Dear Chair and Members of the Committee,
I am writing to you today not just as a property owner, but as someone who deeply cares about the future, the people, and the spirit of Maui. I am writing to express my heartfelt support for the H3/H4 zoning classifications.
I truly believe that upholding the H3/H4 zoning provides a balanced, respectful path forward, one that honors the visitor industry that sustains us, while fiercely protecting the community we love.
I humbly ask the committee to support the preservation of H3/H4 zoning. Thank you so much for your time, your hard work and your continued dedication to our beautiful island.
With warmest aloha,
Andreea Constantin-Pau
To: Housing & Land Use Committee, Maui County Council
Hearing Date: May 26, 2026
Item: Bill 88 (Establishing H-3 and H-4 Zoning Districts)
Position: STRONG SUPPORT
Dear Chair and Members of the Committee,
I am writing to express my strong support for the passage of Bill 88.
As a property owner on Maui, I believe our current zoning code lacks the nuance required to handle complex real estate landscapes. Establishing the H-3 and H-4 zoning frameworks is a necessary step toward modernizing Maui’s land-use code. It provides the Council and the community with flexible tools to ensure that properties historically built, managed, and utilized for visitor accommodations can be appropriately aligned under a proper hotel framework.
Furthermore, the establishment of H-3 and H-4 districts is vital for protecting Maui’s independent local workforce. A blanket phase-out does not just impact property owners; it threatens the livelihoods of thousands of local housekeepers, caretakers, and tradespeople who depend on the distinct ecosystem of managed condominiums. These independent positions often provide higher wages and better working conditions than corporate hotel environments. Modernizing our zoning code ensures we do not inadvertently eliminate the very jobs that sustain our local families in the pursuit of housing policy.
This bill does not automatically grant exemptions; rather, it creates a transparent, orderly process for evaluating which properties are fundamentally suited for visitor use versus residential housing. Providing clarity for longstanding, lawful visitor accommodations protects Maui's economic stability while ensuring property rights are treated with fairness and due process.
I urge the committee to vote in favor of establishing these vital zoning classifications.
We are just writing in support of resolution 25-230 because it creates a case-by-case zoning pathway rather than a blanket rule. We all know Maui’s housing crisis is real, but not every apartment-zoned vacation rental is realistic workforce housing. Some properties have long operated legally as visitor accommodations in resort-oriented areas and support local jobs, small businesses, and county tax revenue. H-3/H-4 does not automatically save every property; it just gives Council a fairly transparent tool to decide which properties are appropriate for continued visitor use. We urge the Council to support Resolution 25-230 and keep that pathway open.
Many thanks and blessings to all in this difficult process,
Dear Chair U‘u-Hodgins, Vice Chair Batangan, and members of the Housing and Land Use Committee:
First and foremost, I support affordable housing for all Maui residents 100%!
I also respectfully support passage of Bill 88 clean to establish the H3 and H4 zoning districts.
Some Properties will be unable accomplish what Bill 9 was created for, affordable housing in Maui, without Bill 88.
Hotel
As you are aware, there are some properties that are currently run like hotels/resorts. They have front desk/reservation services, tennis/pickleball courts, swimming pools, putting greens Koi ponds and many more amenities and activities for guests along with housekeeping services. All these features create jobs which will be severely impacted without H3/H4 zoning exemptions.
Tax Revenue Losses
Without H3/H4 zoning, properties will create unnecessary tax revenue losses (GET, TAT and MCTAT).
Affordable housing
It will be impossible to create affordable housing in some of the properties that are currently covered under the recently passed Bill 9, without Bill 88.
Here is an example of just one property and particular unit:
I am not advocating for any particular property to be included in Bill 88 only to show the unintentional consequence of Bill 9 if left in its current state.
Maintenance fees will be in the range of $2700 starting January 2027. This will include paying an outstanding loan and a major interior plumbing project that was just recently completed. The monthly ownership cost is approximately $3000, the total of which would be $5700 a month for rental just to break even. This would be unsustainable for property owners. Over the past few years there have been over a dozen units sold on our property and other than the ones that had FEMA assistance, not one of them has been bought or turned into a long-term rental for local residents.
As you can see in this case, and I suspect many others, without Bill 88 for zoning of H3/H4 it would be a lose, lose, lose, situation-- loss of jobs, loss of tax revenue and not creating any affordable housing.
I urge you to vote responsibly for all of Maui residents.
The majority of council seemed supportive of H3 and H4 via the TIG. I voted for Paltin and so I trusted her perspective on this whole TIG thing. She seemed genuinely supportive of moving forward with council initiated rezoning, so because of her position on this on past meetings, I'm throwing in support for Bill 88. Bissen even said he support this, and has expressed support for the condos that don't fit into the "local housing" box. I voted for him too. So this is how a constituent takes guidance from their elected officials. i hope they all aren't being politicians when they say one thing and then go the other way.
I am supportive of these new zones because the many of these condos are really tourist accomodations and always have been. If people think that Minatoya was a mistake and Bill 9 is the solution then I don't thnk they've thought this all through very well.
Bill 9 doesn't fix anything and we've seen the housing market tank and if you know a realtor, nobody is buying and this includes the locals we were told up and down would be getting into these units because of the low prices. Al council has done is wipe out life savings of people they proudly argue arent'; from here without giveing anything back to the community other than the satisfaction of sticking it to the people who are harmed by the bill.
bill 88 is a way to help a large number of these condo owners keep doing what theyve always done and the money they bring in for the county will continue coming in. But council has to make it a fast and seamless process so that the financial operations of the council aren't iterrupted or impacted.
