Maui Vacation Rental Association News

Maui Planning Commission - July 23rd

Executive Director — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 18:08:46 GMT

Upcoming Hearings:
Wednesday, July 17th @5pm HST - Lanai Planning Commission

Tuesday, July 23rd @9am HST - Maui Planning Commission

Written testimony: if you have NOT yet submitted written testimony you are still eligible to do so. Please refer to information below on how to submit written testimony.

FLYER FOR DISTRIBUTION - please email & distribute to people impacted by this bill. We want to encourage them to submit testimony both written and in-person!

MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION - JULY 23rd

The July 23rd meeting is a continuation from the June 25th MPC hearing.

Clarifying Information:

If you testified on June 25th in-person or virtually you are NOT eligible for additional oral testimony
If you were signed up to testify please make sure you are present in-person or online on Tuesday, July 9th. They will be calling testifiers in the order they signed up on June 25th (testifier list is linked below)
If you DID NOT sign up on June 25th or testify that day you ARE eligible for testimony. Please show up in-person or virtually to put your name on the list. New testifiers whether in-person or virtually will be heard after the already signed up people from June 25th. It is important to get your name on the list if you plan to testify.

AGENDA + TESTIFIER LIST

LANAI PLANNING COMMISSION - JULY 17TH

It is NOT necessary to submit separate/additional written testimony to the Molokai Planning Commission. They are being provided all written testimony that has been submitted.

Additionally, unless you are a Molokai resident please do not show up to testify in-person or virtually. If you would like to watch the meeting you can use the login info provided on the agenda linked below.

AGENDA

***AS A REMINDER*** This is the County Bill to phase out STRs on the Minatoya List zoned A1/A2 - you can use this language when you reference the Bill. Please do not reference any other bills or community plans in your testimony.

Written Testimony Submission Guidelines

Agenda Announcement: The agenda for the Planning Commission meeting will be announced 7 days prior to the meeting.
Testimony Submission: After the agenda is released, you can submit testimony.
Written Testimony Submission:
- Email: Send your testimony to: planning@mauicounty.gov
- Deadline: Testimony is due no later than 12 pm one business day before the meeting (Monday, July 8th at 12 pm).
- Address: Department of Planning, One Main Plaza, 2200 Main Street, Suite 315, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaiʻi 96793

Oral Testimony (Virtual - MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION):

The Planning Commission uses Webex for their meetings. Please download the app to your phone or computer ahead of time.
Meeting Info:
To watch or submit oral testimony: https://mauicounty.webex.com/mauicounty/j.php?MTID=me12aef9d9eb30d0bd091b0a81c11f983
Meeting ID: 2661 470 6979 Password: 072324
- When you login, you can indicate if you are there to testify, and then you will be placed in the queue.
Oral testimony will be limited to 1-3 minutes per person.

In-Person Testimony (MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION):

- Address:

Planning Department Conference Room, Kalana Pakui Building
250 South High Street, Wailuku, HI 96793

The meeting will start at 9 a.m. Please plan to arrive by 8:30 a.m. to ensure you can get inside.

Tips for Submitting Testimony:

Be concise
Include supporting materials or detailed descriptions as attachments
Prepare a written summary of your oral testimony
Be respectful and courteous
Offer solutions and provide Facts
Clearly state your position at the beginning and end of your testimony

Framework for Written Testimony

STR Industry Professional:

Subject line for email: Testimony of [Your Name] Regarding the Phasing Out of Short-Term Rentals in Maui County

[example of testimony talking points click here]

STR Owner:

Subject line for email: Testimony of [Your Name] Regarding the Phasing Out of Short-Term Rentals in Maui County

[example of testimony talking points click here]

Local Business Owner (Restaurants, Tour Operators & More):

Subject line for email: Testimony of [Your Name] Regarding the Phasing Out of Short-Term Rentals in Maui County

[example of testimony talking points click here]

Do’s & Don’ts for Your Testimony

DO’s:

Focus on your personal experience
Write your comment down, stick to the script
Keep your oral comments short
Be respectful, thank Council for the opportunity to speak

DONT’s:

Deviate from the prepared comment
Respond to the opposition’s message or argument
Use an impolite or disrespectful tone toward the Council

Instructions for Preparing Oral Testimony from Written Testimony

Identify Key Points:
- Review your written testimony and highlight the main points.
Keep it Concise:
- Aim for a maximum of 300 words.
Structure Your Oral Testimony:
- Introduction: Briefly introduce yourself and state your position.
- Main Points: Select 2-3 key arguments.
- Conclusion: Summarize your main points and make a final appeal.
Practice Your Delivery:
- Practice reading your testimony aloud.

Framework for Oral Testimony

PDF of this Information

Planning Commission Meetings - July 9th & July 10th

Executive Director — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 17:06:00 GMT

Upcoming Hearings:
Tuesday, July 9th @ 9am HST - Maui Planning Commission

Wednesday, July 10th @ 9am HST - Molokai Planning Commission

Written testimony: if you have NOT yet submitted written testimony you are still eligible to do so. Please refer to information below on how to submit written testimony.

FLYER FOR DISTRIBUTION - please email & distribute to people impacted by this bill. We want to encourage them to submit testimony both written and in-person!

MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION - JULY 9TH

The July 9th meeting is a continuation from the June 25th MPC hearing.

Clarifying Information:

If you testified on June 25th in-person or virtually you are NOT eligible for additional oral testimony
If you were signed up to testify please make sure you are present in-person or online on Tuesday, July 9th. They will be calling testifiers in the order they signed up on June 25th (testifier list is linked below)
If you DID NOT sign up on June 25th or testify that day you ARE eligible for testimony. Please show up in-person or virtually to put your name on the list. New testifiers whether in-person or virtually will be heard after the already signed up people from June 25th. It is important to get your name on the list if you plan to testify.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: the MPC has indicated that due to not being able to hold a quorum that the July 9th meeting will last approximately 1 hour from 9am - 10am HST. This means that the meeting will likely be continued to a third meeting. It is very important that people still show up in-person and virtually to show our continued opposition to this bill. We understand that most people will not have a chance to testify that day but if you are on Maui and available to go to the Planning Commission office PLEASE DO SO.

AGENDA + TESTIFIER LIST

MOLOKAI PLANNING COMMISSION - JULY 10TH

It is NOT necessary to submit separate/additional written testimony to the Molokai Planning Commission. They are being provided all written testimony that has been submitted.

AGENDA

Written Testimony Submission Guidelines

Agenda Announcement: The agenda for the Planning Commission meeting will be announced 7 days prior to the meeting.
Testimony Submission: After the agenda is released, you can submit testimony.
Written Testimony Submission:
- Email: Send your testimony to: planning@mauicounty.gov
- Deadline: Testimony is due no later than 12 pm one business day before the meeting (Monday, July 8th at 12 pm).
- Address: Department of Planning, One Main Plaza, 2200 Main Street, Suite 315, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaiʻi 96793

Oral Testimony (Virtual - MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION):

The Planning Commission uses Webex for their meetings. Please download the app to your phone or computer ahead of time.
Meeting Info:
To watch or submit oral testimony: https://mauicounty.webex.com/mauicounty/j.php?MTID=m3391ad9e6ae9cb876468ba9adad161a6
Meeting ID: 2663 645 5106 Password: 070924
- When you login, you can indicate if you are there to testify, and then you will be placed in the queue.
Oral testimony will be limited to 1-3 minutes per person.

In-Person Testimony (MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION):

- Address:

Planning Department Conference Room, Kalana Pakui Building
250 South High Street, Wailuku, HI 96793

The meeting will start at 9 a.m. Please plan to arrive by 8:30 a.m. to ensure you can get inside.

Tips for Submitting Testimony:

Be concise
Include supporting materials or detailed descriptions as attachments
Prepare a written summary of your oral testimony
Be respectful and courteous
Offer solutions and provide Facts
Clearly state your position at the beginning and end of your testimony

Framework for Written Testimony

STR Industry Professional:

Subject line for email: Testimony of [Your Name] Regarding the Phasing Out of Short-Term Rentals in Maui County

[example of testimony talking points click here]

STR Owner:

Subject line for email: Testimony of [Your Name] Regarding the Phasing Out of Short-Term Rentals in Maui County

[example of testimony talking points click here]

Local Business Owner (Restaurants, Tour Operators & More):

Subject line for email: Testimony of [Your Name] Regarding the Phasing Out of Short-Term Rentals in Maui County

[example of testimony talking points click here]

Do’s & Don’ts for Your Testimony

DO’s:

Focus on your personal experience
Write your comment down, stick to the script
Keep your oral comments short
Be respectful, thank Council for the opportunity to speak

DONT’s:

Deviate from the prepared comment
Respond to the opposition’s message or argument
Use an impolite or disrespectful tone toward the Council

Instructions for Preparing Oral Testimony from Written Testimony

Identify Key Points:
- Review your written testimony and highlight the main points.
Keep it Concise:
- Aim for a maximum of 300 words.
Structure Your Oral Testimony:
- Introduction: Briefly introduce yourself and state your position.
- Main Points: Select 2-3 key arguments.
- Conclusion: Summarize your main points and make a final appeal.
Practice Your Delivery:
- Practice reading your testimony aloud.

Framework for Oral Testimony

PDF of this Information

STRs Flyer for Distribution

Executive Director — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 14:49:17 GMT

Download a copy of our flyer about the upcoming STR phase out here. You can email / send this to local businesses and other people who will be impacted by the upcoming County Legislation.

