From: Dr. Marion Ceruti <ceruti@earthlink.net>
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2026 10:15 AM
To: Maui_County Council_mailbox <county.council@mauicounty.us>
Cc: Bill <cranerigger@earthlink.net>
Subject: Testimony for the meeting on Wed., August 19th at 9am HST

Dear County Council Members,

Please vote YES on Resolution 26-129, especially the amendments offered by Council members Lee and Cook.
As a West Maui resident, the amendment affects me personally. H3/H4 zoning makes sense for the proposed resorts.

Mahalo for considering my testimony before voting.

Very Respectfully,
Dr. Marion Ceruti
Voting Maui Resident

My name is not included in this version. This testimony is written on behalf of the 41 short-term-rental units at Lahaina Roads and focuses on the property’s eligibility, lawful operating history, and request for inclusion in the applicable resolutions.

Testimony

Good morning, Chair and Members of the Maui County Council.

I am speaking on behalf of the 41 short-term-rental units at Lahaina Roads, located at 1403 Front Street in Lahaina.

Lahaina Roads is located within the applicable SLR-XA or Flood Hazard Zone and meets the requirements for consideration under Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130. However, Lahaina Roads and its 41 units were not included in the original resolutions or in the subsequent amendments presented to the Council.

We respectfully ask the Council to recognize that Lahaina Roads meets the applicable criteria and should be included in the appropriate resolution or a subsequent amendment.

Lahaina Roads is an established condominium property with a decades-long history of lawful short-term-rental operation. This use is not new or speculative. The property has operated lawfully under the County’s applicable requirements, and its established legal history should be considered when the Council evaluates the properties covered by these resolutions.

We support moving forward through the applicable rezoning process. We are not asking to bypass the County’s procedures. We are asking that Lahaina Roads be included so the property can proceed through the same process available to other properties that meet the established criteria.

We respectfully request that the Council:

Confirm that Lahaina Roads meets the applicable requirements.
Include Lahaina Roads and its 41 short-term-rental units in Resolution 26-129, Resolution 26-130, or an appropriate subsequent amendment.
Recognize Lahaina Roads’ decades-long history of lawful short-term-rental operation.
Allow Lahaina Roads to move forward through the applicable rezoning process.
Ensure that Lahaina Roads is not excluded simply because it was omitted from the original resolutions.
Lahaina Roads meets the applicable requirements, has a longstanding lawful history, and should be considered for inclusion. We respectfully ask the Council to correct this omission and include Lahaina Roads in the resolution.

Thank you for allowing me to testify.

From: Thomas and Mary Victorine <tjmjv@pacbell.net>
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2026 5:57:13 AM (UTC-10:00) Hawaii
To: HLU Committee <HLU.Committee@mauicounty.us>
Subject: Support Resolution 26-129

Dear Council Members,

I am writing in support of Resolution 26-129. I ask the County Council Housing and Land Use Committee to approve this resolution and the proposed amendment adding Makani Sands to the list of condominiums to be exempted from Ordinance 5909.

Makani Sands is unique in that it can meet all four criteria for exemptions to Ordinance 5909:

1. Historically operated as a hotel. Our attorney has indisputable documentation on file.

2. Located in the sea level rise exclusion area (SLRXA) per the County's map viewer tool.

3. Also located in the Flood Zone per the County's map viewer tool.

4. Not affordable for local residents to purchase. Monthly payments exceed the County’s criterion of $4,500 per month (mortgage PMI, property tax, AOAO dues and Insurance). Our attorney has calculations on file.

Please approve Resolution 26-129 plus the proposed amendments. And please advance the Resolution to the County Planning Commission for evaluation.

