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Hotel moratorium close to ending

Maui County Council to take up bill next week

Visitor accommodations in Wailea can be seen in the background as visitors flock to the beach in this 2021 photo. The Maui County Council will take up a bill on second and final reading next week that would repeal the current temporary moratorium on tourists accommodations. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Maui County Council members are one step away from ending the temporary visitor lodging moratorium, but are also seeking to keep the cap on transient vacation rentals at existing levels.

At the next full council meeting on Nov. 4, the council will take up Bill 159 on second and final reading, which with its passage, would repeal the temporary moratorium that was put in place Jan. 7. Members voted 7 to 1 in favor of Bill 159 on first reading on Oct. 21.

The moratorium on new visitor units was enacted to allow the council to implement recommendations from a Tourism Management Temporary Investigative Group or in two years, whichever is sooner. The move came after residents called for relief from the impacts of overtourism such as overcrowding, depleting natural resources, traffic woes and other concerns.

Bill 159 amends the existing comprehensive zoning ordinance in areas that relate to transient accommodation caps. It would allow existing transient vacation rentals built before Jan. 7, 2022, to be reconstructed, renovated, or expanded if no new rooms or transient vacation rental units are added.

Other highlights of the bill include:

• New hotel construction or expansion would be allowed as long as new rooms and units be built landward of the mapped line for coastal erosion hazard line of 3.2 feet of sea level rise, which is determined by the director from the State of Hawaii Sea Level Rise Viewer hosted by the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System.

• Temporary or permanent parking of camper vans, recreational vehicles, trailers or similar apparatus that are used or rented for commercial transient accommodations would be prohibited in all zoning districts.

• Timeshare units would be allowed in certain areas, but with a conditional permit and the sea level rise requirement. Existing timeshares would be allowed to be reconstructed, renovated, or expanded if no new rooms or timeshares are added.

• New construction with any proposed “ground-altering activity” in culturally sensitive areas as determined by the county archeologist will be referred to the State Historic Preservation Division.

• Applications for transient accommodations submitted prior to the effective date of the bill may be processed in accordance with the provisions in effect at the time the application was submitted.

Feelings about the bill are mixed.

Kawika Englert, who financially supports his family by servicing TVRs, said he strongly opposes the bill because it could “greatly impact” the economy, especially with a recession on the rise.

“The authors of this bill are trying to solve an extremely complicated issue, by casting a wide net which could end up creating even worse issues all without guaranteeing any of the actual goals will be met,” Englert said in written testimony he submitted to the Maui County Council. “After reading through this bill the only thing that looks to be guaranteed is negative economic impacts on local service providers, the workforce, and significant tax revenues.”

Kihei resident Patricia Stillwell also said in written testimony that Maui exceeded its carrying capacity a while ago. And, although “it may not be a perfect bill,” she said it’s better than not taking action at all “over and over and over again” while the quality of life for both residents and visitors and the environment drops.

The Maui Hotel and Lodging Association is supportive of amendments made to the bill last week that was brought up by the Hawaii Hotel Alliance, said MHLA’s Executive Director Lisa Paulson on Thursday.

“We are very appreciative of the council’s willingness and long hours to work with MHLA and our partners,” said Paulson

In written testimony submitted to the council, Maui Hotel and Lodging Association reflected upon the need to outlaw the use or rental of vehicles for commercial transient accommodations.

Even council members agreed the bill is “far from perfect.”

“While this may not be exactly what I wanted, it’s a step in the right direction,” said Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, who proposed the bill. “I look forward to working with everyone in the next term to continue this work because this is just the beginning.”

Council Members Mike Molina, Alice Lee, Yuki Lei Sugimura, Tamara Paltin, Shane Sinenci and Gabe Johnson also voted in support of the proposed bill with amendments. Member Kelly King was the only one who voted in opposition. Tasha Kama was excused.

King said the proposed bill as amended is not helpful for its intended purpose, and that she’d rather just keep the current hotel moratorium in place.

“This is a hard one for me but I feel like I need to stand up for my community,” King said. “This bill does not put a cap on any new hotels in South Maui, it just says they can’t be within the sea level rise area and there’s a lot of area above the sea level rise line… . So that doesn’t help those of us who are worried about the expansion or worried about the overcrowding with traffic and the environmental pressures that are happening right now.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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