The Maui County Council voted 7-2 to pass Bill 88, creating two new hotel zoning districts (H-3 and H-4) that give roughly 4,500 grandfathered vacation rentals on the Minatoya List a potential path to rezone and continue operating. The bill establishes the zoning framework only — individual properties must still apply for rezoning separately.
- Bill 88 creates H-3 and H-4 hotel zoning districts modeled on existing apartment standards, offering a rezoning pathway for ~4,500 grandfathered vacation rentals across 104 Minatoya List properties.
- The bill does not automatically rezone any properties; owners must go through a separate rezoning process to qualify for the new districts.
- All three county planning commissions — Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi — unanimously opposed the bill before it passed.
- Bill 88 is a direct response to Bill 9, the vacation rental phase-out law signed in December 2024 that is eliminating STRs from apartment-zoned areas.
- Council Members Keani Rawlins-Fernandez and Gabe Johnson were the two dissenting votes, with Rawlins-Fernandez citing housing advocates and opposition from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Source: Maui Now
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