Maui Planning Commission Testimony Preparation

Executive Director — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 17:10:46 GMT

UPDATE: Additional hearing will be held Tuesday, July 9th - more details to be announced soon.

How to Testify with the Maui Planning Commission

Before proceeding with your testimony, it's essential to understand the role of the planning commission and how they operate in the decision-making process. Planning commission members are volunteer citizens appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the County Council to serve as a voice of the community. They don’t gain anything from their decisions. They are not the ultimate deciders of this issue but advise the Mayor, County Council, and Planning Director. Their recommendation goes to the 9 County Council members, who ultimately vote to pass, deny, or modify the measure. At this point, suggesting modifications to the proposal isn't beneficial. Respectfully ask for the Planning Commission to recommend denial.

Role of the Planning Commission:

Advises the Mayor, County Council, and Planning Director in matters concerning planning programs.
The general plan and revisions thereof are reviewed by the Planning Director or at the request of the County Council. After public hearings, the reviewer transmits findings and recommendations to the County Council for consideration and action.
Reviews other proposed land use ordinances and amendments prepared by the Planning Director or the County Council and, after public hearings, transmits findings and recommendations to the County Council for consideration and action.
Acts as the authority in all matters relating to the Coastal Zone Management Law.
Adopts rules pursuant to land use ordinances or law.

NOTE: The Planning Commission is separate from the County Council and advises/guides the Council. They will vote on their recommendation to pass on to the County Council, but they do not create laws or pass bills.

For More Information: Visit the Maui Planning Commission Website

Link to the Agenda + Copy of the Bill + Dept. of Planning Minatoya Report

Written Testimony Submission Guidelines

Agenda Announcement: The agenda for the Planning Commission meeting will be announced 7 days prior to the meeting.
Testimony Submission: After the agenda is released, you can submit testimony.
Written Testimony Submission:
- Email: Send your testimony to: planning@mauicounty.gov
- Deadline: Testimony is due no later than 12 pm one business day before the meeting (Monday, June 24th at 12 pm).
- Address: Department of Planning, One Main Plaza, 2200 Main Street, Suite 315, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaiʻi 96793

Oral Testimony (Virtual):

The Planning Commission uses Webex for their meetings. Please download the app to your phone or computer ahead of time.
Meeting Info:
To watch or submit oral testimony: https://mauicounty.webex.com/mauicounty/j.php?MTID=m30797dd5930bbe1083b2836ce16022cf

Meeting ID: 2661 310 6605 Password: MPC1
- When you login, you can indicate if you are there to testify, and then you will be placed in the queue.
Oral testimony will be limited to 1-3 minutes per person.

In-Person Testimony:

Due to the anticipated size of the group, the June 25th Planning Commission meeting will be held at the Council Chamber.
- Address: 200 S. High Street, 8th floor, Wailuku, HI 96793
The meeting will start at 9 a.m. Please plan to arrive by 8:00 a.m. to ensure you can get inside.

PLEASE NOTE: Parking is limited in Wailuku and most of it is limited to two hours. We recommend uber, taxi, carpooling to help with congestion and to make things easier. If you do drive you will likely need to leave every two hours to move your car. Consider parking elsewhere and ubering/taking a taxi to the Council Chamber.

Tips for Submitting Testimony:

Be concise
Include supporting materials or detailed descriptions as attachments
Prepare a written summary of your oral testimony
Be respectful and courteous
Offer solutions and provide Facts
Clearly state your position at the beginning and end of your testimony

Framework for Written Testimony

STR Industry Professional:

Subject line for email: Testimony of [Your Name] Regarding the Phasing Out of Short-Term Rentals in Maui County

[example of testimony talking points click here]

STR Owner:

Subject line for email: Testimony of [Your Name] Regarding the Phasing Out of Short-Term Rentals in Maui County

[example of testimony talking points click here]

Do’s & Don’ts for Your Testimony

DO’s:

Focus on your personal experience
Write your comment down, stick to the script
Keep your oral comments short
Be respectful, thank Council for the opportunity to speak

DONT’s:

Deviate from the prepared comment
Respond to the opposition’s message or argument
Use an impolite or disrespectful tone toward the Council

Instructions for Preparing Oral Testimony from Written Testimony

Identify Key Points:
- Review your written testimony and highlight the main points.
Keep it Concise:
- Aim for a maximum of 300 words.
Structure Your Oral Testimony:
- Introduction: Briefly introduce yourself and state your position.
- Main Points: Select 2-3 key arguments.
- Conclusion: Summarize your main points and make a final appeal.
Practice Your Delivery:
- Practice reading your testimony aloud.

Framework for Oral Testimony

PDF of this Information

Upcoming Events June 19th & June 20th

Executive Director — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:19:47 GMT

SAVE THE DATE

Join MVRA via Zoom

Wednesday, June 19th at 9am HST

for a meeting to discuss the upcoming June 25th Planning Commission Hearing.

In-Person Event with AirBnb & MVRA

Thursday, June 20th 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Maui Brewing Company, 605 Lipoa Parkway, Kihei HI, 96751

PLEASE RSVP USING THE LINK BELOW

SPACE IS LIMITED

REGISTER FOR AIRBNB EVENT

ZOOM INFO FOR MEETING ON JUNE 19th

Maui Vacation Rental Association is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: MVRA Meeting

Time: Jun 19, 2024 09:00 AM Hawaii

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82263998535?pwd=OsLrpYqhpSsa1sbD3dq0wOsIE19klv.1

Meeting ID: 822 6399 8535

Passcode: 089119

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One tap mobile

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Dial by your location

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Meeting ID: 822 6399 8535

Passcode: 089119

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kbHpEZlFAc

IN THE NEWS

Please use link below to read the blog post by MVRA Board Member and Hawaii Life Realtor, Jeremy Stice, on the upcoming STR Bill.

BLOG POST

Travel Tech Releases New Economic Analysis on Costs of Phasing Out Legal Short-Term Rentals on Maui

READ IT HERE

JUNE 25th PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

The agenda for the June 25th Planning Commission Meeting will be released no later than 7 (seven) days prior to the meeting.

At that time the window will be open to submit testimony. Please do not send testimony prior to confirmation of the agenda.

After the agenda is confirmed we will send out detailed information on where to send testimony.

MVRA ACTION PLAN

MVRA is creating a step by step document on where to submit testimony and talking points for your testimony

MVRA is actively engaged with STR platforms Airbnb and Expedia (VRBO) to coordinate activities and leverage resources.

MVRA is also actively engaged with other industry organizations including HIMAST to mobilize advocates on Maui and throughout the state.

MVRA is in discussions with expert attorneys to support our industry as we push back on proposed policies.

Update & Upcoming Events

Executive Director — Wed, 15 May 2024 15:59:56 GMT

MAHALO to everyone who has reached out and wants to help oppose the newly proposed County Bill to phase out Minatoya condo short term rental properties. Continuing to advocate for Maui as a whole and the people who call her home as well as those who love to visit of paramount importance.

LEGAL / COUNTY PROCESS UPDATE

We are aware of some inquiries and evaluation into the legal implications of SB2919. There are a number of different legal strategies being discussed at this time and the merits of each are being evaluated.

With this, it is important to note that before a legal process potentially ensues, there is still a different process of going through the Maui County planning commission and County Council to be voted on in order for this to be implemented. Oral and written testimony opposing this bill is crucial and we will be working to help deliver some effective talking points on this front.

Any lawsuit of this scale is going to be best strategized and served with a coordinated effort, which is what HIMAST and the individual county organizations are working on.

Your current best course action is to support the island organizations with membership and donations. Please help to spread the word amongst your network, social media, and other vehicles for people to join MVRA and HIMAST.

We need people to join our island organizations so that we can meet this challenge with the resources, strategy, and execution plan to succeed.

Short term rental properties and their Maui operations are Hyper-Local and these proposed bills are also fought by voting appropriate council members that support local small business. Promoting these interests over global multi-billion dollar corporate interests can be very influential in shaping Maui’s Future.

COUNTY UPDATE

With the passage of SB2919, the County of Maui has announced that they will introduce a bill to phase out of Apartment Zoned STRs on the Minatoya List .

We are aware that a copy of the proposed Bill has been circulated. Please note that this is not the official Bill and it is likely to change some before it is introduced in June.

The Bill is scheduled to be heard by the Maui Planning Commission on June 25, 2024 with Molokai and Lanai Planning Commission hearings to follow.

UPCOMING EVENTS

We are working with our partners to schedule a variety of meetings in the next few weeks. This will include a variety of in person and virtual.

SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, May 23rd 5:30pm HST we will be hosting a virtual meeting with AirBnb. Stay tuned for invite and additional details.

At these meetings we will cover in more detail:
Action plan for fighting this bill
Talking points for testimony
Strategy for testimony

A LOOK BACK

The first part of this year has proven to be a busy one! We have been hard at work behind the scenes working to protect our industry.

State Legislative Season - MVRA helped to defeat over 20 state bills during this past session that were harmful to our industry with the support of other island alliances and the new statewide advocacy organization- Hawaii Mid and Short-Term Rental Alliance (HIMAST).

