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By Ryan Mitchel Collins of The Maui News
It was a long day for the five planning commissioners on Maui Tuesday as they continued their meeting to ultimately hold a 5-0 vote in favor of phasing out 7,000 short term rental units on the Minatoya List.
It wasn't an easy decision or vote to hold and now the controversial bill is heading to the Maui County Council for a vote after going to the planning commission for two meetings over the course of June and July. The commissioners listened to a total of 18-hours of public testimony.
It is a little surprising that none of the commissioners voted against the bill considering a large majority of public testimony was vehemently against the bill. Nonetheless, the difficult vote in the planning commission is now a thing of the past.
It isn't easy to sit through 18-hours of public testimony and the sheer volume of testimony speaks to the polarizing nature of this bill. I applaud those who had the courage to speak their minds on both sides of the coin. It's not easy to get in front of a crowd of passionate people and let your thoughts be known.
As Mayor Bissen said when he answered questions from the planning commission, this is the start of a difficult discussion that he feels needs to be had. It's a conversation that will take on many shapes in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. As of right now the bill is heading as is to the Maui County Council for a vote that would ratify it into law if passed by the council.
There are going to be legal challenges that arise out of this conversation. That is almost a guarantee at this point. That is something the county is banking on as well. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but I applaud those who let it be known how they felt and it is my sincere hope that the information that came out of this meeting is disseminated by the powers that be and that they listen to their constituents voices instead of thinking they know better.
After all, if they don't listen, they will be forced to listen to the collective voices of their constituents on election day.
Change is never easy and especially this kind of change that will eliminate 7,000 short-term rentals on the island of Maui. This bill will have a profound impact on the community the second it goes into law. What that impact will look like remains to be seen, but it is sure to shake up the housing and rental market as we know it on Maui.
Mayor Bissen stated that Kauai has done a good job with how they have handled short term rentals where no new permits are being granted, but I can speak from personal experience that it hasn't helped with the housing crisis in the least.
If the goal of the bill is to help with the housing crisis, the pressure will surely be on for immediate relief for a problem that has been ongoing for decades now.