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)
I have been a visitor to Maui for over 20 years (was married on Napili Bay in 2004 and fell in love with the island). Since that time, I have made many local friends on the island and have heard first hand from these locals how a short term rental ban will negatively impact their local business (whether that be a restaurant, cleaning or tour business, etc.). Since the introduction of the potential short term rental ban and negative visitor press that followed, I know that local business' have already suffered great losses from the decrease in tourism. This will only be amplified if the short term rental ban is passed. Maui is a very expensive place to visit, and without short term rentals to make it more affordable, tourism will drop significantly and local business' will suffer. Furthermore, affordable housing for locals is not found at short term rental properties, nor are those properties conducive to raising families (they lack storage, parking and a sense of community). My hope is that Maui council will allocate funds and land to build appropriate housing for the locals that need it, while keeping legal short term rentals to bring in dollars that local business' and residents rely on to make a living.
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.
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 has never been workforce housing so Papakea is not an example of a property that converted from workforce housing to transient vacation rental use.
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.
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.
Papakea guests support many small businesses on the island including restaurants, food trucks, tour operators, activities, state parks, the national park, and shops.
While I completely understand the need to create long-term housing for local residents, I believe that Papakea Resort should be excluded from these efforts for the above state reasons.
Thank you for your consideration.
Minatoya List Question - Which of the West Side condos were “workforce housing”?
In an April 2025 community meeting in Kihei, Mayor Richard Bissen said that the Minatoya List exemption for short term rentals in apartment zones should continue for all units that “look like, behave like, hotels”. He said this would allow all the condos outside of the West Side to continue with the exemption. Then he said that on the West Side “some were built as workforce housing” and then later converted to condos that allow short term rentals.
QUESTION: What is the list of all the West Side condos on the Minatoya List that were built as “workforce housing” and then later converted to condos that allow short term rentals? The owners in these condos have a right to know if the proposed ban on short term rentals would apply to them. The uncertainty about lifting the Montoya List exemption has depressed the value of the condos that were never built for “workforce housing”.
It should be easy for the County to quickly review the DECLARATION OF HORIZONTAL. PROPERTY REGIME of the West Side Minatoya List condos to see which were initially constructed as “workforce housing”. This list of “workforce housing” condos should be published immediately.
June 5, 2025 Gordon Bradley 480 Kenolio Rd, Unit 16-104, Kihei, HI, cell 808-442-2004
The HOA fees, maintenance assessments, insurance, taxes, and mortgage costs for any of the units where I live in Maui Kamaole (even w/ the post May '24 price drops) put them far above the financial reach of those seeking long term rental housing or purchasing. Eliminating the right to rent them as STRs will lower tourist revenue to Maui, and cause other job losses to those supporting STRs, all without adding to local long term housing. It these STRs are eliminated the price might fall a bit more, but close to enough to make it a viable long term rental. Instead the current owners will suffer material harm, drive many lawsuits, and then some wealthy offshore vacation home buyer will swoop down and buy them, Please do not shoot Maui in the foot by eliminating these STRs. It cannot and will not achieve the good goals of increasing long term housing. Instead please make it easier and less costly to build more cost appropriate housing designed for long term renters and affordable housing buyers.
Respectfully, strongly oppose!!
This will bring about the beginning of the end of Maui. It will destroy what's left of Maui's economy after covid and the fires.
Hurting one to heal another...isn't right.
This bill will systematically dismantle Kihei’s economy. Kihei is already struggling. Small businesses are going to close. Kihei will lose grocery stores, maybe Ace Hardware. What used to be a vibrant community, will devolve into an ocean side homeless haven. I feel sorry for the Lanhaina businesses who moved their operations to Kihei, only to be destroyed again by ill conceived non-solutions to our unmanaged housing situation.
Aloha Mayor Richard Bissen and Maui County Council Members,
My name is Kai Duponte, I am Kanaka Maoli and born and raised on Maui. I support the phase out of short-term rentals in Residential/Apartment Districts on Maui.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mahalo for your commitment to the well-being of our community.
Looking at all the opposition from mainland based vacation rental investors really tells the story. This is the chance to support the residents over the investors. The Mayor has said he will take literally anything. As for the budget, he is confident it can be figured out. This boils down to a yes vote for residents.
Very simple solution, build more housing, stop blocking development, stealing housing from your primary economic driver is not helping anyone, Hawaii has plenty of land why are we afraid to build some apartments?
