Vacation rentals not problem, lack of reasonable law is

 Maui News Letters October 12, 2007
 

I think the problem of transient vacation rentals is only in the mind of the complainers. A lot of locals use them when visiting ohana or on business. Who can (or wants to) pay for resort amenities when you’re here for family or business?

Most renters are quiet and more “in tune” with the Maui lifestyle than the package tourists clogging the road in Lahaina. I stayed in an Upcountry B&B frequently while building a house on land my grandfather bought in 1940 above Haiku. The proximity of the B&B allowed me to use less time and gas building the house, and there was one less car on the road from/to a Kihei condo on already-clogged roads. A local family has a nice, affordable house.

Maui’s politicians need to quit talking about the so-called problem and just do their job to craft a thoughtful ordinance regulating them. I think everyone will find that B&Bs are not the problem – the lack of reasonable rules regulating them is the problem.

Mike Jackson

Houston