The Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee voted 5-4 to use sea-level-rise exposure data as a key factor in deciding which apartment-zoned vacation rental properties qualify for hotel-district rezoning. The committee will reconvene September 9 to continue deliberations.
- A 5-4 committee vote adopted criteria linking hotel-district rezoning eligibility to how far a property sits within the state’s Sea Level Rise Exposure Area (SLR-XA).
- The SLR-XA combines tidal flooding, high-wave flooding, and coastal erosion hazards across multiple sea-level-rise scenarios (0.5 to 3.2 feet).
- Opponents argued rezoning should wait until Bill 9’s vacation rental phase-out takes effect so its impact can be assessed before more properties shift to hotel use.
- Maui’s 2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan flags roughly $1.2 billion in replacement value for buildings in coastal erosion hazard areas, with 162 of 366 at-risk structures located in West Maui.
- The committee plans to reconvene September 9 at 10 a.m. in Maui County Council Chambers; Resolution 26-130 was not addressed in the current session.
Source: Maui Now
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