Panel agrees on caps on B&B permits

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WAILUKU - A proposal long in the works to place caps on the number of bed-and-breakfasts on Maui won preliminary approval from the Maui County Council's Planning Committee on Tuesday.

The cap is part of a bill to revamp the county's B&B ordinance. That measure, in turn, remains part of a package of bills on short-term rentals that remain mired in committee.

After recent discussions with the Maui Vacation Rental Association, county Planning Director Jeff Hunt said he arrived at a limit of 302 B&Bs on Maui. Molokai and Lanai would be allowed to set their own caps, if any.

The measure will go to the full County Council before being forwarded to Mayor Charmaine Tavares for final action, as will all the bills being worked and reworked by the Planning Committee on short-term rentals. After 10 meetings by the committee on the vacation rental issue, members still haven't discussed any bills directly related to the the issues of transient vacation rentals - vacation rentals in which the owner does not live on site.

"Again, I just want to say that I am anxious to wrap this up," said committee Chairwoman Gladys Baisa. "We have a lot of other issues on our plate that need this committee's attention."

Complicating matters further, Warren Watanabe, executive director of the Maui County Farm Bureau, asked Tuesday that the five Planning Committee members revisit an earlier panel decision that would allow B&Bs to be located on land designated for agriculture.

As for the B&B caps, in a prior meeting, a few Maui Planning Committee members complained that Hana, Paia and Makawao had too many B&Bs allotted to these small communities. This is what committee members approved Tuesday:

* 24 in Hana

* 100 in Kihei-Makena

* 20 in Makawao-Pukalani-Kula

* 54 in Paia-Haiku

* 16 in Wailuku-Kahului

* 88 in West Maui

Hunt told the committee that during his meeting with the MVRA, he was assured that the caps would likely never be reached. Hunt noted that only 12 bed-and-breakfasts have permits to operate legally countywide. Under the current law, bed-and-breakfast operators must live in the home in which the rentals are being provided. The bills before the committee would now allow a rental to be in a separate unit on the homeowner's property.

Council Member Bill Medeiros said he'd heard from Hana residents that they wanted to be able to determine for themselves how many B&Bs are allowed in their community, as Molokai and Lanai residents would have in the bill.

However, the planning director also said that the General Plan process will give residents some authority in just how many B&Bs they want in their community. The General Plan Advisory Committee could further reduce the number of B&B permits allowed in certain neighborhoods, depending on what residents agree upon.

"These numbers we're proposing are not guarantees," Hunt said.

Mayor Charmaine Tavares and her administration have been cracking down on nonpermitted TVRs since taking office last year. Tavares said that the explosion of illegal TVRs during the last administration had created a long-term rental housing crunch and damaged the quiet character of neighborhoods.

A cavalcade of TVR operators and north shore business owners have said that the crackdown - which is in place until these new short-term rental laws can be hammered out - have cost people their homes, shops, restaurants and livelihoods.

While the committee still hasn't tackled TVRs, its members have made some significant decisions, such as expanding the definition of a B&B. The panel's working definition has the owner/operator living on site. It includes in the B&B definition homes with ohanas for renters on the same lot as well as allowing B&Bs to operate in rural and agricultural districts.

At Watanabe's urging Tuesday, the committee also discussed the bill's previous language to allow bed-and-breakfasts to operate on ag land.

Council members discussed how much a B&B would need to generate in farm income to operate on ag land. The current version of the bill requires a gross agriculture income of at least $1,000 a year for lots less than 2 acres and $2,500 or more for lots larger than 2 acres.

The Maui County Farm Bureau has stated that a bona fide farm should be making at least $35,000 a year.

County Planner Joe Alueta reminded the committee members that a B&B is a privilege, not a right. Alueta's comment drew some grumbles from the crowd of about 25 people who apparently support less government regulation on B&Bs and TVRs.

"We feel that the B&B should be subordinate and supportive of a real farm," Alueta said.

State laws regarding the intent of agricultural districts as supporting farm operations guide the Planning Department's decisions, Alueta said.

Medeiros said he's visited some of these 2-acre farms in East Maui, some of which are on rocky land with little water. One of these operations received about $40 for its entire lemon crop, he said.

Medeiros asked if maybe there could be a way to get around designating an agricultural zone when the land is unsuitable for farming, such as changing zoning to rural classification or getting special-use permits.

Watanabe said the farm bureau has nothing against B&Bs. Instead, he pushed the County Council members to redefine what agriculture is and create a new ordinance that takes into consideration agritourism.

"I think what the farm bureau is proposing is very reasonable," said Council Member Riki Hokama.

The main purpose of ag land should be for farming, he said. If it is not farmed, then an applicant should get a change to rural zoning, Hokama said.

"The law is the law," Council Member Jo Anne Johnson said. "And like it or not, we cannot stretch the state law to the point of breaking it."

Baisa asked the Planning Department what it can do about homeowners on 2-acre agriculture-zoned lots who are not farming. She asked whether the county was unfairly applying enforcement to the B&Bs and ignoring those other people.

Under the state law, a structure on agricultural land must be a "farm dwelling" or otherwise related to farming activity on the land.

Hunt said his department needs to beef up enforcement of nonpracticing farms. He also said that planners are working on a package of bills relating to agriculture.

The next Planning Committee meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28.

"People are suffering big time and that's why I would like to get this bill passed and get people working again," Baisa said.

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.