Mahalo,

Tom Victorine
President of the AOAO’s BOD
Makani Sands Condominiums

Re KALEIALOHA, 3785 L. Honoapiilani Rd., Lahaina, HI 96761; TMK: (2) 4-3-006-013

Dear Committee Chair and HLU Members,

Attached is testimony submitted on behalf of the Association of Apartment Owners of Kaleialoha in support of amending Resolution 26-129 to include the Kaleialoha condominium resort for Council-initiated rezoning. The attached submission demonstrates that Kaleialoha satisfies the objective criteria identified by the Committee in Resolution 26-129, falling almost entirely in the 3.2-foot Sea Level Rise Exposure Area ("SLR-XA") and substantially affected by the Special Flood Hazard Area.

Our testimony also addresses comments made at the last Committee meeting on August 5, 2026, suggesting that the SLR-XA is an obsolete planning tool, and explains why the 3.2-foot SLR-XA remains as the recognized and appropriate planning criterion under current State and Maui County planning policies.

Finally, the enclosed submission reiterates the importance of clearly defining, and consistently applying objective planning criteria to all similarly situated properties so that Council-initiated rezoning decisions are grounded in transparent and rational land-use principals, rather than ad hoc, property-specific subjective determinations.

Thank you for your consideration on behalf of the Board of Directors of Kaleialoha.

Rebecca Krill
Principal
HI HOA LAW LLLC
rebecca@hihoalaw.com

From: ShaKaHouse <shakahouse@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 9:45:42 AM (UTC-10:00) Hawaii
To: HLU Committee <HLU.Committee@mauicounty.us>
Subject: Support for Rezoning Kihei Bay Vista from A-1 Apartment District to H-3 Hotel District

Dear Chair and Committee Members:
My name is Shawn Ewing, and I am an owner at Kihei Bay Vista in North Kīhei. I respectfully urge the Maui County Council to include Kihei Bay Vista in the Council-initiated rezoning process and change the property’s zoning from A-1 Apartment District to H-3 Hotel District.

The strongest reason for rezoning Kihei Bay Vista is that it is one of the least suitable properties for conversion into permanent residential housing because of its exceptional exposure to flooding and sea-level rise.

Kihei Bay Vista is located directly across South Kīhei Road from the ocean and near the lower reach and outlet of Kūlanihākoʻi Gulch. It sits at the bottom of one of South Maui’s major drainage basins, where stormwater flowing from the slopes of Haleakalā converges before reaching the ocean. During major Kona storms, large volumes of runoff travel makai through the drainage basin. When that runoff coincides with high surf, elevated coastal water, or coastal flooding, water may drain more slowly and spread across the surrounding low-lying area. This combination—often called compound flooding—makes Kihei Bay Vista and the surrounding North Kīhei area especially vulnerable.

Sea-level rise did not independently cause each past Kona storm or rainfall event. However, rising sea levels are expected to magnify the consequences of future storms by raising the coastal water baseline, increasing coastal flooding, and further complicating the discharge of stormwater into the ocean. The State’s Sea Level Rise Exposure Area mapping identifies this location as exposed to these increasing coastal hazards.

The danger is not merely theoretical. Kihei Bay Vista and the surrounding North Kīhei area have experienced repeated serious flooding and infrastructure disruption:

• In December 2021, a powerful Kona low caused severe flooding and damage in North Kīhei, prompting state and county emergency declarations.
• In January 2023, muddy floodwaters again inundated parts of Kīhei, closed South Kīhei Road, and required an emergency response.
• In January 2024, floodwaters washed out a waterline and undermined and destroyed a portion of South Kīhei Road, requiring emergency repairs and traffic detours.
• In late January and early February 2025, another major winter storm caused flooding, road closures, damage, and restricted access along South Kīhei Road.
• In March 2026, consecutive Kona-low systems brought extensive flooding, roadway failures, utility damage, emergency response, and prolonged repairs throughout South Kīhei and other parts of Maui.

These events demonstrate a recurring pattern, not an isolated occurrence. They also show that flood risk at Kihei Bay Vista involves more than possible damage inside individual units. Residents may face submerged vehicles, loss of access, roadway failures, damaged utilities, emergency evacuations, mold and sanitation concerns, repair expenses, insurance costs, and repeated disruptions to work, school, and daily life.

