Last issue’s Bill 9 discussion (Maui County’s attempt to roll back certain legacy short-term rental rights) got me thinking about something basic but important: who exactly was Minatoya, and why is his list so important?
The Minatoya List traces back to Richard Minatoya, a former Maui County deputy corporation counsel. In the early 2000s, his legal opinion, later upheld by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court, allowed vacation rentals that were legally operating before zoning changes to continue as lawful, nonconforming uses. In short, the county tried to shut them down, lost in court, and the Minatoya List was born.
That ruling is the backbone of today’s issue; the list covers thousands (~6,000) of condominium units whose short-term rental use was explicitly protected by the courts.
Minatoya himself passed away in 2018, but his legal legacy is very much alive. That’s why Bill 9 is different from past regulatory battles, as this is an attempt to unwind court-recognized property rights through legislation.
And those once “quiet conversations” about carve-outs are not so quiet anymore. Proposals circulating at the county level could exempt as many as 4,500 units from Bill 9’s reach (nearly 70% of the list!). While Bill 9 has passed, clearly, nothing is settled, and the first court cases have already been filed.
