobs, supports the economy, and holds owners to high standards, instead of phasing us out completely. Please exclude the Kapalua Resort from any STR ban.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Richard Joy
This bill is bad for Maui and its financial future. It takes away tax dollars that provide services and cuts jobs for locals by cutting tourism. It’s unfair to people who purchased properties legally with the intention of using them as short term rentals so they could afford them.
We don’t need more job losses
Council Members,
After purchasing our condo 16 years ago it became clear that affording a vacation home in paradise would require supplemental support which we found through the authorized STR rental option. Our building was identified as STR when built in 1975. We have legally rented and paid taxes over those 16 years of ownership with in excess of $200K in Property, TAT and GET taxes to feed the Maui revenue needs supporting infrastructure and services. Our renters and ourselves contribute thousands of dollars to the local economy through excursions, dining, purchases, cleaning personnel, repair personnel, etc. Bill 9 is a land grab and a slap in the face of advocates and legal supporters of Maui and will create a huge impact on the ability of Maui to meet their needs going forward. If passed, this poor decision will likely lead to additional poor choices to attempt to stop the spiral. I strongly urge you to VOTE NO on this bill and address it with a balanced and common sense approach. MANY visitors to Maui cannot or prefer not to stay in hotels and resorts. Those visitors will be lost to the many options available to travelers. As Maui continues to bleed revenue and more Hawaiians are forced to leave the islands the true Hawaiian experience may be lost forever.
Thank you for your time,
This will do zero to increase housing stock on Maui while causing deep damage to our largest industry all while reducing are biggest source of tax. You can’t force people to long-term rent their private property. Property that is expensive to own and run and already reduced by 25% in value because of this stupid madness.
Paki Maui has always been a vacation rental resort since its inception and was never intended for workforce housing (there is a ton of evidence to support this). The HOA fees alone are $1300/mo for a studio or one bedroom, and $2700 for a 2 bedroom unit. Special assessments are passed on to the owners to repair sink holes, crumbling sea walls, aging plumbing, cement spalling, etc. These costs need to be built into the rental price, and make it impractical to rent out as an affordable, long term rental.
I am a Maui resident and STVR owner who will not be able to financially support myself if this legislation goes into effect. I will lose everything I have worked for for the last 40 years.
This is unjust.
I respect Kai Duponte very much. I was suffering from writer's block, but I feel responding to Kai's testimony is a good place to start.
**Housing prices are so high here on Maui that regular working people cannot afford to live here. The main reason for this is because investors have decided to make the best bang for their buck via buying condominiums and homes for use as vacation rentals. This means that the people residents rely on cannot afford to live here. Maui is not Disneyland, where teachers, health care workers, electricians, police, fire workers, car mechanics, etc, don’t matter.**
If you google “housing crisis in (city, state or country)”, or “housing affordability in (city, state or country)”, you’ll see that Maui is just one more fill-in-the blank places where housing is expensive. Housing costs increased in New York after they banned STRs there.
The threat of a Minatoya phase-out tanked Minatoya STR values, but single family homes continue to rise.
**Eighty-five (85) % of STVR owners do not live in Hawai’i and it is obvious that they do not care about the welfare the community—yet they insist they have a say in our community. Only 6% of the owners of these units offered their units as long term housing after the Lahaina fire, preferring to rent the units with kitchens and laundry facilities to tourists, while residents lived in hotels for months without those basic amenities. This reminds me of the situation we were in when Maui tourism closed down for COVID. These very mainland owners were fighting us, insisting that we open and that we did not have the right to impact their profit. They did not care about our community’s health and that we have only one hospital—all they cared about was their profit.**
Patently false. Upwards of 500 owners of short term rentals opened their doors to those displaced, only to have no tenants come use their property. Some residents looking for a property were declining potential units 3, 4, 5 times.
https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/05/fema-is-still-spending-millions-on-hundreds-of-empty-housing-units-for-maui-fire-survivors/
**These units are livable for the long term and 73% of the buildings on the Minatoya List have people living in them—so the argument that these units are not suitable for long term living doesn’t wash. In addition, I have owned and lived in condos in Honolulu that were older, and the older units did not have much storage and only had one parking stall. That’s just the way they were built in those days.**
Again, patently false. 73% of 7100 condos is 5183. If 5183 condos already “have people living in them”, then these condos are apparently already doing their job – housing people on a long-term basis. If that’s the case, which you’re clearly making in a public testimony, then the proposal laid out in Bill 9 seeks to toss out these existing long-term owners/residents/tenants. What a deranged proposition - well, unless it’s just a bald-faced lie, fabricated to bolster your argument.