Subject: Opposition to Proposed Bill Restricting Short-Term Rentals
Dear Council Members,
I am writing on behalf of myself and my independent contractors, a locally owned and operated cleaning business that has served the Maui community for 8 years. My company is proud to support many homeowners and property managers, many of whom operate short-term rentals that bring visitors from around the world to our island. I respectfully urge you to vote NO on the proposed bill to eliminate or severely restrict short-term rentals in Kihei-Maui County.
This bill would directly impact the livelihood of my team and our families. 100% of my revenue comes from servicing short-term rental properties. These consistent cleaning jobs allow me to employ hardworking local residents, many of whom support their own families, pay rent or mortgages, and contribute to the local economy.
While we understand the need to address concerns about housing and community well-being, we believe there is a more balanced solution that supports both residents and local businesses. The short-term rental industry is not just about tourists—it’s about local workers like us who rely on it for steady income. Without these properties, many small service businesses, water activity Companies, restaurants, coffee shops, shave ice shops, Handymen—including ours—will face devastating losses. We have already lost many small business owners who had to move to the mainland.
We support responsible regulation and fair enforcement, but an outright ban would be harmful and, in many cases, disproportionate. Please consider the ripple effect this bill would have on local employment and small business sustainability.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We urge you to work with all stakeholders to find a solution that protects Maui’s housing future and its hardworking people!
My wife and I purchased our unit at Maui Sunset in 2011, after many years of visiting as short-term renters. We love Maui and feel we are part of the community. We attend art and cultural events at The MAC and elsewhere, eat out at local restaurants with friends and family, and enjoy all that Maui has to offer, on every part of the island. We typically spend four months of the year on Maui, and are visited each year by many members of our extended family who also contribute to the local economy when they visit.
We welcome short term renters into our unit. Maui Sunset has an Activity Desk that helps owners and visitors book a variety of experiences, from whale watches and luaus to family photography sessions and kayak rentals, further contributing to the local economy. We charge a fraction of what the large hotel properties charge, allowing families with children to enjoy all that Maui offers. We work with a Maui-based rental management agency, and use local residents for our housecleaning and maintenance work. We completed a major remodel of our unit a few years ago, again working with local businesses to order cabinets, flooring, granite, and for all the labor.
Our purchase of our unit was based on its designation as a short-term rental property. It was never built to be workforce housing. Our waterfront unit is one bedroom, under 1,000 square feet, with a significant monthly AOAO fee. It is not an ideal match for a local family looking for long-term housing.
Our property at Maui Sunset brings important income to Maui and supports many jobs for island residents. Passage of this legislation would end all that. We could not afford to keep our unit without the rental income to help offset rising costs of insurance and maintenance of an older building. Further, Maui is due to receive significant government funds to promote tourism, and return visitors to the island in greater numbers. Where will these tourists stay if a $1,000 a night hotel is beyond their means? Tourism is a vital component of the local economy. Please do not include Maui Sunset in this program.
Aloha: I am Michael Stark. My wife Sai has owned Royal Maui Cleaners for about 15 years and works with 2 other girls to handle short-term rental cleanings at many of the properties on the list. From her perspective, 3 Maui workers whose families depend on their income will be put out of work if the proposed legislation is approved. I know of many other local cleaners in the same boat. I also think that the high cost of the affected properties maintenance fees and current values make them far too expensive to successfully be used for long-term rentals. Mahalos for listening.
Thank you for this opportunity to express my opinion in opposition for HLU-4 Bill 9. My name is Karen Grafe. My husband Joe and I are 77 and 78 years old and we have no children to look after us. We have been full-time residents of Maui since 2001 and have involved ourselves in the local community through volunteering and work. For many years, we volunteered and worked at the Pacific Whale Foundation teaching visitors about the environmental issues with the ocean and the aina. We paddled with the Maui Canoe Club, held a Sunday worship service in Kamaole III Beach Park for 13 years, attend Kihei Baptist Church, been members of a number of civic organizations and I have served on our condo association board for 20+ years. We love Maui and want to see the community thrive. We also love meeting and getting to know visitors to the island, many of whom come back year after year. They respect and love our our community, culture, the ocean, the animals and they treat our condos as their home away from home.
We have saved and invested in order to take care of ourselves in our senior years. We have two rental condos at Haleakala Shores which we purchased when they were in distressed circumstances and remodeled. Our full-time residence, purchased in 1994, is also at Haleakala Shores. Eventually, one of the rental units will house our care givers. Currently, the rental income supplements our fixed income, although because of Covid, the tragic fire in Lahaina, the reduction in tourism, inflation and a huge increase in insurance pricing it has been hard to cover our costs. The drop in income for people we employ, such as our long-time cleaner, has been devastating. If we and other STRs are shut down, I know many people will lose their jobs or businesses. We are all inter-connected in a dynamic economy, much like a canoe that needs all the paddlers to work in harmony, each doing his or her job to keep going in the right direction.