MVRA Board Members traveled to Oahu to meet with State Legislators, meet with industry partners, testify at the Capital and conduct interviews for media

Meeting with the Mayor - In March our MVRA Board of Directors along with industry professionals met with Mayor Bissen and members from his team. We provided them with a presentation that can be found here.

A few key a takeaways from the meeting:
- The mayor and his staff were very attentive and gave us 90 minutes to share our attached presentation, insert personal stories, and then conduct a quick Q&A. Our intentions were to help establish that we are a huge proponent of affordable housing here on Maui and that legal vacation rentals help make this happen as well as numerous other important components of Maui’s overall vitality.
- The massive property tax contributions from STR properties were initially questioned but then verified by their own staff and they were surprised to see this.
- The local job impact stats that we presented had a significant impact.
- A local gentlemen who owns and operates a cleaning business in West Maui that was born and raised in Maui spoke to his reliance on the industry and how it allows him to pay his team well and provide for his family here.
- The mayor was non-committal if he intended to pursue Minatoya properties for potential conversion to long term and stated that he needed to discuss with his corporate council on the legality of this before further exploring.
- The mayor appeared to be open to meeting with us more in the future

MVRA ACTION PLAN

MVRA is actively engaged with STR platforms Airbnb and Expedia (VRBO) to coordinate activities and leverage resources.

MVRA is also actively engaged with other industry organizations including HIMAST to mobilize advocates on Maui and throughout the state.

MVRA is in discussions with expert attorneys to support our industry as we push back on proposed policies.

MVRA is currently transitioning a new Executive Director. Throughout this process, the organization remains active and continues to lead advocacy efforts on Maui.

MVRA continues to add members to strengthen its Board of Directors to advocate on behalf of the Maui STR community.

State & County Update

Executive Director — Sun, 05 May 2024 03:38:32 GMT

MAHALO to everyone who participated during the State Legislative session. It was a hard-fought battle and we greatly appreciate your efforts. We cannot do this without your ongoing support.

Below are critical updates through this past week. Become a member or encourage others to join to receive the latest news on matters that impact our industry.

STATE UPDATE

MVRA helped to defeat over 20 state bills during this past session that were harmful to our industry with the support of other island alliances and the new statewide advocacy organization- Hawaii Mid and Short-Term Rental Alliance (HIMAST).

SB2919, which grants counties full control over short-term rentals, unfortunately passed the legislature, and was recently signed into law by the Governor.

This legislation takes effect January 1, 2025.

COUNTY UPDATE

With the passage of SB2919, the County of Maui has announced that they will introduce a bill to phase out STRs on the Minatoya List .

A draft of the Bill is not yet available, but we will let you know when it has been issued.

As described by Mayor Bissen, the measure would:
Phase out all STRs on the Minatoya List located in West Maui effective July 1, 2025.
Phase out all STRs on the Minatoya List located in all other parts of Maui effective January 1, 2026.

The Bill is scheduled to be heard by the Maui Planning Commission on June 25, 2024 with Molokai and Lanai Planning Commission hearings to follow.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Your support is needed more than ever! We need everyone from the STR industry to join our fight to kill this Bill.

Recruit - Please reach out to family and friends on the island as well as your property managers, cleaners and vendors who work within the industry. We will need their voices to be heard!

Testimony - Start drafting testimony – emphasize your personal story. In addition, be sure to highlight how phasing out STRs will hurt the local economy and community. MVRA will be distributing key messages very soon.

Join MVRA - Encourage others to join MVRA to support this effort and stay informed!

Become a Leader - If you are interested in becoming more involved, we are actively seeking new Board Members. Please send us a message if you are interested.

MVRA ACTION PLAN

MVRA is actively engaged with STR platforms Airbnb and Expedia to coordinate activities and leverage resources.

MVRA is also actively engaged with other industry organizations including HIMAST to mobilize advocates on Maui and throughout the state.

MVRA is in discussions with expert attorneys to support our industry as we push back on proposed policies.

MVRA is currently transitioning a new Executive Director. Throughout this process, the organization remains active and continues to lead advocacy efforts on Maui.

MVRA continues to add members to strengthen its Board of Directors to advocate on behalf of the Maui STR community. We encourage you to reach out if you’re interested in joining the Board.

STRs Under Attack at the State Legislature

Executive Director — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 20:06:39 GMT

ACT NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

The mid and short-term rental industry is under attack in the state legislature. Two Bills - HB1838 and SB2919 - would give the Counties full authority to phase-out rentals in any zoning. This includes disallowing rentals for less than 180 days, negating the important HILSTRA lawsuit win. It also includes the Minatoya list which encompasses a large percentage of Short-Term rentals on Maui. The Statewide organization - HIMAST (Hawai’i Mid and Short-term Rental Alliance), along with the island alliances are focused on stopping these Bills. We need your help!

Both Bills will have another hearing. As we are only given 48 hours notice of Hearing dates, we are asking that you prepare now.

Here's What You Can Do to

Help Defeat These Bills:

Register on the State Capitol Website to enable testimony submission. What this VIDEO to learn how.

Prepare your testimony now. Tell your personal story of how your life in Hawai'i will be imapcted if they take away your ability to rent your unit (or be employed in the short-term rental industry). You can easily cut and paste or attach a document to your testimony submission once the Hearing is set.

Call or email your district legislators. Look them up HERE. As a constituent, you are VERY important to them. The following legislators are key at the next Hearings: Senator McKelvey, Representative Cochran and Representative Amato.

Ask your cleaners, contractors and other industry supporters to also submit testimony. Personal stories from residents are best. However, to make it easy here is a template that you can customizer for their use: STR Supporter Testimony

Reach out to residents and important visiting contractors that you've accommodated for testimony. (Displaced Residents, military, traveling nurses, emergency workers) Share with them this template to submit their personal stories of staying in a short-term rental: STR Guest Testimony

Please take these five steps today to save our industry. Even getting one Cleaner/ Contractor and one former guest will triple your impact. Support for these Bills has outpaced opposition so far. We can change that!

Please prepare now so that we will be ready with more testimony for our legislators to consider.

Together, we can do this!

If you have any questions please feel free to email me

at membership@mauivacationrentalassociation.org

Mahalo

MVRA Board of Directors

Malama Maui Pin

Executive Director — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 23:39:21 GMT

We support the Malama Maui pin.

The pin, named after the Hawaiian phrase "Malama Maui," signifying "Caring for Maui," hopes to offer solace to residents while providing guidance for visitors. Its fundamental purpose is to establish a supportive environment for our residents by offering a visual cue to visitors, signifying the importance of refraining from inquiring about the experiences of Maui residents, thus respecting their privacy. Lisa Paulson, executive director for Maui Hotel and Lodging Association said “The Malama Maui Pin coordinates beautifully with all our messaging on how to visit Maui with respect and compassion. Many survivors are not ready to share their experiences with others.”

This seemingly small gesture, embodied by the Malama Maui Pin, hopes to serve, and safeguard our people and provides a visual cue for visitors to understand how to engage or not engage with our community.

To obtain Malama Maui Pins, visit MauiChamber.com or e-mail office@mauichamber.com.

Campaign and Lobbyist Spending in Hawaii

Executive Director — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 23:34:43 GMT

MVRA Needs Your Attention

and Support!

Both the State Legislators and Local Council are convinced that our short-term rentals are the only solution to the fire victim housing issue. This may result in the amortization or phasing-out of legal rentals on Maui.

JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST

UNFAIR “TAKING” OF PROPERTY RIGHTS

JOIN

Joining MVRA will ensure the organization can continue this work and fund a professional state lobbyist to combat harmful regulation. If we don’t all pitch in, we will continue to have our rights and income taken away at the whim of legislators and the hotel lobbyists that support them.

Earlier this year Civil Beat reported on the top Lobbyist expenditures and how much was spent by different entities. They remarked on Airbnb and Turo being in the top 30 along with Young Brothers and Hilton Vacations. Here is what we found when digging into the lobbyist and campaign contributions data deeper:

Source: https://ags.hawaii.gov/campaign/cc/view-searchable-data/

Hotel and resorts spent 16 times more than the vacation rental industry with $623K raised in campaign contributions during the same time frame.

Source https://hawaiiethics.my.site.com/public/s/

Hotels were the largest spenders on lobbyists with $1.6 million over the last 5 years, 5% of total lobbyist funds. Unions spent $903K representing 3% overall, while construction and vacation rental platforms accounted for about $722K and $750K, and 2% each respectively.

We are being outspent politically on every level and now feeling the results of that.

The legal vacation rental industry is a large and legitimate industry in Hawaii, raising billions in revenue, property taxes and visitor spending, but individual ownership makes it a fractured industry, hard for legislators and county and state administrations to understand. It is easier for them to deal with big corporations, top down one size fits all legislation, management with big payrolls and unions.

Source: Hawaii Tourism Authority, DBEDT

DONATE

However, the state and counties derive a lot of funding and jobs from the legal vacation rental trade, and visitors and mid term renters including nurses and doctors depend on and relish the diverse options for accommodation. Owners of vacation rentals are local families. This is one of the only ways we give our local residents ways to participate directly in the hospitality industry. Other owners of vacation rentals are our return visitors, living part time in the islands. They are some of Hawaiiʻs most engaged visitors, supporting small businesses, caring for the environment, taking care of residents that work in the industry, and paying premium tax rates for the privilege to do so.

We need more cohesion in the industry to share and educate the legislators and increase the volume of our collective voices. We are working hard to protect your interest in the short-term rental industry. Please Join or Donate today at MVRA.com.

