Mayor to propose bill banning short term rentals in apartment districts by July 2025
Managing Editor
KAHULUI—Thursday, at a media only press conference at the Office of the Mayor in Wailuku, Maui Mayor Richad Bissen announced he and his administration, along with Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, and the Lahaina Strong Foundation are pushing forth a proposed bill that would ban all short term rentals in all “Apartment Districts” on Maui starting next year.
“Today we come together for the people of Lahaina and all of Maui county to take a bold step forward to create urgently needed housing for displaced wildfire survivors and to increase inventory for our local residents countywide,” Bissen said, introducing the bill. “With yesterday’s passage of Senate Bill 2919, which clarifies the county’s authority to regulate transient accommodations, and Governor Green’s pledge to support this legislation into law tomorrow, we come before you to announce our collective intent to phase out an repeal the transient vacation rentals in the apartment district, also referred to as the Minatoya List.”
Bissen, who was flanked by 12 members of the Lahana Strong Foundation wearing red as he gave his speech, stated he has had the intention to place a ban on short term rentals in the apartment district and hinted at it during his state of the county address on March 15.
“Today in partnership with my Lahaina advisory team, Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, and our Friends from Lahaina Strong (Foundation), we are announcing our intent to present proposed legislation to all county planning commissions to revert all apartment district properties to their intended long term residential use by removing the exception provided to those properties built or approved prior to 1989, and fully discontinue transient vacation rentals use in apartment districts by July 2025, for West Maui TVRs and all others in Maui County by January 1, 2026,” Bissen said.
Bissen added that everyday people are leaving Maui as a result of not being able to have adequate housing. It’s something he hopes this bill will help solve as it goes forth to the planning commission, then to the county council for approval.
Similar legislation was passed on the island of Kauai in 2018, but has seen mixed results and still faces a housing crisis that has not seen alleviation since the passage of their ordinance six years ago.
Lahaina Strong said the collaboration with Bissen and the county highlights its success and that they will end the occupation at K ā ‘anapali Beach, which they have occupied for a month, according to a county press release. The grassroots group has been lobbying for “dignified housing” and asked Bissen to repeal the
Minatoya list TVRs.
“Now that our movement has secured yesterday’s passage of SB 2919 in the Hawai‘i State Legislature giving our counties the authority to phase out shortterm rentals, the Bissen administration and Councilmember Rawlins-Fernandez are today announcing County-level legislation that would take our demands even further and remove this exemption indefinitely—permanently restoring housing for locals across Maui,” Lahaina Strong spokesperson Paele Kiakona said. “In Lahaina alone, we have over 2,200 units on this list. These mostly off-island owners have benefited immensely from turning our apartment-zoned housing into investments, displacing working-class local families from our communities long before the fire.”
When asked what the feeling is within the county council about the likelihood of the bill passing into law, councilmember Rawlins-Hernandez said, “Absolutely. It will pass at council.”
Rawlins-Hernandez added, “Council members recognize that in order to keep Maui, Maui, we need to keep our people here. It’s our people that make the community … I anticipate it will pass.”
Bissen acknowledged the county is fully anticipating legal challenges arising out of the proposed bill and that there will be a loss of property revenue for the county if passed.
“We anticipated a legal battle already and we just added one stronger point to our case by having the legislature say that the county can regulate our short-term rentals,” Bissen said. “We also know previous case law by cases that were challenged, which puts us in a better legal position as well.”
The county stated they estimate the loss of real property tax value to be around $30 million if the bill passes.