**Opponents of this talk about job loss. Most of these positions are very part-time and without benefits, and must be done in addition to their job that pays for their benefits. Very few residents are making their entire living working at STVRs, and certainly not enough to be able to afford to live here.**
Service industry jobs are like this. A server or a bartender is likely working part-time, likely has no benefits, no 401k. Groundskeepers at the golf courses work mornings. Also part time. Working at a surf shop or clothing store will have erratic scheduling, low pay, no benefits. You’re saying about a low skill job something that can be said of virtually all comparable jobs. Chances are, if you’re a retail clerk, you work more than one job. If you’re a barista, probably working more than one job. I have friends on Maui who clean condos BECAUSE it’s quick and easy money, it's flexible and it works with their schedule. Cousins on the mainland drive uber for this very reason. You’re normalizing your experience and abnormalizing theirs. Get out of your little silo and talk to actual people. Some do it full time and do very well. But that’s an inconvenient fact for your side.
“Opponents also talk about losing tourists. The Maui Island Plan calls for a ratio of 1 to 3 tourists to residents and Maui has exceeded that more and more every year. In order to balance resident needs with the tourism industry, lesser numbers are called for.”
On this, I completely agree. 100%
3:1 needs to be the hard cap.
**Adjusting tax rates for non-owner occupied properties can offset revenue loss and is absolutely crucial to do, as it will also serve to discourage people from buying homes here as investments. Homes are shelters and are meant to be lived in. If they are your investment as well, better yet. Aligning non-owner occupied tax rates more closely with STR rates can compensate for lost revenue. Additionally, the economic benefits of a stable and diversified local economy can help balance out any losses and support the long-term recovery of our community. Working residents pay taxes too.**
Residents pay nearly 10x less in RPT than an STR. Instead of $20,000, they will pay $2200. If all these STRs and “investment” properties land in local hands, these taxes are an “earned benefit”. Good luck pencilling out a $1.5B budget on locals-only revenues.
**May I suggest a compromise—that some of the buildings that were built as resorts and are not in residential areas be rezoned as Hotels, while the majority of the buildings, that were built as long term housing, should be used they were intended—for long term housing.**
Again, 100% in agreement. There are 3 planned resort communities on Maui. Definitely not desirable areas for raising a family given they have nothing geared to family living. Koa Kai? Definitely meant for long term housing.
**Please consider supporting this initiative to phase out of STVRs in residential neighborhoods (including Apartment Zones) and put our local community at the forefront of recovery and stability. Prioritizing the tourism industry over residents is just not kind or sustainable. Most of the people asking for STVRs to continue are not your constituents. Please listen to your constituents.**
Why is no one talking about Green’s claim that there are 75,000 ILLEGAL STRs in the state? Surely there are plenty on Maui. Seems this is the unspoken villain here. Kai, can we look to you to lead the way on fining and then shutting down the illegal STRs?
Mahalo for your commitment to the well-being of our community.
Aloha Council Members: My name is Jennifer Lazzaro. I'm a full time resident of Kihei and have lived on island for 12 years. I primarily earn my living by working with the STR owners. I provide cleaning and a variety of other services to multiple units that are on the Minatoya list and am in danger of losing my livelihood should Bill 9 pass. I am a single mother raising my daughter here and the loss of the STR revenue would make it impossible for us to stay on Maui. I hope you will take folks like me who depend on the short term rentals and the dollars that they bring for our every day lives. I pay taxes here, I shop locally, I am the PTA President of Kamali'i Elementary school.. I am giving back to my community and hope that my community does not take away my means of support. Thank you for your consideration.