We have been good tax payers. Last year our two rental units accounted for over $22,800 in property taxes and over $15,500 in state taxes --GET and TAT. Maui County also benefitted with over $3,300 paid to the Maui County TAT. The County has long considered STRs as the "highest and best use" of condo properties as the tax receipts are so much higher than for full-time resident units. The County would benefit much more from both tourism taxes and additional long-term housing if illegal rentals, which are usually found in neighborhoods not the tourist areas, would be shut down. This can be done as I believe Kauai has made tremendous progress weeding out non-tax paying illegal rentals. Our complex was built for tourism so only a few units house long-term residents. We do not have the space, parking or the ability to have pets which long-term residents prefer.
I would also point out that a number of our "tourists" are visitors from Oahu and the neighbor islands who would not want (or be able) to pay high hotel prices and dine out for every meal. They often bring children and need to watch expenses. Additionally, Maui should not be just for millionaire tourists. We often host people who have saved for years to experience the beauty here and learn about the Hawaiian culture. Many volunteer on vacation to clean up beaches or do other ECO projects (a program of PWF).
In short, tourists and their dollars are needed to provide income for vacation rental owners, people they employee such as cleaners, handymen, contractors, landscapers, etc. and for other businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores, retailers, beauty and nail salons, etc. All these entities pay taxes and a lot of tax money will be needed for the new larger County Budget and for all the infrastructure projects needed for Lahaina and other parts of the island. We should endeavor to make it easier for new homes to be built and for homes to be rebuilt in Lahaina by cutting a lot of red tape if the true goal is to provide more housing. There are a lot of ways to look at this issue, especially as we want to do the right thing and be compassionate, but true compassion would be to try to help the most people with jobs and housing through good business management. This is a big island with many different communities and needs. We need to consider the whole in order to help those currently in need of housing options. Mahalo
I have been a visitor to Maui for over 20 years (was married on Napili Bay in 2004 and fell in love with the island). Since that time, I have made many local friends on the island and have heard first hand from these locals how a short term rental ban will negatively impact their local business (whether that be a restaurant, cleaning or tour business, etc.). Since the introduction of the potential short term rental ban and negative visitor press that followed, I know that local business' have already suffered great losses from the decrease in tourism. This will only be amplified if the short term rental ban is passed. Maui is a very expensive place to visit, and without short term rentals to make it more affordable, tourism will drop significantly and local business' will suffer. Furthermore, affordable housing for locals is not found at short term rental properties, nor are those properties conducive to raising families (they lack storage, parking and a sense of community). My hope is that Maui council will allocate funds and land to build appropriate housing for the locals that need it, while keeping legal short term rentals to bring in dollars that local business' and residents rely on to make a living.
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.
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 has never been workforce housing so Papakea is not an example of a property that converted from workforce housing to transient vacation rental use.
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.
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.
Papakea guests support many small businesses on the island including restaurants, food trucks, tour operators, activities, state parks, the national park, and shops.
While I completely understand the need to create long-term housing for local residents, I believe that Papakea Resort should be excluded from these efforts for the above state reasons.
Thank you for your consideration.
I oppose the ban on STR condos. They are not a practical or affordable housing solution.
Minatoya List Question - Which of the West Side condos were “workforce housing”?
In an April 2025 community meeting in Kihei, Mayor Richard Bissen said that the Minatoya List exemption for short term rentals in apartment zones should continue for all units that “look like, behave like, hotels”. He said this would allow all the condos outside of the West Side to continue with the exemption. Then he said that on the West Side “some were built as workforce housing” and then later converted to condos that allow short term rentals.
QUESTION: What is the list of all the West Side condos on the Minatoya List that were built as “workforce housing” and then later converted to condos that allow short term rentals? The owners in these condos have a right to know if the proposed ban on short term rentals would apply to them. The uncertainty about lifting the Montoya List exemption has depressed the value of the condos that were never built for “workforce housing”.
It should be easy for the County to quickly review the DECLARATION OF HORIZONTAL. PROPERTY REGIME of the West Side Minatoya List condos to see which were initially constructed as “workforce housing”. This list of “workforce housing” condos should be published immediately.