H3 and H4 zones should be made a priority and council needs to make it happen easily because it's a good compromise if you really look at it. Not all Minatoya are saved, but not all are compromised. County gets a win so so a lot of condo owners.
Be smart about this
Back on June 23, 2025, Greg began his public testimony to Council by explicitly acknowledging that he is "a transplant." Keep that timeline in mind, because less than a year later, Greg has the absolute nerve to write a testimony that is completely detached from reality.
If you Google his name, he pops up all over the place trying to play the martyr, shedding light on the "hardships" of living in a community full of Short-Term Rentals (STRs).
But here’s the kicker: public tax records show that Greg knowingly bought a former STR unit in a predominantly STR community at the exact time he purchased it. He paid an STR-inflated price, handed a massive payday to a vacation-rental owner, and now he’s trying to cosplay as a local housing activist fighting "continental extractors."
Greg, buddy—you are the continental extractor's exit strategy. You literally bought their asset!
You cannot willingly buy a former STR in a known resort area and then get mad that your neighbors are doing exactly what they’ve always done. The data is right there in the tax records:
Your unit was an active STR from 2017 right up until you bought it in 2021.
Units 2 and 3 have been STRs from 2026 tracking all the way back past 2017.
Unit 4 has been an STR from 2019 to 2026.
Imagine buying a house directly under an airport flight path and then writing a formal letter to the county demanding they ban airplanes because you can hear the jet engines. That is the exact level of entitlement we're dealing with here. You bought a room in a hotel, Greg. Stop crying that there are tourists in the lobby.
Besides, if we want to talk about the real "extractors" on Maui, let's look in the mirror. The real extractors are the mainland transplants who move to the island, price out locals for housing, take local jobs, consume the very water they complain is in short supply, and then immediately turn into aggressive activists trying to disrupt a neighborhood status quo that existed in relative harmony for decades before they arrived.
It takes a staggering amount of audacity to move to Maui from the mainland and instantly start railing against "mainlanders." Hypocrisy has no place in local politics. If you genuinely want to protect the resources and housing of this island, Greg, take your own advice: respect Maui, pack your bags, and go back where you came from.
I support Bill 88 because people like Greg expose the hypocrisy and the xenophobia associated with the opposition to it.
Here we are once again trying to balance the needs of the community or supporting the extracting of profits from vacation rentals for the continental investors. Is 6% of residents enough for this council to protect? Many have seen their once residential communities now having become hotels in all but name. Please take a moment and reach out to these resident owners and find out how they feel about changing their zoning and forever cementing what was once a home, into a continental profit center.
We have heard council members be concerned with the possibility of a reduction in tax revenue. The Mayor has already let it be known that his office will be able to plan for that. We also have council members with other ideas such as empty home taxes. It is difficult to see how the council could even think to vote against the residents the way they have been doing recently. This is the same council that authorized the temporary investigation group (TIG) and the same council that provided five (5) yes votes to pass bill 9.
We have heard that all of the TIG members intend to vote yes to create new zoning. Based on prior votes this means this will pass 7-2 with only Lanai and Molokai following the guidance by their Planning Commissions with the opinion of the Maui Planning Commission will be ignored. We also know that the council members heard the Bill 9 testimony but have not heard much regarding this additional zone effort. There was one meeting that sent this to the Planning Commission. Then there was the Planning Commission itself. Now this Bill returns to the HLU Committee and unless there has been any kind of change it feels inevitable that this will go onto the Council and will be passed 7-2.
The only hope residents have is to try and highlight to the TIG members how the absence of residents from that process may have the ability to change some of their minds. It will not be easy as we heard multiple times from the TIG members how they would be voting for the new zoning. The hope is that an outpouring of testimony will provide an opportunity to reconsider prior positions. The creation of additional zones will have many more meetings in the future and the hope is that even if these new zones are approved, there will be a thoughtful approach to any council initiated upzone efforts. That if there is even a single resident, the upzone application will be denied. That will come up again and again if this does move forward.
It will be be denied based on the same logic the county used when the Minatoya decision came out. If a property of 230 units had just a single unit that was a TVR, every unit in that complex was given the ability to TVR. This is why we are in this position today. So if a single unit is owner-occupied or long-term rental then that property is NOT suitable for TVR exemptions. Not just the unit, the entire property. Please be consistent with how the county treats Minatoya list properties. If one opposes, please reject a county initiated change, even if the property appears on a list created by the TIG. Please prioritize residents over continental extractors and investors.
Please listen to residents concerns and ask testifiers if their A1/A2 zoned property is owner occupied or long term rental.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. As someone who was born and raised on Maui, and who has been a voting resident on this island for decades, I am writing in strong support of establishing the proposed H3 and H4 hotel zones. Furthermore, I urge the committee to implement council-initiated rezoning to swiftly transition eligible properties into these new designations. This approach is a vital, common-sense corrective to the severe economic, fiscal, and legal risks posed by Bill 9.
While the intent behind expanding long-term housing for local families is understandable, the actual scope of Bill 9 creates an overwhelming, dangerous imbalance. Dick Bissen famously noted that he would "be happy if he 'got' 500 units" of long-term housing out of these efforts. Yet, Bill 9 exposes approximately 7,100 units to an immediate phase-out. Targeting 7,100 units in order to achieve a mere fraction of that in actual local housing comes at a staggering expense to property owners, introduces massive legal liability, and threatens a devastating blow to county property tax revenues. Worst of all, there is absolutely no proven benefit that any specific number of these high-value units will ever translate into viable, affordable housing for local residents.
