The Maui Planning Commission has voted to support the phase-out of vacation rentals.
A Maui County measure passed last year to phase out about half of the island’s short-term rentals in apartment districts over the next five years, with the goal of freeing up housing for locals.
However, a proposal for the creation of two new hotel zones, H-3 and H-4, could allow thousands of those vacation rentals to continue operation.
The decision on the new zones ultimately lies with the Maui County Council, but the Maui Planning Commission on Tuesday voted to recommend against the new zones.
Commissioner Mark Deakos of West Maui proposed the motion to deny the proposal.
“We kind of hashed this out. We spent 24 hours of testimony. This commission voted, the county council voted in favor of Bill 9, which essentially said we decided we wanted to phase those uses out of those units,” he said. “Just to create two new categories for a use that we're trying to phase out in dozens and dozens of policies and actions is — I don't understand that.”
The proposal came out of a council Temporary Investigative Group report last year that focused on finding a balance between tourism and resident needs. The group identified about 4,500 units earmarked for phase-out under Bill 9, suggesting they could potentially transition into a new hotel zoning category because they might be better suited for hotel use rather than residential living.
Supporters of the new hotel zones say they create a pathway for vacation rentals to continue generating revenue for the community and find a middle ground in the debate that sparked high emotions in the community.
Testifier Merrill Nisam expressed his strong support for the new hotel zones to allow him to continue his vacation rental.
“I've got a very small condo in Wailea. ... We did our due diligence. We checked with the district commission at the time. We heard that it was legal, and therefore made the investment of our retirement towards this condominium in a way that we could not have done otherwise,” he said in his testimony.
“We’re not ultra-wealthy. We couldn't afford such a place independently, so we share it with others, i.e., people who rent but we consider them guests… who support the economy of Maui that those in the ultra-big resorts don't do the same. Our guests are there with their families. They go to the local grocery stores, they go to local shops, they go to the restaurants.”
Opponents see the new zones as a “carve-out” that would make the passage of the vacation rental phase-out legislation pointless, and take more housing away from local residents.
Misty Cotter, a Lahaina fire survivor, spoke against the new hotel zones.
“Growing up in Lahaina, we were told these buildings were built as apartments, and in our community, apartments are supposed to be for our local people, people who actually live here, who actually work here,” she testified.
“Just looking out there right now, it's a lot of places are $4,000, $4,200 for a two-bedroom, and it feels impossible. It feels impossible to stay here. But when every building on the west side is filled with tourists, we lose our neighborhoods. We lose our sense of what it means to be locals here in Hawaiʻi. If you rezone them all into hotels, they are gone forever.”
There is currently no date set for the Maui County Council’s vote on the issue. If the council also opposes the creation of the new hotel zones, affected vacation rental properties could still apply for a zoning change from apartment zone to the existing hotel zone.
The proposal would need to pass by a two-thirds vote at the council in order to move forward against the recommendation of the Planning Commission.
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