June 5, 2025 Gordon Bradley 480 Kenolio Rd, Unit 16-104, Kihei, HI, cell 808-442-2004
The HOA fees, maintenance assessments, insurance, taxes, and mortgage costs for any of the units where I live in Maui Kamaole (even w/ the post May '24 price drops) put them far above the financial reach of those seeking long term rental housing or purchasing. Eliminating the right to rent them as STRs will lower tourist revenue to Maui, and cause other job losses to those supporting STRs, all without adding to local long term housing. It these STRs are eliminated the price might fall a bit more, but close to enough to make it a viable long term rental. Instead the current owners will suffer material harm, drive many lawsuits, and then some wealthy offshore vacation home buyer will swoop down and buy them, Please do not shoot Maui in the foot by eliminating these STRs. It cannot and will not achieve the good goals of increasing long term housing. Instead please make it easier and less costly to build more cost appropriate housing designed for long term renters and affordable housing buyers.
Respectfully, strongly oppose!!
This will bring about the beginning of the end of Maui. It will destroy what's left of Maui's economy after covid and the fires.
Hurting one to heal another...isn't right.
respectfully oppose.
200% OPPOSE
This bill will systematically dismantle Kihei’s economy. Kihei is already struggling. Small businesses are going to close. Kihei will lose grocery stores, maybe Ace Hardware. What used to be a vibrant community, will devolve into an ocean side homeless haven. I feel sorry for the Lanhaina businesses who moved their operations to Kihei, only to be destroyed again by ill conceived non-solutions to our unmanaged housing situation.
I oppose this bill
I appose this bill. This Bill will be detrimental to Maui.
The millions of dollars lost in tax revenue, loss of jobs will collapse the econmy
Oppose
Aloha Mayor Richard Bissen and Maui County Council Members,
My name is Kai Duponte, I am Kanaka Maoli and born and raised on Maui. I support the phase out of short-term rentals in Residential/Apartment Districts on Maui.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mahalo for your commitment to the well-being of our community.
Sincerely,
Kai Duponte
.
I oppose this Bill.
Looking at all the opposition from mainland based vacation rental investors really tells the story. This is the chance to support the residents over the investors. The Mayor has said he will take literally anything. As for the budget, he is confident it can be figured out. This boils down to a yes vote for residents.
Mahalo.
Very simple solution, build more housing, stop blocking development, stealing housing from your primary economic driver is not helping anyone, Hawaii has plenty of land why are we afraid to build some apartments?
Subject: Opposition to Proposed Bill Restricting Short-Term Rentals
Dear Council Members,
I am writing on behalf of myself and my independent contractors, a locally owned and operated cleaning business that has served the Maui community for 8 years. My company is proud to support many homeowners and property managers, many of whom operate short-term rentals that bring visitors from around the world to our island. I respectfully urge you to vote NO on the proposed bill to eliminate or severely restrict short-term rentals in Kihei-Maui County.
This bill would directly impact the livelihood of my team and our families. 100% of my revenue comes from servicing short-term rental properties. These consistent cleaning jobs allow me to employ hardworking local residents, many of whom support their own families, pay rent or mortgages, and contribute to the local economy.
While we understand the need to address concerns about housing and community well-being, we believe there is a more balanced solution that supports both residents and local businesses. The short-term rental industry is not just about tourists—it’s about local workers like us who rely on it for steady income. Without these properties, many small service businesses, water activity Companies, restaurants, coffee shops, shave ice shops, Handymen—including ours—will face devastating losses. We have already lost many small business owners who had to move to the mainland.
We support responsible regulation and fair enforcement, but an outright ban would be harmful and, in many cases, disproportionate. Please consider the ripple effect this bill would have on local employment and small business sustainability.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We urge you to work with all stakeholders to find a solution that protects Maui’s housing future and its hardworking people!
Aloha Chair and Committee Members,
My wife and I purchased our unit at Maui Sunset in 2011, after many years of visiting as short-term renters. We love Maui and feel we are part of the community. We attend art and cultural events at The MAC and elsewhere, eat out at local restaurants with friends and family, and enjoy all that Maui has to offer, on every part of the island. We typically spend four months of the year on Maui, and are visited each year by many members of our extended family who also contribute to the local economy when they visit.
We welcome short term renters into our unit. Maui Sunset has an Activity Desk that helps owners and visitors book a variety of experiences, from whale watches and luaus to family photography sessions and kayak rentals, further contributing to the local economy. We charge a fraction of what the large hotel properties charge, allowing families with children to enjoy all that Maui offers. We work with a Maui-based rental management agency, and use local residents for our housecleaning and maintenance work. We completed a major remodel of our unit a few years ago, again working with local businesses to order cabinets, flooring, granite, and for all the labor.