The proposed H3 and H4 zoning designations provide a precise, surgical solution to protect Maui’s fiscal health. Allowing high-value condominiums in master-"Master Planned Resort Communities" like Wailea and Kāʻanapali to transition into these new zones ensures that we:
-Maintain robust Real Property Tax (RPT) revenues that fund critical county infrastructure, first responders, and community services.
-Continue attracting higher-spending travelers who sustain our broader island economy and local businesses.
-Remove a large, well-capitalized owner cohort from potential litigation, drastically reducing the county’s overall legal and financial exposure.
Proponents of a blanket phase-out (namely, CM Paltin) argue that these luxury resort condominiums must be converted because locals "need housing at every price point." However, this narrative ignores financial reality. Local residents have always been legally permitted to purchase any home or condominium in any area, in any complex, and at any price point. Bill 9 does not grant local families a new right or sudden financial access to multi-million-dollar resort properties; it simply strips away the existing uses of current owners at a great expense to both the owners and the county. Additionally, the homestead exemption can be applied to any property type and in any area of the island, so the $300,000 homeowner's exemption could be applied to a condo in Kahului OR a condo in Kaanapali.
Furthermore, the justification that Bill 9 corrects a historical "zoning exemption" to return apartment-zoned districts to local families ignores the actual history and geography of our island. The vast majority of the 7,100 affected properties are located in dedicated resort tracts, sitting side-by-side as literal neighbors with existing H1 and H2 condos and major hotels. They are structurally and geographically part of Maui's tourism infrastructure, not quiet or "historically" residential neighborhoods.
Many advocates wax poetic about the "good old days" when local families allegedly occupied many of these complexes. But let's be clear: local families were never the majority occupants in any of these affected Wailea or Kāʻanapali complexes. Having watched this island grow for over sixty years, I remember the perennial owner profiles of places like the Ekahi, the Ekolu, the Grand Champions, and the Palms. Mainly white, mainly mainland, and mainly wealthy. These are facts, and these are facts that have never been disputed by Bissen, Lahaina Strong, or proponents of Bill 9.
To claim these units are being "returned" to local residents is to brazenly rewrite history. In fact, both Mayor Bissen and Matt Jachowski proudly admitted that Bill 9 predominantly affects mainland owners- the exact same demographic that has been buying, selling, and maintaining these units for decades: mainly white, mainly mainland, and mainly wealthy. Looks a lot like discrimination to me.
To prevent a total economic fracture, the county must utilize Bill 88 to usher in council-initiated zoning changes. Forcing individual property owners to navigate a lengthy, costly, and backlogged administrative amendment process - with no guaranteed outcome - will result in immediate economic stagnation. As CM Member Tamara Paltin aptly noted during last week's deliberations on the proposed Paia development, "time is money." Time is money for owners, for council, and for those wondering what jobs will be left for them when 7100 condos are prohibited from renting short term.
Our county has depended on short-term rental revenues (including RPT, GET, TAT, MCTAT, and direct tourist spending) for so long that leadership will not know how to draft, let alone balance, a budget once that money vanishes from the ledger. A protracted transition will interrupt vital revenue streams and immediately jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of local residents employed directly by these properties - from housekeepers and property managers to contractors and landscapers.
We must consider what life looks like the day after the phase-out period ends. The county cannot simply tighten the screws through unending RPT increases on remaining residents. If this administration's plan actually succeeds, and all 7,100 units are phased out and converted into long-term rentals or sold to local residents, who is going to keep the county budget afloat? This isn't, as some argue, "fearmongering", it's a reality that the more stable heads on council have publicly questioned. You have Rawlins-Fernandez claiming Hawaii is not part of the US, while she derives her entire livelihood from Hawaii's statehood...while her entire constituency is one of the most federal-dollar dependent in the nation. Money, revenue, cash flow, liquidity - these are all real questions that have been given no real consideration. It's easy to pump the right fist and chant "down with the rich" while the left hand cashes their checks. It's easy to put the full weight of the county tax collector on the "mainly white, mainly mainland, and mainly wealthy" investor class, but when they've all packed up and left, locals are not so fast to enjoy THEIR new tax burden.
The reality is this: the administration's financial projections quietly depend on a large number of these units failing to convert and instead remain as high-tax short-term rentals. If they all convert, a short-term rental that used to generate $25,000 in property tax will now only bring in $2,500 as a primary residence. If they become long-term rentals, the RPT similarly plummets. Who makes up that massive deficit? With an aversion to taxing the many large multinational hotels, the burden will fall on the very people this whole ordeal promised to help. It's all so predictable because we've watched 8 years of an orange demagogue making populist pledges that not only fail to materialize, but launch an unmitigated blowback that the supporters apparently "never saw coming".
Bill 9 is a poorly planned piece of reactionary legislation that threatens to bankrupt our county and devastate our local workforce. Bill 88, through the introduction of H3 and H4 zones, at least brings logic, stability, and economic reality back to the table.
The H3 and H4 zones represent a balanced, legally sound framework that protects Maui's economy, secures county revenues, maintains local employment, and shields taxpayers from catastrophic litigation, while allowing the county to focus its actual affordable housing efforts where they can succeed. I strongly urge the committee to approve these zones and expedite the council-initiated rezoning process.
Mahalo for your time, your leadership, and your consideration.
I am in full support of Bill 88. This needs to pass so that lawful and legal STRs can have clarity of use in county zoning. Many of the Minatoya list condominium complexes have had “transient rental” use in their original documents since they were built. Please pass this Bill, create appropriate zoning and move the A1/A2 complexes on Exhibit 2 into these newly created categories.