STR owner and community supporter
Aloha, my name is Pauahi Kekauoha and I oppose this bill not because I oppose what it promises. I just don't think that it will deliver what is promised. After a year of this madness, nobody has been able to take us on a journey from phase-out to affordable housing. no one. Not the mayor, not council, and not Lahaina Strong. Nobody. Phase out STRs and the world will spin on its axis once again. Yeah but how? Denying the financial reality of these properties won't help us.
Enough economic impact studies have shown what this will do to local business owners, to local short term rental owners, to local cleaning staff, to local handymen, to local property management companies, to local restaurants and food trucks, etc These are the known knowns. Will this wreak havoc on the economy? Yes. How bad will it be? Well, anywhere between Brewbaker and UHERO. Neither looks good, especially with Trump doing to the US what Bissen is attempting to do to Maui.
The single greatest UNKNOWN is the singular promise this bill is hinged upon, and even after 12 months, it's a complete unknown!
The person below me in the testimony said "this is the chance to support the residents over the investors". What does that even mean? "People before profits". What does THAT mean? Lahaina Strong just posted on Instagram "You love Maui? It's your second home? Maui needs to fight for people that don't have a home."
What kind of propaganda trash is this? From page 2 of Bridging The Gap's 2024 MAUI COUNTY POINT IN TIME COUNT TOPLINE REPORT, they show that 2024's homeless population was lower than that of 2023, and that of 2022, and of 2021. In fact, and I quote, "Maui County has shown a consistent decline in total homelessness for the last seven years. "
https://www.btghawaii.org/media/uploads/2024_maui_county_pit_topline_report_v2.pdf
Additionally, there are currently 278 properties listed for under $600k, 71 under $400k, 38 under $300k and 9 under $200k.
There is a 1-bedroom that has been on MLS for nearly 2 months, and has been reduced $20k already.
ForRent.com shows 177 properties for rent that are under $3500/month, 111 under $3000, 20 under $2000.
Never mind the fact that there were close to 500 STRs that were generously offered after the fire but were DECLINED by entitled brats who preferred these bumper sticker catch-phrases over being able to be housed for free for up to 24 months. Was this a majority of locals? Not even close, But there were some who would rather complain about a commute than have a place for my family to live after a major tragedy. I have family in San Francisco and they commute 90 minutes each way, AND pay full rent for their home. Lahaina Strong loves to talk about entitled tourists, entitled property owners, but never think to turn the mirror inward to see the entitlement they perpetuate. Sorry being from here doesn't give you permission to be a complete hypocrite. Imagine the number of propaganda videos DeAndre would put out if an STR owner turned down something generous, something needed, and something essential, then spent a whole year complaining they needed it and never received it, then demanded locals provide that thing to them. LS's social media accounts would all finally get 100 followers from all the doom scrolling of the entitlement!
Lahaina Strong is the literal definition of a propaganda mill. It's about time that gets said. I know these people and the public persona is not what is being said in private. They are all model parents, friends, siblings etc, but this issue changes them fundamentally. It's not good.
It is the job of HLU and then of council to see through these social media blitzes, to see through the propaganda and walk yourself through the A-Z of this all.
Phase out the Minatoya condos.
Then what?
Fight lawsuits until you term-limit out of council?
Have to explain to all these angry red-shirt radicals that "there were no guarantees" for new and affordable housing?
Explain why you ignored Paul Brewbaker?
Why you ignored Kloniger?
Why you ignored UHERO?
Explain to your constituents why you saw job losses on the horizon but supported the bill that led to those losses?
Watch as more locals leave for the mainland?
The winning position here is to finally kick Lahaina Strong to the curb. They have passed their "best before" date.
Understand that they are all monetizing their roles, either as a paid lobbyist, as a social media "influencer", or as a general grifter who profits off the division they are sewing
Kill Bill 9.
Make it so that this destabilizing dumpster fire doesn't come back in another failed form
Resume status quo with these STRs
Work symbiotically with these STR owners. They all wish so badly that they were Hawaiian they will do anything to help Hawaii stay Hawaiian. Trust me.
