The Maui Planning Commission voted 6-2 to recommend denying hotel-zoning exemptions for 43 of 48 vacation rental properties seeking to escape Bill 9’s phase-out, endorsing exemptions for only about 397 units out of roughly 3,400 that had been considered. The full Maui County Council must still make a final decision.
- Bill 9, passed in December 2025, phases out approximately 6,100 apartment-zoned vacation rentals — with deadlines of December 31, 2028 for West Maui and December 31, 2030 for South Maui.
- Only 5 of the 48 properties that applied for a hotel-zoning exemption received a positive recommendation, covering a combined 397 units.
- The exemption path required properties to be rezoned into newly created hotel zoning classes, a process that still requires final Maui County Council approval.
- The commission hearing drew five hours of public testimony, with housing advocates and property owners sharply divided over the exemptions.
- Roughly 1,100 Minatoya list units were excluded from Bill 9 entirely under a separate provision, and are not affected by this ruling.
Source: Hoodline
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