As Maui County tax-paying owners of a condo currently legally allowed to accept short-term rental vactioners, we support Bill 88 because it provides a necessary opportunity to modernize and clarify Maui County’s zoning code while recognizing longstanding lawful visitor accommodation uses. Establishing a framework for potential H3/H4 zoning creates a transparent and consistent process that aligns zoning classifications with the historical use, operational realities, and economic characteristics of these properties. This zoning alignment is critical for Maui property owners, Maui's communities, and the future wellfare of Maui as a place to not only live but encourage and share the aloha spirit with visitors. Please vote YES for Bill 88. Kent and Theresa Boyle, Timothy and Sydney Lewis
In strong support of Bill 88. Please save Maui tourism jobs for our family and friends; our livelihoods depends on it. Our county needs and deserves the tax revenue. Please vote YES on Bill 88.
I am in favor of H3-H4 for hotel zones and to restore STR to Condos as previously listed on the Montoya list. STR’s provide a vast array of service jobs and contribute to the economic well being of Maui County.
Thank you for your consideration.
Ed Anderson
As has been widely documented, including by Lahaina Strong, some of these properties operate exactly like other resorts and hotels. They were designed, marketed, and sold for 50 years as legal vacation condos and should continue as they have always operated. They have front desks, hotel amenities, and infrastructure. Additionally, some properties are uniquely complicated because portions of the property include timeshare interests and mixed-use ownership structures. Applying broad zoning restrictions to properties with long-standing timeshare and visitor accommodation components creates arbitrary and inconsistent outcomes.
I am also deeply concerned by public rhetoric from County leadership, including statements from Richard Bissen, that at times appear to frame out-of-state property owners as less deserving of legal protection or as politically acceptable targets for differential treatment. While the County may pursue legitimate housing objectives, constitutional protections do not depend on residency status or political popularity.
The Equal Protection Clauses of both the United States and Hawaiʻi Constitutions require government action to be rational, even-handed, and non-arbitrary. Out-of-state owners cannot lawfully be singled out for punitive treatment simply because they are nonresidents or because their ownership is politically unpopular. Many owners purchased these units in reliance on decades of County land use classifications, permitting practices, tax structures, and public representations confirming lawful visitor use.
Do the right thing and pass Bill 88 without amendments.
Appreciate the opportunity to express my opinion in support of a YES vote.
The current zoning has some unintended flaws which creates inconsistencies & needs review.
1. Some condo complexes are situated in or next to resort areas but zoned as apartments.
2. Condo complexes with resort amenities (tennis, basketball, & extensive grounds) are expensive to maintain & not practical for LT renters.
3. Complexes with resort amenities were intentionally designed, marketed & sold as vacation home properties.
4. Some of these resort area complexes existed & operated as short term rentals for over 45 years.
5. Complexes with HOA dues of over $1,500 per month exceed even the higher earning resident's ability to afford, reaching over 50% of the average two worker families.
6. After the terrible loss of 1,900 jobs in Lahaina, our community needs jobs that STR provide along with the taxes generated.
Respectfully, Don Pyne (78 year old Army Veteran)
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to urge the council to vote YES to create new hotel zoning districts.
Updating the zoning code to include additional hotel districts is essential to Maui's economy.
Workers at the STRs in question will most likely lose their jobs without the bill being passed-negatively impacting Maui's revenue and economy. This will continue to have a negative trickle down effect into all sectors of Maui's businesses.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
Debby Potter
I support the passage of Bill 88. Doing the right thing is an important aspect of public work, and now is an opportunity to do just that. The development of H3 and H4 zoning was anticipated in the passage of Bill 9, and provides an appropriate path forward to support an ultimate solution which benefits the interests of Maui as a whole.
Enough already from the non-profit industrial complex grifters like Jackie Keefe that are just pushing the HAPA trash narrative and trying to gain clout for personal career gain and “reluctant” political aspirations. Her testimony always gives pono-settler tryout vibes and her "facts" are made out of whole cloth.
Contrary to Jackie’s lies, the legislation that became Bill 88 predated the passage of Bill 9. While voting on Bill 9, even Member Paltin and Member Sinenci both specifically stated that they would support both parts of the TIG legislation. In order to sound reasonable, Keefe even testified that the TIG would provide a compromise during Bill 9 testimony. Paltin and Sinenci further voted in favor of Reso 25-230 to send this bill to the Planning Commissions.
The fact that Rawlings-Fernandez illegally interfered and tainted the Planning Commission process does not mean “the community” is against creation of new zoning.
This new narrative that Bill 88 came out of nowhere to unwind Bill 9 is a complete fabrication. The TIG report was issued in October of 2025 which was about 2 months before Bill 9 passed. Council discussed the TIG recommendations as “companion legislation” and “a compromise.” The County has even stated in court filings that the TIG legislation is underway and that properties on Exhibit 2 may end up being rezoned.
Bill 88 was the first part of the agreed-upon path for implementation of Bill 9. Listening to Jackie is a fast track to the actual community seeing yet another example of councilmembers lying the public by saying they would support TIG legislation to get Bill 9 passed and then later voting against the TIG legislation. Why would the community ever trust or re-elect an elected official that would do this?
Supporting Bill 88 is an opportunity to show the actual community that the Council can be trusted. The community should be able to trust and rely on unequivocal statements from elected officials when they say they will support specific legislation.
Dear Chair and Members of the Committee,
I am writing to you today not just as a property owner, but as someone who deeply cares about the future, the people, and the spirit of Maui. I am writing to express my heartfelt support for the H3/H4 zoning classifications.