Don't break their bottom line because if they can't pay their bills, they will sell to someone wealthier who won't have a problem with high ownership costs.The symbiosis needs to be mostly mutual, or you lose them as an ally.
-Ease up on the property taxes, see above
-To the extent that you can, launch an investigation into possible collusion between hotels, the mayor and Lahaina Strong. It's there, trust me, and it goes all the way up to Green.
-Realign the local politics such that Minatoya condo owners are your ally. They are.
-triangulate the local population with these owners - these two groups have far more in common than LS and hotels, and rather than one group running around looking for tomorrow's paycheck, the STR owners will provide steady paychecks. Happily. All this talk about not being community minded, these LS people live in a bubble. They can't tell a Minatoya condo guest from an owner, can't differentiate a hotel zoned STR owner from an apartment zoned one, and have no clue if those walking on the beach are hotel guests, Minatoya guests, or hotel zoned STR guests.
Work with the STR revenue streams to:
-help restore water to the public trust
-put a moratorium on hotel expansion
-cease the approvals for new hotel developments
-cease any new STR permits, and/or any new STR developments.
-Lock the accommodation space on Maui as though it was 2023
-Pour everything you can into building affordable housing
-work with the land trusts to secure affordable ownership in perpetuity
Take your pick. One is provably and demonstrably a lose-lose-lose situation.
Or take the other option, which is the old status quo, but with a focus on Maui, on the community you represent, on affordable housing, and with the welfare queens in Lahaina Strong sidelined and the ATMs (STR owners) making your job look easy, chalking up win after win for council and for the local community.
Seems a no-brainer to me.
Oppose
Oppose
Oppose
This bill has already wrecked havoc on the jobs and real estate market. Condos are not selling, not even the "affordable" ones, prices are down 30-40%. Most qualified people have left the island. As an onsite property manager for a Minatoya property, I am required to live onsite. I am being contact daily by other complexes looking for new managers as so many have left the island. Many people are stating that onsite managers can be offsite. That is not true and they keep spreading lies and falsehoods. Lets rebuild our community, we don't need the 7000 units in 5 years not to mention the loss of economic opportunity for all Mauians.
To: County of Maui Planning Department Subject: Agenda Item Policy Section 2.2.25
Aloha CPAC Chair and Members,
I am writing in strong opposition to Bill 9.
I have been a Maui resident for the past 40 years. My wife and I put our lives saving to buy two condos at the Kuau Plaza in Paia that we have been running as STRs for the last 12 years. We do about 80 of the management, maintenance and cleanings of the units, and for the other 20% we hire local contractors or cleaners to help us out. These condos are our Maui born and raised son and daughter future inheritance.
We understand the great pressure for affordable housing that has arise in Maui, specially after the horrible tragedy of the Lahaina Fire. However we don’t believe the solution is to eliminate short term rentals in Maui. This will only create more hardships for Maui residents and potentially put more residents out of jobs or not able to afford housing.
We would like to list below our concerns as briefs as possible and then a suggestion for a posible solution to the problem that might be able to help all people in Maui.
Personal concern affecting our situation: With the high costs of living in Maui, the insurance premiums rising, HOA costs rising and Mortgages involved on our units. The long term rental rent that we would have to charge just to break even would be already very expensive for such a small unit and probably unaffordable for most people in Maui, which could cause us to loose the properties to the bank.
Concerns affecting rest of Maui residents: Like it or not, Maui lives out of tourism. Not all the tourist that come to Maui can afford the $800 plus per day that hotels charge and many of them want to have a kitchen in their room in order to make their holiday more affordable. So we will have less visitors in the island which accounts for less money coming into all businesses in Maui. In addition all the people that work doing cleaning, maintenance and remodeling of condo’s would be out of work or with their workload drastically reduced. How would all these people affected be able to pay their rents or mortgages if this happens?
