According to latest update from REALTORS Association of Maui, the short term rental bill has passed the PLanning Commission and will be discussed by the County Council in the near future.
While this is significant progress, particularly by comparison to what happened during the Tavares administration, there is still much work left to be done.
As of now, the neighborhoods of Launiupoko and Makila are still targeted as exceptions to this bill, whereby a large percentage of the available properties are condominiumized. We fail to understand why this particular exception, since lots in Launiupoko and Makila subdivisions are large lots, whereby the impact on the neighbors should be rather small.
And given the existing Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions in just about any neighborhood developed after 1986, chances are that the only properties that will be allowed to have legal vacation rentals ( after a permitting process) will be direct oceanfront properties.
The proponents of the bill, headed by Gladys Baisa, have decided to limit the number of avaialable permits to 88 to West Maui. Apparently, that would represent about 1% of the total housing inventory. One of the biggest arguments against permitting short term rentals in residential areas is that the affordable housing inventory would be decreasing. By limiting the number of permits issued in a certain area, our legislature mean to alleviate such fear. After all, it is the same people that need affordable housing that also vote in our elections, and not the mainland investors running vacation rentals in their high end property on Maui.
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