As we discussed in previous issues, Maui’s Bill 9 phases out more than 6,000 short-term rentals on Maui over the next several years, on the premise that those units should return to the long-term housing market.
In late February, the Maui Planning Commission rejected a proposal that could have preserved about 4,500 of those units as short-term rentals by creating new hotel zoning categories for properties that function more like visitor accommodations than housing.
That does not kill the proposal to create these “carve-outs”, but it makes the path harder because the County Council would now need a two-thirds vote to move it forward.
Bottom line: the housing goal is still colliding with the reality that many of these units have long operated as visitor lodging, and may not even be suitable for long-term housing. While Bill 9 is now law, the outcome is far from settled, and the next major moves will likely come from the courts.
Like much legislation, the intent is good, but the execution is flawed.