TVR/STR Real Property Tax Trends for County of Maui

Executive Director — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 23:30:52 GMT

TVR/STR Real Property Tax Trends

Speaking of real property tax increases, Here is what we know about the last 6 years in property tax trends and the Short Term Rental Classification.

The short term rentals generated 40% of real property tax revenue this fiscal year (FY23-24), or $213.7M. This amount represents 20% of the county operating budget. This is the largest single revenue generating category in the real property tax classifications. Next would be Non Owner Occupied property $127.6M, followed by Timeshare $54.7M and Hotel Resort with $51M.

The county increased their budget this year by $102M, and 52% of that increase or $53M came from increased revenue in the TVR/STR category. The next highest increase was $7.5M in the Hotel/Resort classification (7 times less than the STR increase).

The short term rental category is the only category out of all twelve of the county land use classifications that has seen 6 consecutive years of increased tax revenue generation. It is also the only land use classification that has seen 6 consecutive years of increased assessment value in this period as well. The TVR/STR classification grew from 28% in FY2018-2019 to 40% of the total Real Property Tax revenue in 5 years.

Looking at visitor adjacent land use classifications specifically, the county has an increasing propensity to lean on the visitor industry to make up the lion's share of their budget. The classifications of Hotel/Resort, Timeshare, Non Owner Occupied and TVR/STR together comprise 84% of the Real Property Tax revenues in this fiscal year. That figure was 56% in FY2018-2019.

To view this data stream click here.

Source for all data sets https://www.realpropertyhonolulu.com/state-reports/2023/

Governor Josh Greenʻs Proposal for Housing

Executive Director — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 23:32:55 GMT

Gov. Josh Green's Proposal

The Governor also announced a proposal on Wednesday to incentivize housing on Maui. Gov. Josh Green’s version includes long term rental pricing at $5K/mo for studio or 1 bedroom; and up to $11K/mo for a 4 bedroom; and plans to use federal, state government and private foundation money.

Green’s program also involves dedicating funding of $50K per unit to build 1000 accessory dwelling units on private property. Property owners would be able to choose from 5 pre approved models of ohanas and get any necessary zoning changes within 30 days. Green’s plan includes expediting existing housing projects as well.

Green has a plan B as well, but that focuses on a ban of short term rentals. “A second option would allow the government to impose an 18-month ban on short-term vacation rentals on Maui. Under that plan, some $324 million of federal, state and private funds would be used to pay property owners who would give 18-month leases to displaced residents instead of renting to tourists or others for a short term.” according to the article by Civil Beat.

The state legislature has formed working groups to work on recovery solutions for the wildfires. The Shelter working group led by Troy Hashimoto and Luke Evslin published their draft report that include 4 recommendations for expediting housing. The first is expediting housing projects with state financing options; the second is cutting regulatory burdens; third is to utilize short term rentals for long term housing; and fourth is ideas for housing the vulnerable.

Recommendations 3 starts with incentivizing the short term rentals to convert with tax incentives as we are seeing the government do now.

But the darker side of recommendation 3 is for the state legislature to introduce a bill granting counties authority to phase out non-conforming STRs as a tool to create long term housing. While Green’s proposal is not going that far, it is likely that the state will bring forward the same measure from last year that aims to grant counties this control.

In the report it does say, “Currently, counties are prohibited from phasing out the zoning of non-conforming residential uses of single-family homes or duplexes. The counties have interpreted this to include a blanket prohibition on changing the zoning of STRs without allowing existing STRs to continue to operate through non-conforming use permits.”

Governor Green’s proposal isn’t available for review just yet. So far he has only announced it through the media.

To Contact the Governor:

The Honorable Josh Green

Governor, State of Hawai‘i

Executive Chambers

State Capitol

415 South Beretania St.

Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813

Phone: (808) 586-0034

Fax: (808) 586-0006

Email Governor Green

Instagram @govjoshgreen

To contact your state legislators visit: https://www.quorum.us/dashboard/external/kodetamkqmIeBqaRxXLB/

Mayor's STR RPT Tax Waiver Incentive

Executive Director — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 23:28:45 GMT

Mayor's STR RPT Tax Waiver Incentive

This weeks news was abuzz with proposals and potential mandates from the Mayor and Governor with regard to housing. There have been weeks of meetings and suggestions, and the state and county are desperately trying to locate mid-term housing.

“By converting short-term units to long-term rental properties, and renting them to residents who have been displaced by the disaster, owners of Maui’s thousands of short-term vacation rentals, timeshares and non-owner-occupied homes will be exempted from paying real property taxes,“ says Mayor Bissen in a press release.

The Mayor has introduced a new proposal, bill 131 that will be introduced in the 12/5/23 County Council Meeting. This new tax relief proposal is aimed at incentivizing short term rental owners to rent to the residents displaced by the wildfire disaster.

According to the press release from the county the exemption is meant to work like this:

“If you have a property assessed at $1,000,000 classified as TVR-STRH, your taxes for this fiscal year are $11,850. If you lease your entire property and the lease begins January 1, 2024, and ends December 31, 2024, you will receive a $5,925 reduction in this year’s taxes (2nd installment) and the full $11,850 in next year’s taxes if you apply by January 30, 2024. That is an estimated savings of $17,775.”

Some of the things we have asked the administration to clarify are:

What FEMA will pay: We hear that it is 175% of HUD rates plus utilities, plus extra if the unit is furnished but knowing some of the ranges they are offer would be useful.

What is the time period and what happens after that term

Who takes care of the unit, and damages if incurred

What the proposal does not put in writing is the Mayor’s intention to increase tax rates for next year. However he does verbalize this idea saying, ”I also intend to propose to the County Council an increase of property taxes for all short-term vacation rentals, timeshare units and non-owner-occupied properties assessed at over a million dollars that do not participate in this program designed to help our Maui people secure housing. Owners who help our disaster-impacted families by making their units available will receive a tax waiver. While those who choose not to can help by contributing more in taxes to make up for the loss of tax revenue.”

To participate in the 12/5/2023 meeting:

https://maui.bluejeans.com/295235670

website: http://co.maui.hi.us/Archive.aspx?AMID=226

e-mail: countv.clerk@mauicountv.us

Regardless of what the Mayor says here, the county may have little alternative to raising property taxes next year, as it looks at more than 65 lawsuits, huge infrastructure builds post recovery, and other post disaster budget increases.

If you are interested in participating in the FEMA direct rental program you can gain more information from this page that The State Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism has put together. Thyere is a short explanation of the FEMA direct lease program, just one of the ways FEMA is working on housing. On this page it says they are offering 175% of market value rent, and looking for 12 to 18 month rentals. For more information https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/hhfdc/fema-direct-lease-program-for-maui/

State DBEDT also has a resource website where you can go to watch previous Maui recovery webinars, FAQs and updates https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/pathwaystorecovery/

Feel free to reach out to your County Council representatives via email or phone:

Alice.Lee@mauicounty.us, Council Chair, Phone: (808) 270-7760;
Yukilei.Sugimura@mauicounty.us, Vice-Chair, Phone: (808) 270-7939;
Tasha.Kama@mauicounty.us , Presiding Officer Pro Tempore, Phone: (808) 270-5501;
Thomas.Cook@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-7108;
Gabe.Johnson@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-7768;
Tamara.Paltin@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-5504;
Keani.Rawlins@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-7678;
Shane.Sinenci@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-7246;
Nohe.Uu-Hodgins@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-5507;

Wildfire Disaster Recovery Group

Executive Director — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 23:22:35 GMT

Wildfire Disaster Recovery Group

We are forming a group of interested member owners, management teams and individuals interested in discussing topics related to the wildfire disaster and rebuilding. Please sign up below to be included in future emails and meetings.

Include Me in the Wildfire Disaster Recovery Group

Tax Relief for Properties Affected by the Wildfires

Executive Director — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 23:10:58 GMT

The County Council has a few new proposals for real property tax relief for properties affected by the wildfire disaster.

Bill 91 - Introduced by Alice Lee. Finds that all properties damaged and or destroyed should be temporarily exempt from RPT. https://mauicounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12393173&GUID=E2F03139-7D9F-4B81-8BB5-158133E93ACC

Bil 95 - Introduced by Tamara Paltin. Offers a real property tax exemption for properties classified as commercialized residential (B&B), STR-TVR, and Hotel/Resort that rent their property to a displaced person or family https://mauicounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12372620&GUID=CD2638AB-EC76-4416-B2F9-9C0CD55D06B3

Bill 102- Introduced by Yukilei Sugimura. Gives property that was destroyed or damaged exemptions from rpt, delinquent tax and penalties for 3 years beginning from 1/1/2024, however if property is sold during this period then the new landowner is responsible for paying taxes from the date of the sale. https://mauicounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12372644&GUID=5C4722A9-D619-4B9F-BF79-5CCB3681062B

These proposals will be discussed at tomorrow's Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee, beginning at 9am. https://mauicounty.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1084403&GUID=13FA4B2E-E6A2-4561-AA86-D07A2BFD023F&Options=info|&Search=

To submit testimony you can go to this link: https://mauicounty.granicusideas.com/meetings/1862-budget-finance-and-economic-development-committee-2023-2025-on-2023-10-31-9-00-am/agenda_items

And submit them digitally.