Our humble suggestion on a possible solution: Impose a additional tax to out of state STR owners similar to how University of Hawaii charges out of state students, or how some of the parking lots in Maui (Ahihi Kinau) where only non-residents pay. Then use the additional funds to build and subsidize affordable housing in Maui. Out of state Owners can choose between paying the additional tax, and feel good about it since it is helping the Maui community with the housing crisis, or put their units for long term rentals. Whatever makes more economic sense for each owner.
In addition, current construction costs are out control and probably the biggest factor on affordable housing in Maui. According to the an article on CivilBeat: , https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/04/a-low-income-housing-complex-is-ready-to-rebuild-after-lahaina-fire-it-just-needs-36m/ the Kaiaulu o Kupuohi apartment complex for low-income families in Lahaina cost to rebuild the 89 unit 5th story building will be $80,000,000, That is $900,000 per unit. If those are the cost of just rebuilding how can the people of Maui afford these prices? Getting construction cost under control should be a priority for the council in order to develop affordable housing.
We respectuly urge you to oppose Bill 9.
Sincerely,
Mauricio and Silvia Toscano Kuau Plaza
I oppose this bill. Short Term Rental units provide lots of business to local vendors. I always send my renters to places like That's A Wrap and the Maui Bread Company, just to name two of the dozen or so nearby vendors. Also locals who run their own private companies are the ones who we use to do things like clean our condo.
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify. I am a Maui resident. I am a short-term rental owner. I have three boys who were all raised here. One is an apprentice, one is in college, and the third is in highschool. I oppose this bill.
I am very concerned about the lack of affordable housing on Maui. I worry about our boys, if they will be able to stay on Maui.
We bought our short-term rental as an investment. We manage it ourselves. We hire a cleaner who is well paid. We hire a local handyman who is well paid. The STR has to pay for itself, we depend on the income. I can’t afford to rent it long-term, not even to my own kids. These 40-60-year-old buildings are expensive to maintain and fix. Insurance premiums are through the roof.
This bill won’t create long-term housing, it will just cause a turnover in mainland investors and further kill the Maui economy. Most local STR owners like myself will be forced to sell as these investment properties need to pay for themselves. Mainland owners bought their condos to use throughout the year themselves. Some will be able to keep them for personal use, others will sell, but it is unlikely they will long-term rent, as it precludes personal use. Who will buy these condos? It will be other mainland investors. The maintenance costs of these old buildings are just too high to make them affordable.
Build affordable housing. Keep the taxpayer-subsidized affordable housing affordable in perpetuity.
June 5, 2025
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members,
We are Greg and Charlene Sheehan, owners of a 550-square-foot short-term rental unit in the Hono Kai Resort in Maalaea.
We respectfully oppose the proposed phase-out of short-term rentals like ours, and ask that you consider the following:
1. Historical Zoning and Use
Hono Kai was built in 1970 after the County rezoned Maalaea to Apartment zoning—specifically to encourage tourism development under the County’s general plan. At the time, "short-term rental" zoning did not exist. Vacation rentals were the intended and approved use.
2. Original Intent
Recorded County documents from the time of construction clearly designated this complex for vacation rental use—not for local workforce housing.
3. Financial Viability
This is a 55-year-old building with high maintenance costs. Current monthly AOAO dues are $1,495. If converted to local housing, combined costs—including dues, taxes, insurance, and mortgage—would exceed $4,000 a month for just 550 square feet, making it unaffordable to most local residents. We current lose about $2,000 per month versus our costs.
4. Local Economic Impact
Our rental supports local jobs and businesses—cleaners, maintenance staff, hardware stores, furniture shops, and more. We bring outside dollars into Maui’s economy year-round.
5. Wider Economic Consequences
A broad STR ban would lead to job losses and reduced economic activity. Without enough hotel inventory to replace STR income, the County’s revenue and local livelihoods will suffer. Even if units are made available, most locals will still not be able to afford them.
We support efforts to address affordable housing, but urge you not to eliminate long-standing vacation rentals like Hono Kai Resort that were previously evaluated and included in the Minatoya exemption. These properties were developed under different expectations and continue to support Maui’s economy.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Greg and Charlene Sheehan