I truly believe that upholding the H3/H4 zoning provides a balanced, respectful path forward, one that honors the visitor industry that sustains us, while fiercely protecting the community we love.
I humbly ask the committee to support the preservation of H3/H4 zoning. Thank you so much for your time, your hard work and your continued dedication to our beautiful island.
With warmest aloha,
Andreea Constantin-Pau
To: Housing & Land Use Committee, Maui County Council
Hearing Date: May 26, 2026
Item: Bill 88 (Establishing H-3 and H-4 Zoning Districts)
Position: STRONG SUPPORT
Dear Chair and Members of the Committee,
I am writing to express my strong support for the passage of Bill 88.
As a property owner on Maui, I believe our current zoning code lacks the nuance required to handle complex real estate landscapes. Establishing the H-3 and H-4 zoning frameworks is a necessary step toward modernizing Maui’s land-use code. It provides the Council and the community with flexible tools to ensure that properties historically built, managed, and utilized for visitor accommodations can be appropriately aligned under a proper hotel framework.
Furthermore, the establishment of H-3 and H-4 districts is vital for protecting Maui’s independent local workforce. A blanket phase-out does not just impact property owners; it threatens the livelihoods of thousands of local housekeepers, caretakers, and tradespeople who depend on the distinct ecosystem of managed condominiums. These independent positions often provide higher wages and better working conditions than corporate hotel environments. Modernizing our zoning code ensures we do not inadvertently eliminate the very jobs that sustain our local families in the pursuit of housing policy.
This bill does not automatically grant exemptions; rather, it creates a transparent, orderly process for evaluating which properties are fundamentally suited for visitor use versus residential housing. Providing clarity for longstanding, lawful visitor accommodations protects Maui's economic stability while ensuring property rights are treated with fairness and due process.
I urge the committee to vote in favor of establishing these vital zoning classifications.
Mahalo for your time and consideration,
Derek
Maui Property Owner
Hi all,
We are just writing in support of resolution 25-230 because it creates a case-by-case zoning pathway rather than a blanket rule. We all know Maui’s housing crisis is real, but not every apartment-zoned vacation rental is realistic workforce housing. Some properties have long operated legally as visitor accommodations in resort-oriented areas and support local jobs, small businesses, and county tax revenue. H-3/H-4 does not automatically save every property; it just gives Council a fairly transparent tool to decide which properties are appropriate for continued visitor use. We urge the Council to support Resolution 25-230 and keep that pathway open.
Many thanks and blessings to all in this difficult process,
Fiona and Edward Dinan
Dear Chair U‘u-Hodgins, Vice Chair Batangan, and members of the Housing and Land Use Committee:
First and foremost, I support affordable housing for all Maui residents 100%!
I also respectfully support passage of Bill 88 clean to establish the H3 and H4 zoning districts.
Some Properties will be unable accomplish what Bill 9 was created for, affordable housing in Maui, without Bill 88.
Hotel
As you are aware, there are some properties that are currently run like hotels/resorts. They have front desk/reservation services, tennis/pickleball courts, swimming pools, putting greens Koi ponds and many more amenities and activities for guests along with housekeeping services. All these features create jobs which will be severely impacted without H3/H4 zoning exemptions.
Tax Revenue Losses
Without H3/H4 zoning, properties will create unnecessary tax revenue losses (GET, TAT and MCTAT).
Affordable housing
It will be impossible to create affordable housing in some of the properties that are currently covered under the recently passed Bill 9, without Bill 88.
Here is an example of just one property and particular unit:
I am not advocating for any particular property to be included in Bill 88 only to show the unintentional consequence of Bill 9 if left in its current state.
Maintenance fees will be in the range of $2700 starting January 2027. This will include paying an outstanding loan and a major interior plumbing project that was just recently completed. The monthly ownership cost is approximately $3000, the total of which would be $5700 a month for rental just to break even. This would be unsustainable for property owners. Over the past few years there have been over a dozen units sold on our property and other than the ones that had FEMA assistance, not one of them has been bought or turned into a long-term rental for local residents.
As you can see in this case, and I suspect many others, without Bill 88 for zoning of H3/H4 it would be a lose, lose, lose, situation-- loss of jobs, loss of tax revenue and not creating any affordable housing.
I urge you to vote responsibly for all of Maui residents.
The majority of council seemed supportive of H3 and H4 via the TIG. I voted for Paltin and so I trusted her perspective on this whole TIG thing. She seemed genuinely supportive of moving forward with council initiated rezoning, so because of her position on this on past meetings, I'm throwing in support for Bill 88. Bissen even said he support this, and has expressed support for the condos that don't fit into the "local housing" box. I voted for him too. So this is how a constituent takes guidance from their elected officials. i hope they all aren't being politicians when they say one thing and then go the other way.
I am supportive of these new zones because the many of these condos are really tourist accomodations and always have been. If people think that Minatoya was a mistake and Bill 9 is the solution then I don't thnk they've thought this all through very well.
Bill 9 doesn't fix anything and we've seen the housing market tank and if you know a realtor, nobody is buying and this includes the locals we were told up and down would be getting into these units because of the low prices. Al council has done is wipe out life savings of people they proudly argue arent'; from here without giveing anything back to the community other than the satisfaction of sticking it to the people who are harmed by the bill.
bill 88 is a way to help a large number of these condo owners keep doing what theyve always done and the money they bring in for the county will continue coming in. But council has to make it a fast and seamless process so that the financial operations of the council aren't iterrupted or impacted.
