Short-term rental zoning in the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area
Maui County
Summary
Several testifiers warned that many affected buildings are oceanfront, in sea-level-rise impact zones and flood zones, with high insurance costs. One urged a sunset provision reverting vulnerable shoreline parcels to open space when erosion thresholds are hit.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 0
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Sep 9, 2026.
Impact analysis
Coastal erosion could shrink the county tax base and force rising public spending on emergency response and shoreline hardening.
Residents and future generations would benefit from zoning that plans for coastal retreat rather than indefinite shoreline hardening.
Oceanfront property owners could face eventual managed retreat or restrictions on rebuilding.
Mentions & discussions (3)
Housing and Land Use Committee (2025-2027) — September 9, 2026
Members debated managed retreat, State-certified shoreline surveys, and removing structures encroaching on public trust lands as seas rise and erosion worsens — with sinkholes and Kona Low flooding in Kīhei cited as evidence. Proposed conditions would push property owners to document and eventually remove shoreline structures.
Housing and Land Use Committee (2025-2027) — July 1, 2026
Many of the properties under consideration sit in the 3.2-foot sea level rise exposure area, raising questions about who pays when aging shoreline buildings fail. A testifier urged the committee to require the same environmental, structural, and hazard-mitigation review normally demanded of applicants.
Housing and Land Use Committee (2025-2027) — May 26, 2026
Several testifiers warned that many affected buildings are oceanfront, in sea-level-rise impact zones and flood zones, with high insurance costs. One urged a sunset provision reverting vulnerable shoreline parcels to open space when erosion thresholds are hit.
Related development
Resolution 26-129 — SLR-XA Apartment District TVR rezoning referral
If forwarded and eventually adopted, these condo buildings would stay in the visitor pool instead of becoming long-term homes — removing attainable housing from neighborhoods like Māʻalaea, Kīhei, and Lahaina.
Bill 88 (2026) — H-3 and H-4 Hotel Districts
If adopted, it opens a path for certain short-term rental condos to keep operating as visitor accommodations, with any actual rezoning decided later by the Council.
Resolution 26-129 — A-1/A-2 Apartment District properties in SLR-XA (Kīhei, Mā'alaea, Lahaina)
These properties could keep operating as short-term rentals instead of converting to housing; the referral now goes to the Planning Commission for review.
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