I lost my Toyota Prius to flood damage in the Kona storm flooding of January, 2024.

I have personally known a long-term renter at Kihei Bay Vista whose experience illustrates the human and economic consequences of this risk. I will refer to him here as “Joe” to respect his privacy. Joe lost three different vehicles to flooding associated with the December 2021, January 2023, and January 2024 storms. After the third loss, he concluded that he could no longer safely or economically remain at the property. He moved to housing better suited for permanent residential occupancy.

Joe’s experience is a cautionary example of what future tenants or owners may face. Losing even one vehicle can destabilize a household by interfering with employment, childcare, medical appointments, and the ability to meet basic financial obligations. Experiencing that loss repeatedly can cause substantial economic hardship, fear, stress, and emotional trauma. Maui should not respond to its housing shortage by directing local families and workforce residents into a location where recurring flooding may place their safety, transportation, possessions, and financial security at risk.

A long-term resident establishes a home, moves personal belongings into it, develops community ties, and depends on reliable access to employment, schools, healthcare, and essential services. Many workforce households do not have the financial flexibility to replace a flooded vehicle, pay an insurance deductible, temporarily relocate, or absorb repeated losses. The cumulative trauma, pain, and economic suffering caused by recurring flooding must be considered when deciding whether Kihei Bay Vista represents responsible and sustainable long-term housing.

Kihei Bay Vista’s history also supports H-3 zoning. It is a 60-unit condominium complex at 679 South Kīhei Road that Maui County has identified as an A-1 property historically permitted to conduct short-term occupancy. Its decades-long operating history has centered substantially on visitor accommodations. It should not now be treated as dependable workforce housing without giving serious weight to its physical location, flood history, coastal exposure, and practical suitability for permanent occupancy.

Rezoning Kihei Bay Vista to H-3 would not authorize new construction, add density, or increase the existing number of units. The H-3 district was created as a like-for-like counterpart to A-1 zoning for qualifying properties with longstanding lawful transient-vacation-rental use. Rezoning would recognize Kihei Bay Vista’s historical use and allow that use to continue without portraying an environmentally vulnerable property as a reliable solution to Maui’s long-term housing shortage.

Transient use does not eliminate the need for flood mitigation, emergency planning, disclosure, insurance, and protection of guests and workers. However, transient accommodations can be temporarily closed, evacuated, repaired, or taken out of service during hazardous conditions without permanently displacing Maui families from their homes. The County can also impose appropriate safety, environmental-stewardship, emergency-planning, and disclosure requirements as part of the rezoning process.

Maui urgently needs more housing, but it needs housing that is safe, stable, resilient, and appropriate for permanent occupancy. A unit should not be counted as meaningful long-term housing merely because someone can legally live in it. The Council must consider whether that unit can provide a resident with reasonable physical, emotional, and financial security over the coming decades.

For these reasons, I respectfully ask the Council to:

1. Include Kihei Bay Vista in the Council-initiated rezoning process;
2. Rezone the property from A-1 Apartment District to H-3 Hotel District;
3. Give substantial weight to its location near Kūlanihākoʻi Gulch, its inclusion within the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area, and the area’s documented history of recurrent flooding;
4. Consider the personal and economic consequences experienced by long-term residents such as Joe; and
5. Avoid relying on one of North Kīhei’s most flood-vulnerable properties as permanent workforce-housing inventory.

This request is not an argument against housing for Maui residents. It is an argument for housing residents in places that can offer genuine safety, stability, and dignity. Rezoning Kihei Bay Vista to H-3 would allow the County to direct its long-term housing strategy toward properties better suited to permanent occupancy while acknowledging the environmental realities and longstanding lawful use of this uniquely vulnerable property.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and your commitment to both Maui’s housing needs and the safety of its residents. I respectfully urge you to support H-3 zoning for Kihei Bay Vista.

Respectfully,
Shawn Ewing
Owner, Kihei Bay Vista
Unit Number C107
679 South Kihei Road, Kihei
shakahouse@gmail.com