H3 and H4 zones should be made a priority and council needs to make it happen easily because it's a good compromise if you really look at it. Not all Minatoya are saved, but not all are compromised. County gets a win so so a lot of condo owners.
Be smart about this
We support H3/H4 zoning.
Thank you,
Yanty & Erwin Dharmawan
Please support the very needed updates to the zoning.
Imagine being someone like Greg Rylsky.
Back on June 23, 2025, Greg began his public testimony to Council by explicitly acknowledging that he is "a transplant." Keep that timeline in mind, because less than a year later, Greg has the absolute nerve to write a testimony that is completely detached from reality.
If you Google his name, he pops up all over the place trying to play the martyr, shedding light on the "hardships" of living in a community full of Short-Term Rentals (STRs).
But here’s the kicker: public tax records show that Greg knowingly bought a former STR unit in a predominantly STR community at the exact time he purchased it. He paid an STR-inflated price, handed a massive payday to a vacation-rental owner, and now he’s trying to cosplay as a local housing activist fighting "continental extractors."
Greg, buddy—you are the continental extractor's exit strategy. You literally bought their asset!
You cannot willingly buy a former STR in a known resort area and then get mad that your neighbors are doing exactly what they’ve always done. The data is right there in the tax records:
Your unit was an active STR from 2017 right up until you bought it in 2021.
Units 2 and 3 have been STRs from 2026 tracking all the way back past 2017.
Unit 4 has been an STR from 2019 to 2026.
Imagine buying a house directly under an airport flight path and then writing a formal letter to the county demanding they ban airplanes because you can hear the jet engines. That is the exact level of entitlement we're dealing with here. You bought a room in a hotel, Greg. Stop crying that there are tourists in the lobby.
Besides, if we want to talk about the real "extractors" on Maui, let's look in the mirror. The real extractors are the mainland transplants who move to the island, price out locals for housing, take local jobs, consume the very water they complain is in short supply, and then immediately turn into aggressive activists trying to disrupt a neighborhood status quo that existed in relative harmony for decades before they arrived.
It takes a staggering amount of audacity to move to Maui from the mainland and instantly start railing against "mainlanders." Hypocrisy has no place in local politics. If you genuinely want to protect the resources and housing of this island, Greg, take your own advice: respect Maui, pack your bags, and go back where you came from.
I support Bill 88 because people like Greg expose the hypocrisy and the xenophobia associated with the opposition to it.
Aloha again HLU,
Here we are once again trying to balance the needs of the community or supporting the extracting of profits from vacation rentals for the continental investors. Is 6% of residents enough for this council to protect? Many have seen their once residential communities now having become hotels in all but name. Please take a moment and reach out to these resident owners and find out how they feel about changing their zoning and forever cementing what was once a home, into a continental profit center.
We have heard council members be concerned with the possibility of a reduction in tax revenue. The Mayor has already let it be known that his office will be able to plan for that. We also have council members with other ideas such as empty home taxes. It is difficult to see how the council could even think to vote against the residents the way they have been doing recently. This is the same council that authorized the temporary investigation group (TIG) and the same council that provided five (5) yes votes to pass bill 9.
We have heard that all of the TIG members intend to vote yes to create new zoning. Based on prior votes this means this will pass 7-2 with only Lanai and Molokai following the guidance by their Planning Commissions with the opinion of the Maui Planning Commission will be ignored. We also know that the council members heard the Bill 9 testimony but have not heard much regarding this additional zone effort. There was one meeting that sent this to the Planning Commission. Then there was the Planning Commission itself. Now this Bill returns to the HLU Committee and unless there has been any kind of change it feels inevitable that this will go onto the Council and will be passed 7-2.
The only hope residents have is to try and highlight to the TIG members how the absence of residents from that process may have the ability to change some of their minds. It will not be easy as we heard multiple times from the TIG members how they would be voting for the new zoning. The hope is that an outpouring of testimony will provide an opportunity to reconsider prior positions. The creation of additional zones will have many more meetings in the future and the hope is that even if these new zones are approved, there will be a thoughtful approach to any council initiated upzone efforts. That if there is even a single resident, the upzone application will be denied. That will come up again and again if this does move forward.
It will be be denied based on the same logic the county used when the Minatoya decision came out. If a property of 230 units had just a single unit that was a TVR, every unit in that complex was given the ability to TVR. This is why we are in this position today. So if a single unit is owner-occupied or long-term rental then that property is NOT suitable for TVR exemptions. Not just the unit, the entire property. Please be consistent with how the county treats Minatoya list properties. If one opposes, please reject a county initiated change, even if the property appears on a list created by the TIG. Please prioritize residents over continental extractors and investors.
Please listen to residents concerns and ask testifiers if their A1/A2 zoned property is owner occupied or long term rental.
Aloha Chair and Committee Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. As someone who was born and raised on Maui, and who has been a voting resident on this island for decades, I am writing in strong support of establishing the proposed H3 and H4 hotel zones. Furthermore, I urge the committee to implement council-initiated rezoning to swiftly transition eligible properties into these new designations. This approach is a vital, common-sense corrective to the severe economic, fiscal, and legal risks posed by Bill 9.
While the intent behind expanding long-term housing for local families is understandable, the actual scope of Bill 9 creates an overwhelming, dangerous imbalance. Dick Bissen famously noted that he would "be happy if he 'got' 500 units" of long-term housing out of these efforts. Yet, Bill 9 exposes approximately 7,100 units to an immediate phase-out. Targeting 7,100 units in order to achieve a mere fraction of that in actual local housing comes at a staggering expense to property owners, introduces massive legal liability, and threatens a devastating blow to county property tax revenues. Worst of all, there is absolutely no proven benefit that any specific number of these high-value units will ever translate into viable, affordable housing for local residents.