The finance director has brought up a number of clarifications for these bills (see here), and we are still not clear on implementation or if assessment division will be asking for other clarifications as well. We support these bills that incentivize tax relief for owners of STRs that choose to rent their properties to displaced families. We will keep you posted on updates to this bill as it moves through this process.

Finally, feel free to reach out to your County Council representatives via email or phone:

Alice.Lee@mauicounty.us, Council Chair, Phone: (808) 270-7760;
Yukilei.Sugimura@mauicounty.us, Vice-Chair, Phone: (808) 270-7939;
Tasha.Kama@mauicounty.us , Presiding Officer Pro Tempore, Phone: (808) 270-5501;
Thomas.Cook@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-7108;
Gabe.Johnson@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-7768;
Tamara.Paltin@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-5504;
Keani.Rawlins@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-7678;
Shane.Sinenci@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-7246;
Nohe.Uu-Hodgins@mauicounty.us, Councilmember, Phone: (808) 270-5507;

Visiting Maui with Grace

Executive Director — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 19:06:57 GMT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8rZybAlffU

Along with the Mayor and Governor announcing that Maui is officially open on November 1st, HTA has launched a new campaign named Mālama Maui. In coordination with various community members and partners, HTA produced new videos featuring Maui residents welcoming mindful visitation and sharing how visitors can Mālama Maui. In addition, Governor Josh Green, M.D.’s Office of Wellness and Resilience, HTA and County of Maui have partnered to create informational flyers and screen signage with tips for respectful, compassionate and responsible travel to support the community’s healing. These resources are being distributed broadly to visitors, airlines, accommodations, rental car companies, shops, restaurants, tour operators and other businesses.

Some of their travel tips that you can share with you guests include:

Make sure you’ve packed two things on a trip: patience and grace. Expect to wait for longer than you’re used to for food or other services.
Support local businesses. Your visit will support Maui businesses that rely on tourism for their families’ livelihood. Visit MauiNuiFirst.com for various ways to eat, shop, play, stay and support local.
Hosting uninvited volunteers in direct recovery work may be difficult at this time. Visit MauiNuiStrong.info for efforts welcoming volunteers and contributions.
Do not enter Lahaina Town or take photos of the area, even from afar. The area is restricted because conditions can be hazardous to your health. Respect the privacy of survivors and the dignity of those who lost their lives.
Do not ask about a resident’s personal experience with the disaster. While a question such as “Were you impacted by the fire?” may be intended to be supportive, many survivors are not ready to share their experiences with others.
If you come across a memorial service or other private gathering, leave the area immediately. Respect the gathered survivors and residents — do not take photos or videos.

Visit HTA’s Mālama Maui toolkit to view and download these resources, including an updated map of Maui at: www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/maui-recovery/for-businesses/. The toolkit is available for community members, industry partners and businesses to utilize.

The County of Maui has also launched the MauiNuiFirst.com website with listings of local businesses, including Bed and Breakfast operations, Short Term Rentals, activities and events that visitors can support.

Another place to list and look for Maui Businesses to support: facebook.com/mauishoppingonline

To share the HTA video:

Mālama Maui

2023 State Legislative Summary for Vacation Rental Industry

Executive Director — Mon, 15 May 2023 20:23:22 GMT

Hawaii State Legislature End of Session Summary for Vacation Rentals

It was a brutal season for the Vacation Rental industry at the state legislature. We were watching over 10 bills make their way through the state legislature with a calls to action on a several of them. This is your summary on some of those bills and where we are at now.

This year House Representative Sean Quinlan (North Shore Oahu) is the new chair of tourism, and he kicked off the season by sponsoring a bunch of bills aimed at managing the visitor industry and eradicating illegal vacation rentals. However, these bills were far reaching and punitive, failed to have any input from stakeholders, and would have put legal vacation rentals out of business or altered property rights.

We successfully organized and testified at these meetings to let the state know about our legal operators and what they are doing to benefit our communities. We also informed them about the benefits of community based accommodation businesses and the contributions they continue to make in their counties. Lastly, we gave them pause as to why they would even consider closing down small businesses in our current economic climate.

We met with Tourism House Committee Chair Sean Quinlan before the end of session:

His sentiment is pro-resort zoning for STRs and getting them out of residential neighborhoods because of the housing crisis (except maybe for Big Island where it isn't as big an issue due to size and current home prices).

He isn't happy with the large numbers of unhosted rentals on Maui. He also said the residential non conforming properties doing STR are definite targets. He believes Kauai has the best model, STRs in resort zoning.

He would like to work on a possible statewide Bill on STRs this summer. He'd like to get representatives from each island, along with the heads of DPP and the Mayor's office as a working group. He realizes the Counties may be too different to regulate together though.

He will be off for a couple weeks after the session. We will be back in touch at the beginning of June.

Our stance in the conversation: We are rationale people that understand we need to balance the STR issues with the other housing issues on the islands. We do not want to see illegal activity in the community either. We need to work together on this.

Our takeaway is that we would like to continue to educate our community on why small business accommodations are critical to cultural and regenerative models of hospitality. The state level legislators need to know more about the legal pathways on Maui and show them our enforcement reports from the Department of Planning that clearly show there are not large numbers of unhosted rentals in residential areas on Maui. We need our legislative representative to make data and fact driven decisions.

Quinlan has indicated he wants to bring several bills from this session back. See the bill summaries below

Hawaii Island county employee, and hosted stay operator testifies that Bill 84 gives county councils too much control, and gives the hotel industry and lobby high advantage over small local operators

State Bill Summary

Here is a quick summary of just some of the bills we watched, testified and organized on:

HB820

Aimed to tax TVRS at a TAT rate of 25%
This punitive bill was supported by the HTA as a way to enforce illegal rentals.
We generated hours of oral testimony and over 400 pages of testimony in opposition
Bill is dead for this legislative season
This bill can be brought back during next years session

HB84

Aimed to give counties authority to create laws to phase out legal, permitted, non conforming or otherwise short term rentals in any zoning districts.
This bill was touted as a methodology for enforcement for counties.
We generated hours of oral testimony and over 395 pages of testimony in opposition
Bill is dead for this legislative season
This bill can be brought back next year

HB1376

Establishes an Office of Tourism and Destination Management within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism that encompasses regenerative tourism and best practice destination management, and replaces HTA.
We utilized this bill to inform the legislature how crucial it is to have small business accommodations stakeholders on any tourism management committee or group moving forward

HB1375

Establishes the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the destination management agency, including its director and commission and repeals HTA.
We utilized this bill to inform the legislature how crucial it is to have small business accommodations stakeholders on any tourism management committee or group moving forward

SB219

Clarifies county zoning to explicitly authorize counties to adopt zoning regulations that eliminate or amortize land uses or structures.
Senate counter part to HB84
Bill is dead for this legislative season
This bill can be brought back next year

SB1522

Establishes an Office of Tourism and Destination Management within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism that encompasses regenerative tourism and best practice destination management and replaces HTA.
Senate counterpart to HB1375
Bill is dead for this legislative season
This bill can be brought back next year

We have created a dashboard to follow State measures here.

To support these efforts please Join us! Your membership helps support these efforts and the research to inform our legislators.

Hawaii Legal Vacation Rental State Legislature Updates

Executive Director — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 23:59:11 GMT

State Bill Updates for STR

There were some calls to action for some of the recent committee meetings at the State Legislature for measures we are watching. I wanted to give an update on where they stand or where to find more information on other concerning bills:

HB84

A measure which seeks to give counties complete power to strip STR use on properties currently legally doing STR, no matter whether you are grandfathered, zoned, permitted.

At the Water and Land Committee (WAL) meeting there were over 395 pages of testimony. There were only 5 in support: the HTA, a group called Keep it Kailua, Honolulu Department of Planning, a Mrs. Pahinui, a Mr. Thorman; The remaining 390 pages were in opposition.

The Committee votes were as follows: The committee on WAL recommended that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Ichiyama, Poepoe, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Ganaden, Morikawa, Souza; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Chun, Hashem.

The measure is referred to the Judicial committee where chair Ichiyama of the WAL committee indicated it “needed some work.”

However in Chair Ichiyama’s report, after she notes the many testimonies in opposition, she added this in her report:

“ Your Committee finds that from 2009 to 2019, the State experienced an increase in visitor arrivals from six million to over ten million, a 59.5 percent increase in arrivals without a corresponding increase in accommodations. These additional visitors likely stayed in non-traditional units, including short-term vacation rentals. This measure supports county zoning efforts and enforcement by allowing the counties to eliminate short-term rentals on residential and agricultural zoned lands.”

This is nearly a direct quote from the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s testimony in favor of this bill. This seems to be the WAL committees “reason” for recommending despite the opposition. We are going back and reviewing these accommodation figures, because for the legal STR’s on Maui, many were built way before the 2009-2019 data set they are pointing to. Phasing out legal operators should not be a “tool for enforcement” to battle illegal operations. I submitted to the committee copies of our own Maui County enforcement reports that show numbers for last quarter were 3 notices of warning and 0 violations found in 25 complaints. (see below)

The next step for this measure is to go to the JHL committee. This committee does not have any agenda scheduled for this matter yet.

HB820

A measure that sought to charge a special 25% to STRs on top of the existing 10% TAT that would go to the State TAT coffers.

This bill was heard in the State Finance Committee. The committee received 443 pages of testimony: 2 in support: the HTA, and Liezl Bag-Id; the remaining 441 pages of testimony were in opposition.