Our purchase of our unit was based on its designation as a short-term rental property. It was never built to be workforce housing. Our waterfront unit is one bedroom, under 1,000 square feet, with a significant monthly AOAO fee. It is not an ideal match for a local family looking for long-term housing.
Our property at Maui Sunset brings important income to Maui and supports many jobs for island residents. Passage of this legislation would end all that. We could not afford to keep our unit without the rental income to help offset rising costs of insurance and maintenance of an older building. Further, Maui is due to receive significant government funds to promote tourism, and return visitors to the island in greater numbers. Where will these tourists stay if a $1,000 a night hotel is beyond their means? Tourism is a vital component of the local economy. Please do not include Maui Sunset in this program.
Thank you for your consideration.
Tim and Heidi Benton
Aloha: I am Michael Stark. My wife Sai has owned Royal Maui Cleaners for about 15 years and works with 2 other girls to handle short-term rental cleanings at many of the properties on the list. From her perspective, 3 Maui workers whose families depend on their income will be put out of work if the proposed legislation is approved. I know of many other local cleaners in the same boat. I also think that the high cost of the affected properties maintenance fees and current values make them far too expensive to successfully be used for long-term rentals. Mahalos for listening.
Aloha Chair Kama and HLU Committee Members,
Thank you for this opportunity to express my opinion in opposition for HLU-4 Bill 9. My name is Karen Grafe. My husband Joe and I are 77 and 78 years old and we have no children to look after us. We have been full-time residents of Maui since 2001 and have involved ourselves in the local community through volunteering and work. For many years, we volunteered and worked at the Pacific Whale Foundation teaching visitors about the environmental issues with the ocean and the aina. We paddled with the Maui Canoe Club, held a Sunday worship service in Kamaole III Beach Park for 13 years, attend Kihei Baptist Church, been members of a number of civic organizations and I have served on our condo association board for 20+ years. We love Maui and want to see the community thrive. We also love meeting and getting to know visitors to the island, many of whom come back year after year. They respect and love our our community, culture, the ocean, the animals and they treat our condos as their home away from home.
We have saved and invested in order to take care of ourselves in our senior years. We have two rental condos at Haleakala Shores which we purchased when they were in distressed circumstances and remodeled. Our full-time residence, purchased in 1994, is also at Haleakala Shores. Eventually, one of the rental units will house our care givers. Currently, the rental income supplements our fixed income, although because of Covid, the tragic fire in Lahaina, the reduction in tourism, inflation and a huge increase in insurance pricing it has been hard to cover our costs. The drop in income for people we employ, such as our long-time cleaner, has been devastating. If we and other STRs are shut down, I know many people will lose their jobs or businesses. We are all inter-connected in a dynamic economy, much like a canoe that needs all the paddlers to work in harmony, each doing his or her job to keep going in the right direction.
We have been good tax payers. Last year our two rental units accounted for over $22,800 in property taxes and over $15,500 in state taxes --GET and TAT. Maui County also benefitted with over $3,300 paid to the Maui County TAT. The County has long considered STRs as the "highest and best use" of condo properties as the tax receipts are so much higher than for full-time resident units. The County would benefit much more from both tourism taxes and additional long-term housing if illegal rentals, which are usually found in neighborhoods not the tourist areas, would be shut down. This can be done as I believe Kauai has made tremendous progress weeding out non-tax paying illegal rentals. Our complex was built for tourism so only a few units house long-term residents. We do not have the space, parking or the ability to have pets which long-term residents prefer.
I would also point out that a number of our "tourists" are visitors from Oahu and the neighbor islands who would not want (or be able) to pay high hotel prices and dine out for every meal. They often bring children and need to watch expenses. Additionally, Maui should not be just for millionaire tourists. We often host people who have saved for years to experience the beauty here and learn about the Hawaiian culture. Many volunteer on vacation to clean up beaches or do other ECO projects (a program of PWF).
In short, tourists and their dollars are needed to provide income for vacation rental owners, people they employee such as cleaners, handymen, contractors, landscapers, etc. and for other businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores, retailers, beauty and nail salons, etc. All these entities pay taxes and a lot of tax money will be needed for the new larger County Budget and for all the infrastructure projects needed for Lahaina and other parts of the island. We should endeavor to make it easier for new homes to be built and for homes to be rebuilt in Lahaina by cutting a lot of red tape if the true goal is to provide more housing. There are a lot of ways to look at this issue, especially as we want to do the right thing and be compassionate, but true compassion would be to try to help the most people with jobs and housing through good business management. This is a big island with many different communities and needs. We need to consider the whole in order to help those currently in need of housing options. Mahalo