The proposed H3 and H4 zoning designations provide a precise, surgical solution to protect Maui’s fiscal health. Allowing high-value condominiums in master-"Master Planned Resort Communities" like Wailea and Kāʻanapali to transition into these new zones ensures that we:
-Maintain robust Real Property Tax (RPT) revenues that fund critical county infrastructure, first responders, and community services.
-Continue attracting higher-spending travelers who sustain our broader island economy and local businesses.
-Remove a large, well-capitalized owner cohort from potential litigation, drastically reducing the county’s overall legal and financial exposure.
Proponents of a blanket phase-out (namely, CM Paltin) argue that these luxury resort condominiums must be converted because locals "need housing at every price point." However, this narrative ignores financial reality. Local residents have always been legally permitted to purchase any home or condominium in any area, in any complex, and at any price point. Bill 9 does not grant local families a new right or sudden financial access to multi-million-dollar resort properties; it simply strips away the existing uses of current owners at a great expense to both the owners and the county. Additionally, the homestead exemption can be applied to any property type and in any area of the island, so the $300,000 homeowner's exemption could be applied to a condo in Kahului OR a condo in Kaanapali.
Furthermore, the justification that Bill 9 corrects a historical "zoning exemption" to return apartment-zoned districts to local families ignores the actual history and geography of our island. The vast majority of the 7,100 affected properties are located in dedicated resort tracts, sitting side-by-side as literal neighbors with existing H1 and H2 condos and major hotels. They are structurally and geographically part of Maui's tourism infrastructure, not quiet or "historically" residential neighborhoods.
Many advocates wax poetic about the "good old days" when local families allegedly occupied many of these complexes. But let's be clear: local families were never the majority occupants in any of these affected Wailea or Kāʻanapali complexes. Having watched this island grow for over sixty years, I remember the perennial owner profiles of places like the Ekahi, the Ekolu, the Grand Champions, and the Palms. Mainly white, mainly mainland, and mainly wealthy. These are facts, and these are facts that have never been disputed by Bissen, Lahaina Strong, or proponents of Bill 9.
To claim these units are being "returned" to local residents is to brazenly rewrite history. In fact, both Mayor Bissen and Matt Jachowski proudly admitted that Bill 9 predominantly affects mainland owners- the exact same demographic that has been buying, selling, and maintaining these units for decades: mainly white, mainly mainland, and mainly wealthy. Looks a lot like discrimination to me.
To prevent a total economic fracture, the county must utilize Bill 88 to usher in council-initiated zoning changes. Forcing individual property owners to navigate a lengthy, costly, and backlogged administrative amendment process - with no guaranteed outcome - will result in immediate economic stagnation. As CM Member Tamara Paltin aptly noted during last week's deliberations on the proposed Paia development, "time is money." Time is money for owners, for council, and for those wondering what jobs will be left for them when 7100 condos are prohibited from renting short term.
Our county has depended on short-term rental revenues (including RPT, GET, TAT, MCTAT, and direct tourist spending) for so long that leadership will not know how to draft, let alone balance, a budget once that money vanishes from the ledger. A protracted transition will interrupt vital revenue streams and immediately jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of local residents employed directly by these properties - from housekeepers and property managers to contractors and landscapers.
We must consider what life looks like the day after the phase-out period ends. The county cannot simply tighten the screws through unending RPT increases on remaining residents. If this administration's plan actually succeeds, and all 7,100 units are phased out and converted into long-term rentals or sold to local residents, who is going to keep the county budget afloat? This isn't, as some argue, "fearmongering", it's a reality that the more stable heads on council have publicly questioned. You have Rawlins-Fernandez claiming Hawaii is not part of the US, while she derives her entire livelihood from Hawaii's statehood...while her entire constituency is one of the most federal-dollar dependent in the nation. Money, revenue, cash flow, liquidity - these are all real questions that have been given no real consideration. It's easy to pump the right fist and chant "down with the rich" while the left hand cashes their checks. It's easy to put the full weight of the county tax collector on the "mainly white, mainly mainland, and mainly wealthy" investor class, but when they've all packed up and left, locals are not so fast to enjoy THEIR new tax burden.
The reality is this: the administration's financial projections quietly depend on a large number of these units failing to convert and instead remain as high-tax short-term rentals. If they all convert, a short-term rental that used to generate $25,000 in property tax will now only bring in $2,500 as a primary residence. If they become long-term rentals, the RPT similarly plummets. Who makes up that massive deficit? With an aversion to taxing the many large multinational hotels, the burden will fall on the very people this whole ordeal promised to help. It's all so predictable because we've watched 8 years of an orange demagogue making populist pledges that not only fail to materialize, but launch an unmitigated blowback that the supporters apparently "never saw coming".
Bill 9 is a poorly planned piece of reactionary legislation that threatens to bankrupt our county and devastate our local workforce. Bill 88, through the introduction of H3 and H4 zones, at least brings logic, stability, and economic reality back to the table.
The H3 and H4 zones represent a balanced, legally sound framework that protects Maui's economy, secures county revenues, maintains local employment, and shields taxpayers from catastrophic litigation, while allowing the county to focus its actual affordable housing efforts where they can succeed. I strongly urge the committee to approve these zones and expedite the council-initiated rezoning process.
Mahalo for your time, your leadership, and your consideration.