Maui has 13,744 legal short term rental properties, 8,336 hotel rooms, and 2,475 timeshare units in our diversified visitor accommodation industry (please reference the State reports at the end of this report). Each provides the potential Maui visitor different options. The clear differentiation regarding the legal short term rental properties is that thousands of them are owned by Maui County families. This is one of the only ways local families can directly participate in and benefit from the hospitality industry.

When it comes to legislation that could affect the livelihood of thousands of its constituents (actual voters), the State should be considering factual and data driven based decisions. At the very least, the State should be supporting this legally operating small business sector that offers such a vibrant and diverse ecosystem for our visitors, while our county and state are already leveraging significant taxes on these businesses to benefit our local economy. The legal short term vacation rentals already generate the largest amount of tax revenue for Maui County than any other category by a very large margin.

The State should not be favoring large international corporations in the transient accommodations industry while targeting the Hawai’i's legal small business entities in the same industry. We cannot support a bill that could potentially shut down small legal operators with unfair taxation schemes that favor large outside corporate operations in this state.

This bill was badly written. The committee Chair deferred this bill, so for now it is dead.

HB1376

A measure that would dissolve the HTA and reorganize another management group and establish an office of tourism and destination management in the Department of business, economic development and tourism (DBEDT).

This bill was heard in the State Finance Committee. We testified, as did some of the other outer island groups, that the State should mandate proper representation for legal Short Term rental stakeholders in this bill, in order to make good policy and strong management decisions.

This bill passed with some revisions, but not the ones we asked for.

The legislative process can call any bill back for a special session so we are not in the clear yet.

To see the other bills we are watching go here:https://1drv.ms/x/s!AjltVNtsr_fZknNhcV7qDeZZ7Jlg?e=wQZHeM

Short Term Rentals are the Biggest Revenue Source for Maui County Real Property Tax FY22-23

Executive Director — Sun, 22 May 2022 16:42:46 GMT

Short Term Rentals are the Biggest Revenue Source for Maui County Real Property Tax FY22-23

Property Tax Revenue FY2022-2023

This fiscal year Maui County’s operating budget is the largest ever set at $1.07 Billion dollars, and for the first time will be going into the billions of dollars. This will be over a $200 Million increase, or 27% over last fiscal year. Read more about the budget here. The way the County of Maui sets the real property tax, the largest source of revenue for their budget, is to first figure out how much they plan to spend in the upcoming year, and then setting the real property tax figure to balance the budget.

In all, the county will raise $430 Million in property tax revenue. Vacation Rentals will raise $160 Million in RPT tax, 12% more than last year. This was an increase of $17 Million in tax dollars, the highest increase in all the tax classifications. This year Short Term Rentals represents 37% of the real property tax revenue, and 15% of the total operating budget.

Much of the increases in revenue in property taxes overall came from the increase in values of properties. Total assessments rose $4 Billion overall in Maui County in fiscal year 2022-2023. Increases in assessed values were 5% overall in the short term classification. Short term rentals will contribute $12.1 Million in revenue to the Affordable Housing Fund, the largest contribution of all the classifications, and the largest contribution to date. Over the last 5 years the short term rental classification has generated $31.5 million dollars for the affordable housing fund.

Visitor accommodations raise 82% of Maui’s property tax revenue with second homes included. These numbers show Short term rentals are a significant contributor to the County of Maui, and a legitimate and critical part of the economic engine for Maui.

Maui County Real Property Tax FY22-23

Executive Director — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 20:03:57 GMT

Join

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Contact

Maui County Council works on the budget session for the month of April. They are proposing a budget in the realm of $25 million dollars more than the Mayor’s proposed budget of an unprecedented $1.045 billion dollars.

The County Council is now looking to balance that budget, and looking to set the real property tax rates. They have posted a range of rates for the public hearing on Wednesday April 27, at 6pm.

In their budget committee meeting yesterday they discussed where they would like to set rates. For Short Term Rental that is looking like $11.85.

I am sharing the analysis of these rates in the spreadsheet here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRAt6lNb1UpxbD7rjIr2RY57ZHSQ4BkwunMXMkhEXqcCZx0GmMoPNk5QM0dBB1xmx22TYfv6PDpoRcz/pubhtml

Right now it looks like the county has raised assessments for STR about 5% overall, and increased revenue generated by STR by 12%. These figures for Hotel / Resort are 49% increase, and 9% for Time Share.

Proposed tax rate figures are flat for Bed and Breakfast but because of a decrease in assessed values the change over last year is -3%.

Overall this council is seeking 57% of the total real property tax revenue from Visitor Accommodation properties. When you include Non Owner Occupied properties, that are largely vacation homes, that number goes to 83%. That means this county council is planning to be even more dependent on the Visitor Industry, and the funding it brings in.

The council is proposing to change the tiers to [<=1,000,000]; [1,000,001-3,000,000]; and

[>3,000,001] for Owner Occupied, Short Term Rental, and Long Term Rental.

The council is proposing to change the tiers to [<=1,000,000]; [1,000,001-4,500,000]; and

[>4,500,001] for Non Owner Occupied classified properties.

To comment on the Council’s proposed rates:

Public Hearing April 27, 2021 6:00 PM will be held virtual online here: BlueJeans link https://maui.bluejeans.com/295235670

To phone in to the meeting:

Call 1-408-317-9253 and input meeting code 295235670

To submit written testimony: Email county.clerk@mauicounty.us.

View the agenda here:

https://mauicounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=956311&GUID=75A1E9F9-889C-49D8-8E5E-6F1494E8B937

Finally, feel free to reach out to your County Council representatives via email or phone:

Alice Lee, Council Chair: Alice.Lee@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-7760;

Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Council Vice Chair: Keani.Rawlins@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-7678;

Tasha Kama, Presiding Officer Pro Tempore of the Maui County Council: Tasha.Kama@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-5501;

Gabe Johnson, Councilmember: Gabe.Johnson@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-7768;

Kelly King, Councilmember: Kelly.King@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-7108;

Mike Molina, Councilmember: Mike.Molina@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-5507;

Tamara Paltin, Councilmember, Chair of Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee: Tamara.Paltin@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-5504;

Shane Sinenci, Councilmember: Shane.Sinenci@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-7246;

Yuki Lei Sugimura, Councilmember: Yukilei.Sugimura@mauicounty.us, Phone: (808) 270-7939

Links:

Range of Property Tax Rates for Public Hearing

https://mauicounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=956311&GUID=75A1E9F9-889C-49D8-8E5E-6F1494E8B937

4/25/22 Maui County Council Budget Meeting

https://www.facebook.com/MauiCountyCouncil/videos/1048567236091627

Maui Tourism Management and Economic Development TIG Report

Executive Director — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 20:01:13 GMT

Maui Tourism Management and Economic Development TIG Report

The Budget, Finance and Economic Development (BFED) Committee released their Tourism Management and Economic Development Temporary Investigative Group (TIG) Report at their committee meeting on February 2nd. The TIG held meetings on September 10, 2021, September 24, 2021, October 8, 2021, October 29, 2021, November 12, 2021, November 23, 2021, December 10, 2021, and January 19, 2022.

The group compiled several legislative action items, which will be discussed at the next BFED meeting on February 23, 2022. Among the proposals are recommendations for capping tourist accommodations, adding green energy requirements for for accommodations, managed retreat for structures in sea level rise areas, eliminating TVRs in varios zoning districts, and regulating the peer to peer car sharing industry, among others.

You can find the report with all of the proposals here.

Maui TVR Condo Phase Out Update

Executive Director — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 18:53:01 GMT

A Guest Post Shared from the Realtor Association of Maui Government Affairs Director, Jason Economou

An Overview of the TVR Phase-Out Issue Thus Far

By Jason Economou, RAM Government Affairs Director

January 13, 2022

There are roughly 7,302 condominium units located throughout the Apartment zoning districts that have a vested right to conduct transient vacation rentals (TVRs). This vested right is based primarily on the fact that these buildings were lawfully permitted to conduct that use historically, and many were built and designed for that purpose. The defense of this vested property right has been a major advocacy issue for RAM for decades. I will not take the time to go through the full history of the issue in this document, but if you are curious I encourage you to review previous analysis provided to RAM members from my predecessor, Dave DeLeon, as well as from myself. Though RAM was successful in having this right codified in the Maui County Code, where it remains today, there have been numerous attempts to strip the subject condominium units of their ability to conduct TVR use since then.

The most recent threat to this vested property right arose as part of the Maui County Council’s August 24th, 2021 agenda as County Communication 21-422. CC 21-422 included draft legislation from Councilmember Tamara Paltin’s office that would effectively phase out transient accommodations in the apartment zoning districts as they were sold. Specifically, it would make it so the ability to conduct TVR use in the subject properties is lost once a property is sold or transferred after December 31, 2021 (this date was clearly an aspirational placeholder). Therefore, current property owners would maintain the right to conduct TVRs in their units for however long they own the property, but they would not be able to confer that right to future owners if the sale or transfer occurred after December 31, 2021. CC 21-422, and the proposed legislation attached thereto, was referred to Councilmember Paltin’s Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee.

