The Maui County Housing & Land Use Committee’s Temporary Investigative Group (TIG) recommended creating two new hotel-style apartment districts and urged the council to pursue council-initiated rezoning and community-plan changes for a set of properties the TIG identified as operating like hotels rather than long‑term housing.

Acting chair (Housing & Land Use Committee) said the TIG voted unanimously on its recommendations and warned that, because the TIG has been disbanded, “we can make no more changes to Exhibit 2 right now. It is what it is.” The TIG’s report and the testimony that followed framed the issue as a zoning correction intended to protect long‑term housing stock while also acknowledging substantial fiscal, legal and community impacts.

Why it matters: The mayor and administration framed the TIG recommendations as a targeted approach to restore long‑term housing stock in apartment districts where transient vacation rental (TVR) uses have effectively turned residences into hotel‑style operations. Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr. told the committee the measure “affects about 6,700 of the nearly 15,000 short‑term rentals countywide,” and said the administration expects property‑tax impacts that it plans to address with adjustments. Members of the public, property owners and business groups offered sharply divided testimony on whether the TIG’s approach protects residents or threatens property rights and jobs.

Most important facts first: The TIG recommended (1) that the planning department prepare legislation establishing new H3 and H4 zoning districts modeled on A1 and A2 apartment districts but allowing TVR uses outright in those districts, (2) council‑initiated zoning changes moving Exhibit 2 properties into H3/H4 once the new zones exist, and (3) council‑initiated community‑plan designation changes for the Exhibit 2 parcels in South Maui as part of the South Maui community plan update. The TIG also recommended administrative steps to expedite the process, including working with Planning and Corporation Counsel and sending form letters to property owners to obtain metes and bounds data.

Administration comments and fiscal data: Planning and Finance staff attended the committee. Greg Post of the Department of Planning said the department can draft H3/H4 language by replicating development rules in A1/A2 and forwarding it to the planning commissions; he estimated the planning‑commission review process would likely take several months. Carrie Stockwell, county property tax administrator, presented a real‑property spreadsheet for Exhibit 2 showing the tax revenue implications the county would face if Exhibit 2 properties convert to different owner‑occupancy categories. Stockwell said the spreadsheet shows roughly $27,000,000 in current annual property tax revenue from the Exhibit 2 parcels, about $14,000,000 if those parcels were taxed at a non‑owner‑occupied rate, and about $4,200,000 if they were taxed as owner‑occupied.

Public testimony: More than three dozen speakers gave testimony. Supporters of the TIG recommendations and of a clean Bill 9 — including residents, fire survivors and advocacy groups — urged quick action to return housing to residents, calling the situation a humanitarian priority. Several testifiers tied the urgency to post‑fire displacement in Lahaina and to Maui’s broader housing crisis.

Owners, property managers, industry groups and some residents opposed either Bill 9 as originally drafted or the TIG’s approach, warning of legal challenges, declines in property values, the complexity of converting resort‑style or timeshare properties to long‑term housing, and economic harm to workers who rely on tourism. Lynette Pendergast, president of the Realtors Association of Maui, said her organization opposes Bill 9 but supports the TIG’s goal of clearer zoning and urged streamlined zoning and rezoning processes to reduce costs and delays. Several owners described high fixed costs for oceanfront condominiums — association fees, insurance, and maintenance — that they said make units infeasible as owner‑occupied housing without additional incentives.

Clarifications from the meeting record: County staff and the TIG repeatedly noted that the TIG’s Exhibit 2 list is the product of the TIG’s deliberations and would not be changed by the TIG itself; changes could occur later when council‑initiated rezoning legislation is drafted or when individual owners pursue their own zoning applications. Planning staff said a department‑initiated H3/H4 ordinance would still need planning‑commission review and council action. The mayor and staff also acknowledged that companion legislation and administrative measures would be required after any passage of Bill 9 to operationalize the TIG recommendations and to address tax‑revenue transitions.

Next steps: Committee members said they will continue deliberations in a follow‑up session; the meeting recessed until Oct. 23 at 11 a.m. to pick up additional questions and the department’s materials. The TIG recommendations provide the blueprint for council‑initiated zoning and community‑plan changes but do not themselves create legal changes — legislation must follow.

Votes and formal actions: The TIG voted unanimously to approve the recommendations summarized in its report. The Housing & Land Use Committee did not take a formal committee vote on Bill 9 or on the TIG report during the Oct. 22 session.

End note: The meeting included multiple requests from owners for corrections to Exhibit 2 and several calls from residents for faster action to secure housing; staff said the TIG’s work will move into formal legislative drafting and that the administration and planning department will assist with implementation and fiscal analysis.