I am in full support of Bill 88. This needs to pass so that lawful and legal STRs can have clarity of use in county zoning. Many of the Minatoya list condominium complexes have had “transient rental” use in their original documents since they were built. Please pass this Bill, create appropriate zoning and move the A1/A2 complexes on Exhibit 2 into these newly created categories.
Owner - Kamaole Sands
As Maui County tax-paying owners of a condo currently legally allowed to accept short-term rental vactioners, we support Bill 88 because it provides a necessary opportunity to modernize and clarify Maui County’s zoning code while recognizing longstanding lawful visitor accommodation uses. Establishing a framework for potential H3/H4 zoning creates a transparent and consistent process that aligns zoning classifications with the historical use, operational realities, and economic characteristics of these properties. This zoning alignment is critical for Maui property owners, Maui's communities, and the future wellfare of Maui as a place to not only live but encourage and share the aloha spirit with visitors. Please vote YES for Bill 88. Kent and Theresa Boyle, Timothy and Sydney Lewis
In strong support of Bill 88. Please save Maui tourism jobs for our family and friends; our livelihoods depends on it. Our county needs and deserves the tax revenue. Please vote YES on Bill 88.
I am in favor of H3-H4 for hotel zones and to restore STR to Condos as previously listed on the Montoya list. STR’s provide a vast array of service jobs and contribute to the economic well being of Maui County.
Thank you for your consideration.
Ed Anderson
I strongly support Bill 88.
As has been widely documented, including by Lahaina Strong, some of these properties operate exactly like other resorts and hotels. They were designed, marketed, and sold for 50 years as legal vacation condos and should continue as they have always operated. They have front desks, hotel amenities, and infrastructure. Additionally, some properties are uniquely complicated because portions of the property include timeshare interests and mixed-use ownership structures. Applying broad zoning restrictions to properties with long-standing timeshare and visitor accommodation components creates arbitrary and inconsistent outcomes.
I am also deeply concerned by public rhetoric from County leadership, including statements from Richard Bissen, that at times appear to frame out-of-state property owners as less deserving of legal protection or as politically acceptable targets for differential treatment. While the County may pursue legitimate housing objectives, constitutional protections do not depend on residency status or political popularity.
The Equal Protection Clauses of both the United States and Hawaiʻi Constitutions require government action to be rational, even-handed, and non-arbitrary. Out-of-state owners cannot lawfully be singled out for punitive treatment simply because they are nonresidents or because their ownership is politically unpopular. Many owners purchased these units in reliance on decades of County land use classifications, permitting practices, tax structures, and public representations confirming lawful visitor use.
Do the right thing and pass Bill 88 without amendments.
Appreciate the opportunity to express my opinion in support of a YES vote.
The current zoning has some unintended flaws which creates inconsistencies & needs review.
1. Some condo complexes are situated in or next to resort areas but zoned as apartments.
2. Condo complexes with resort amenities (tennis, basketball, & extensive grounds) are expensive to maintain & not practical for LT renters.
3. Complexes with resort amenities were intentionally designed, marketed & sold as vacation home properties.
4. Some of these resort area complexes existed & operated as short term rentals for over 45 years.
5. Complexes with HOA dues of over $1,500 per month exceed even the higher earning resident's ability to afford, reaching over 50% of the average two worker families.
6. After the terrible loss of 1,900 jobs in Lahaina, our community needs jobs that STR provide along with the taxes generated.
Respectfully, Don Pyne (78 year old Army Veteran)
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to urge the council to vote YES to create new hotel zoning districts.
Updating the zoning code to include additional hotel districts is essential to Maui's economy.
Workers at the STRs in question will most likely lose their jobs without the bill being passed-negatively impacting Maui's revenue and economy. This will continue to have a negative trickle down effect into all sectors of Maui's businesses.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
Debby Potter
I support the passage of Bill 88. Doing the right thing is an important aspect of public work, and now is an opportunity to do just that. The development of H3 and H4 zoning was anticipated in the passage of Bill 9, and provides an appropriate path forward to support an ultimate solution which benefits the interests of Maui as a whole.
Enough already from the non-profit industrial complex grifters like Jackie Keefe that are just pushing the HAPA trash narrative and trying to gain clout for personal career gain and “reluctant” political aspirations. Her testimony always gives pono-settler tryout vibes and her "facts" are made out of whole cloth.
Contrary to Jackie’s lies, the legislation that became Bill 88 predated the passage of Bill 9. While voting on Bill 9, even Member Paltin and Member Sinenci both specifically stated that they would support both parts of the TIG legislation. In order to sound reasonable, Keefe even testified that the TIG would provide a compromise during Bill 9 testimony. Paltin and Sinenci further voted in favor of Reso 25-230 to send this bill to the Planning Commissions.
The fact that Rawlings-Fernandez illegally interfered and tainted the Planning Commission process does not mean “the community” is against creation of new zoning.
This new narrative that Bill 88 came out of nowhere to unwind Bill 9 is a complete fabrication. The TIG report was issued in October of 2025 which was about 2 months before Bill 9 passed. Council discussed the TIG recommendations as “companion legislation” and “a compromise.” The County has even stated in court filings that the TIG legislation is underway and that properties on Exhibit 2 may end up being rezoned.
Bill 88 was the first part of the agreed-upon path for implementation of Bill 9. Listening to Jackie is a fast track to the actual community seeing yet another example of councilmembers lying the public by saying they would support TIG legislation to get Bill 9 passed and then later voting against the TIG legislation. Why would the community ever trust or re-elect an elected official that would do this?
Supporting Bill 88 is an opportunity to show the actual community that the Council can be trusted. The community should be able to trust and rely on unequivocal statements from elected officials when they say they will support specific legislation.