After CC 21-422’s referral to the committee, RAM and our colleagues got busy on research and messaging in opposition to this proposal. Within days, we identified several issues with Councilmember Paltin’s TVR phase-out proposal (hereinafter, the “Paltin proposal”), and we circulated our concerns publicly. Our arguments against the Paltin proposal were as follows:

1. This Bill Would Defund Affordable Housing for Maui County:

Maui County’s recent Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan, calls for the County to “increase funding into the Affordable Housing Fund to $58 million annually.”
This increased contribution to the Affordable Housing Fund will be used to effectuate necessary infrastructure updates and to allow the County to play a meaningful role in the development of truly affordable housing.
If this legislation is passed, we estimate thatthe County stands to lose as much as $74 million in property tax revenue annually (which is roughly 8.77% of the total operating budget!).
This loss in revenue would make it difficult for the County to maintain the services it currently provides, and it would make it impossible to increase funding to the Affordable Housing Fund.
Without the revenue, there is no investment in Affordable Housing, and there will be property tax increases for everyone else.

2. This Bill Will Harm the County, the State, and Many Others:

The STR property tax class in Maui County is expected to produce $137,908,224 in property tax revenue for the County in FY 2022 (more than 5 times as much as the Hotel class or the Owner-Occupied class).
With there being roughly 13,466 properties in the STR class overall, the average amount of tax paid by each property is $10,241 per property.
This legislation is designed to remove just over 7,300 properties from the STR property tax class, which equates to roughly $74 million in lost revenue! That is equal to 8.77% of Maui County’s operating budget for this year.
The only way to make up for this huge loss in revenue is to increase property taxes for everyone else..
This bill will also remove 7,000+ units from paying TAT, which we estimate to be a loss of roughly $69 Million in TAT revenue for the State of Hawaii. Now that the County will also be charging a 3% surcharge, it will result in direct loss of revenue for the County as well
Conveyance Tax losses could be substantial, but are difficult to estimate at this time. These 7,000 properties currently equate to billions of dollars worth of real estate, but some estimate that they could lose as much as half their value the moment this legislation is passed. That will be devastating for conveyance tax revenue, and devastating to individuals who own these properties. There is the distinct possibility that this legislation could also cause a bit of a financial crisis, since many current owners will suddenly own more on their mortgages than the units are worth. That is essentially what happened on a national level in 2008, and we all remember how bad that was.

3. This Bill is Yet Another Gift to the Hotel Industry!:

During the pandemic, the Hotel properties were the only properties that were assessed at a lower value due to lost revenue, and they were openly given priority in reopening when restrictions started loosening.
Now, through this bill, the County is eliminating the only real source of competition on the island that the hotels have.
These impacted properties are not “illegal short term rentals.” They are mostly professionally managed units in buildings that have historically been used for the purpose of transient accommodations. The main difference between these units and the hotels is that they are usually family owned, as opposed to the hotels that are owned by multinational corporations.
The only group that will benefit from this bill is the hotel industry, as the reduction in revenue this bill will cause will be devastating for everyone else in the County.
It will be most devastating to anyone that hoped the Affordable Housing Plan would actually produce affordable housing.

4. The Impacted Properties are Not Suitable for Our Residents:

The proposed legislation aims to “create long-term affordable housing opportunities for residents,” but the reality is that these properties are not suitable for that.
Parking is generally 1-2 spaces per unity, and the spaces are primarily for compact vehicles.
Units were designed as transient accommodations to begin with, and have minimal storage for families or long term occupancy.
Units are all 30+ years old, and have high maintenance fees and high special assessments to cope with aging infrastructure. Some recent special assessments have been as high as $100,000 per unit.
Impacted properties are primarily located in the sea level rise exposure area, and will face financial and practical challenges with climate adaptation. Turning these into “affordable housing opportunities” will almost certainly ensure deferment of critical infrastructure updates for many of these properties, and an increased risk of catastrophic circumstances (like the Miami Condo Collapse).

5. Is this Legislation Even Legal?

The counties are granted zoning authority by the State of Hawaii through HRS § 46-4, which does allow “for the amortization or phasing out of nonconforming uses or signs over a reasonable period of time in commercial, industrial, resort, and apartment zoned areas only.”
However, TVR use is explicitly permitted pursuant to the Maui County Code, and has been conducted in the Apartment Zoning Districts for a very long time by many properties. This is hardly a “nonconforming” use. Therefore, it is unlawful to abruptly eliminate the use in this manner.
These properties clearly have a vested property right to conduct transient rentals, and the proposed legislation will result in a lot of litigation against the county. Some might argue this legislation is a government taking or violation of due process, and there will likely be claims for zoning estoppel, and it will ultimately cost the County (i.e. tax payers) a lot of money to sort out.

As we waited for the Paltin proposal to get scheduled in the Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee, we also learned that Council Vice-Chair Keani Rawlins-Fernandez had been working on a TVR phase-out proposal. The Rawlins-Fernandez proposal also asserts that its purpose is “to create long-term housing opportunities for residents by phasing out Transient Vacation Rentals in the Apartment Districts,” but it goes about it in a different way. Rather than phasing out TVR use in all of the subject properties, it would allow TVR use to continue for those properties that are located within the sea level rise exposure area, but it would eliminate the use for all subject properties outside of that area in January 2023. Therefore, it would impact the property rights of roughly 3,624 of the subject units, approximately 3,000 of which are currently paying the STR tax rate.

The TVR phase-out issue was agendized by the Planning and Sustainable Land Use (PSLU) Committee for the first time on November 3, 2021. The intent of the November 3rd meeting was to determine what, if any, legislative proposal the committee would send to the three Planning Commissions for review. In the lead-up to that meeting, RAM and the MVRA raised a large number of concerns and arguments against the legislation, and we each initiated Calls for Action among our members. This resulted in over 500 emails opposing the proposal being sent to each member of the County Council, as well as hundreds of people providing testimony on the Maui County’s eComment forum for PSLU-34.

At the outset of the November 3rd meeting, it became clear that Councilmember Paltin was distancing herself from the argument that her proposal would create long-term affordable housing opportunities for residents, and appeared to pivot toward the argument that a TVR phase-out was necessary to reduce the number of tourists and meet the ⅓ visitor to resident ratio outlined in the Maui Island Plan. It also became clear that Councilmember Paltin had desired for the PSLU Committee to discuss the Rawlins-Fernandez proposals as well as her own, even though it had not been properly agendized. Regardless, the PSLU Committee did not end up discussing either legislative proposal. Instead, after several hours of public testimony (mostly in opposition to the proposals), Committee Chair Paltin announced that she wanted to defer the item to a later date, and the members agreed unanimously. Currently, we anticipate the TVR phase-out issue to be agendized again in early February, but it could be sooner.

Moving forward, we are under the impression that Councilmember Paltin intends to let the Rawlins-Fernandez proposal have priority. Therefore, we are refocusing our advocacy efforts primarily against that proposal. Broadly, the arguments against the Rawlins-Fernandez proposal are essentially the same as the arguments against the previous legislative proposal:

1. This Bill Will Defund Affordable Housing for Maui County:

Maui County’s recent Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan prepared by Hawaiian Community Assets calls for the County to “increase funding into the Affordable Housing Fund to $58 million annually.”
If the Rawlins-Fernandez proposal is passed, we estimate thatthe County stands to lose as much as $30 million in property tax revenue annually (which is more revenue than the entire Hotel/Resort Class is expected to generate).
This loss in revenue would make it difficult for the County to maintain the services it currently provides, and it would make it impossible to increase funding to the Affordable Housing Fund.
Without the revenue, there is no investment in Affordable Housing, and there will be property tax increases for everyone else.

2. This Bill Will Hard the County, the State, and Many Others:

The STR property tax class in Maui County is expected to produce $137,908,224 in property tax revenue for the County in FY 2022 (more than 5 times as much as the Hotel class or the Owner-Occupied class).
With there being roughly 13,466 properties in the STR class overall, the average amount of tax paid by each property is $10,241 per property.
This legislation is designed to remove just over 3,000 properties from the STR property tax class, which equates to roughly $30 million in lost revenue! That is equal to roughly 8% of Maui County’s estimated property tax revenue for 2022.
The only way to make up for this huge loss in revenue is to increase property taxes for everyone else..
This bill will also remove 3,000+ units from paying both State and County TAT.
Conveyance Tax losses could be substantial, but are difficult to estimate at this time.

3. This Bill is Yet Another Gift to the Hotel Industry!:

For the same reasons as stated above

The Impacted Properties are Not Good for Our Residents

The proposed legislation aims to “create long-term housing opportunities for residents,” but the reality is that these properties are not ideal for that.
Parking is generally 1-2 spaces per unity, and the spaces are primarily for compact vehicles.
Most units were designed as transient accommodations to begin with, and have minimal storage for families or long term occupancy.
Units are all 30+ years old, and have high maintenance fees and high special assessments to cope with aging infrastructure. Therefore, the cost to a long term renter or owner occupant would be astronomical without the property generating income.

5. This Legislation is not Lawful:

As outlined above, the impacted properties have a vested interest and lawfully acknowledged right to conduct transient accommodations.

Though our opposition to these proposals is multifaceted, the issue really comes down to a simple choice:

The County of Maui can either attempt to reduce tourism numbers by punishing TVR owners, or it can fund affordable housing opportunities for its residents.

It cannot do both.

With that in mind, we don’t need to consider whether or not tourist numbers should be reduced, but instead focus exclusively on the economic benefit provided by these properties, and how losing those benefits would negatively impact housing opportunities.

