People in the gallery cheered Monday as the Maui County Council passed Bill 9 on second reading, approving a controversial measure that would phase thousands of transient-vacation rentals out of Maui’s apartment districts.

The final vote to approve Bill 9 was 5-3 with council members Gabe Johnson, Shane Sinenci, Keani-Rawlins-Fernandez, Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins and Tamara Paltin voting in favor of the bill championed by Mayor Richard Bissen. Council members Yuki Lei Sugimura, Tom Cook and Chair Alice Lee voted against it.

Prior to the vote, Uʻu-Hodgins said that if Bill 9 passed on final reading, policy suggestions from a temporary investigative group would be on the agenda for the County Council’s next meeting on Friday.

Introduced by Cook, a resolution proposes establishing new zones where short-term vacation rentals would be permitted. Cook’s proposal is based on the temporary investigative group’s recommendations to allow continued short-term rentals at properties where it’s deemed appropriate, even after Bill 9’s five-year phaseout is complete.

“Throughout this process, we have sought to pursue an outcome that will benefit Maui County’s residents by promoting housing availability while stabilizing the economy,” Uʻu-Hodgins said in a statement.

Uʻu-Hodgins said that if the resolution is adopted, she plans to advance another of the investigative group’s recommendations by introducing council-initiated zoning changes for 4,500 units that the investigative group identified as appropriate for ongoing short-term rental uses.

Other council members have also expressed support for enacting the group’s recommendations.