Links to useful and historically relevant documents:
- 2021 Maui County Real Property Tax Statistics
- Ordinance No. 1797 (1989): This is the ordinance that kind of started the whole issue with these properties. This was Maui County’s first attempt at eliminating transient vacation rentals in the Apartment zoning districts, but Section 11 of the ordinance created a carve out for all the subject properties.
- “The Minatoya Opinion”: This is a 2001 legal memorandum from Deputy Corporation Counsel Richard Minatoya, which outlines the vested property right of the subject properties to conduct TVR use.
- Ordinance No. 4167 (2014): This ordinance codified the right of the subject properties to conduct transient vacation rentals by amending the permitted uses for Apartment zoned properties in the comprehensive zoning ordinance. Thereby making TVR use in these properties a fully conforming, permitted use.
- List of Apartment District Properties Allowed to be Used for Short-Term Occupancy: This is a list of Apartment zoned properties that are generally recognized to have the vested right to conduct transient vacation rental use.
- Maui Vacation Rental Association Blog: Excellent coverage of recent Council activity. Additionally, they provide helpful resources like this table that separates out the subject properties in various ways.
- The Rawlins-Fernandez TVR Phase-Out Proposal
- List of Apartment District Properties Allowed to be Used for Short-Term Rental Occupancy within/abutting the SLR-XA: This is a list generated by the Department of Planning in response to inquiries concerning the phase out proposal from Council Vice-Chair Rawlins-Fernandez. These are the properties that would be permitted to keep conducting transient vacation rentals under her proposal.
- Paltin TVR Phase-Out Proposal
- Agenda and Video for November 3, 2021, Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee Meeting
- eComment forum for November 3, 2021 PSLU Committee Meeting
- UHERO Economic Analysis of Maui County Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan
- Video and Slides of presentation concerning the TVR Phase Out Proposals
- Hawaii Sea Level Rise Viewer

The New Maui County TAT (MCTAT)

Executive Director — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 02:13:42 GMT

The Maui County TAT (MCTAT)

The Maui County Transient Accommodation Tax began November 1, 2021.

The County of Maui recently posted new info to their MCTAT website, and there is now a payment voucher to download there as well.

You can see the County website info here:

https://mauicounty.gov/2466/Transient-Accommodations-Tax

To get copies of the payment voucher go to this page

https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/130059/MCTAT-Payment-Voucher

Maui County also has an email to send questions to at mauitat@mauicounty.gov. You can call the MCTAT office at 808-270-7637. Always feel free to call or email me with any questions you may have as well.

The question I get most often - what about reservation made prior to Nov. 1 the beginning of the tax:

Those reservations are not subject to the tax because those parties entered into a contract price before the tax. Tax is only paid on reservations on or after 11/1/21.

The county webpage has a FAQ on this subject at https://mauicounty.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=1181

"What about bookings made in advance before the effective date?

Under Act 1 (2021), Section 7 states: “[t]he county transient accommodations tax, if adopted, shall be imposed on the gross rental, gross rental proceeds, and fair market rental value of all written contracts that require the passing on of the taxes imposed under this chapter; provided that if the gross rental, gross rental proceeds, and fair market rental value are received as payments beginning in the taxable year in which the taxes become effective, on contracts entered into prior to the adoption of the ordinance pursuant to section 46- , HRS, and the written contracts do not provide for the passing on of increased rates of taxes, the county transient accommodations tax shall not be imposed on the gross rental[.]”

Here is the graphic from that page:

The county also offers an online payment portal.

"Online: Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are accepted via the County’s online payment portal at https://www.mauicounty.gov/tat/payment. No fees will be assessed for ACH payments. However, ACH payments require bank verification, which can take up to 4 days. If your payment needs to completed sooner, please remit your payment using other payment method."

Please note if you are filing a zero tax due you will not be able to file that online. Online filing is for payments only. To file a zero tax due use the payment voucher and mail in form.

For a pdf copy of the FAQ go to https://mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/129320/TAT-TAX-FACTS---FAQs

If you have any questions please feel free to email me

at jenrusso@mauivacationrentalassociation.org

Maui County Proposal to Phase Out Transient Vacation Rentals

Executive Director — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 22:39:26 GMT

See the List of Proposed Properties Subject to the phase out:

11/03/21 PSLU Committee

On Wednesday's PSLU committee meeting. Chair Tamara Paltin began with explaining the theme of this meeting:

“This is really centered around General plan 1D: to maintain a sustainable balance between the resident, part-time resident and visitor populations. This is not about Hotel industry or Short term rental industry or visitor industry. It is more about our residents and the vision they had and their quality of life.”

Chair then went on to explain that for PSLU 34, on phasing out TVR use in apartment districts they have a new proposal. This proposal sponsored by Councilmember Rawlins Fernandez seeks a phase out bill that would allow for TVR use to continue for all buildings in the sea level rise exposure area. However, all the properties outside the SLRExA would lose the right to conduct TVRs on January 1, 2023. This potential affects 3000 units.

Thank you so much for those who took the time to oppose this measure on Wednesday! The meeting went on to have over 100 on the oral testimony list, and public testimony went on through 9am-3pm. To watch the meeting go here: http://mauicounty.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=149

There was 200 pieces of written testimony was submitted, you can see that here:

https://mauicounty.granicusideas.com/meetings/1438-planning-and-sustainable-land-use-committee-2021-on-2021-11-03-9-00-am/agenda_items

The committee voted unanimously to defer this item to a future committee meeting date. The next discussion will focus on the new proposal. The county planning department has since submitted a list of properties that are in or abut the sea level rise exposure area. These would be the properties allowed to remain doing TVR use. This new proposal also changes its intent to just create housing, not necessarily affordable housing.

MVRA has created a list to show what properties are subject to this new phase out. See that here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSruJ0CUYT7f1GsbNfP_WJVHaOgEY3FDpWjRUQd8OATX8z-7Ym5jK3ZTaD6dDsvVAg4zVPBqXqe9kyb/pubhtml

See a portion of this new bill's intent below:

Chair Paltin also explained that she feels that “we need housing for everybody, many of these units used to be housing for everybody prior to 2014.” and gave a brief history lesson of these units. Tom Croly testified and added to that history lesson, recalling that many of these buildings and units actually did do vacation rental use prior to 2014, as it was an allowed use for them all along.

Phasing out 3000 legal vacation rentals will certainly divest these property owners of rights, and further identification of these buildings units, and what kind of housing would be created, if it was used for vacation rental in the past, and researching any other unintended consequences should be the next steps. Stay tuned for more meetups and discussion on the issues and unintended consequences of this newest TVR Phase out.

In addition, at that meeting on Wednesday the visitor accommodation Moratorium proposal passed out of committee and onto the council. This proposal if passed will pause any vacation accommodation permits, including hotel, condo, or STRH, for two years.

What should you do?

Support us!

Transient Vacation Rental owners can join MVRA at MVRA.NET/JOIN

Be informed, take action, and educate your guests.

Proposed Phase Out for Transient Vacation Rentals- Wed 11/3/21 9AM

Executive Director — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 23:49:05 GMT

Phasing Out Vacation Rentals in the Apartment District

The proposed Phasing Out of Transient Accommodations in the Apartment District is on the agenda in the Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee meeting this Wednesday, November 3rd at 9am. This proposal will affect all of us, and we recommend giving oral testimony or submitting testimony for this meeting.

Some of the issues with this proposal:

This proposal suggests a sunset date whereby any sale or transfer of title on properties after that date will no longer be able to do transient vacation rental use. This use has been explicitly legal in our county code, and many of these buildings in the apartment districts have been engaged in this legal use for many years. These properties have made the largest contributions to affordable housing, and the county’s budget. Since 2018, Maui’s vacation rentals have contributed $18.9 million towards affordable housing, more than all the hotels, all the homeowners and all other businesses COMBINED! This year the legal short term rentals generated $8.5M for the affordable housing fund.

This bill could potentially defund affordable housing for Maui County at a time when we need it most. The intent of this proposed phase out bill is to create affordable housing, however, most of these properties would not be affordable to rent. Many of these properties do not have storage and parking that is appropriate for affordable housing.

This bill could result in a potential loss of $74M in Real Property Tax revenue for the county of Maui, and a loss of $69M in TAT Revenue for the State. The result will be an increase in taxes for Maui residents.

Please take a moment to tell your story, how this proposal affects you, and the network of small businesses that you support.

What can you do?

If you have a vacation rental operation in the apartment district or this concerns you, please reach out to your council members, send testimony, or better yet give oral testimony at this week’s County Council meeting.

Item you are testifying on is PSLU-34

To testify: Meeting of November 3, 2021 9:00 AM will be held virtual online here: BlueJeans link https://bluejeans.com/149341846

To phone in testimony:To join the meeting by phone, call 1-408-915-6290, and enter meeting code 149 341 846

To submit written testimony:

Go to https://mauicounty.granicusideas.com/meetings/1438-planning-and-sustainable-land-use-committee-2021-on-2021-11-03-9-00-am/agenda_items/617b54d0f2b67075970158b3-pslu-34-cc-21-422-phasing-out-transient-accommodat

View the agenda here: https://mauicounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=901831&GUID=D7AA512E-D668-48C6-85F9-6C1FBB940823

To view the proposed bill and committee report: https://mauicounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=9924078&GUID=03DC0520-4C86-4EAB-8543-97F2AB200AE5