Hotel rezoning of apartment-district TVR properties (Bill 9 exemptions)
Maui County
Summary
Two resolutions would refer bills to the Planning Commission to let apartment-zoned short-term rental properties switch to hotel zoning and keep operating as visitor accommodations instead of returning to long-term housing. Most testifiers called this an unraveling of Bill 9 during a housing crisis; owners of flood- and erosion-exposed buildings pushed to be exempted. The committee adopted criteria 5-4 and put off any decision to September 9.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 6
- Last 30 days
- 0
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Sep 9, 2026.
Impact analysis
Owners testified buildings like Hale Kai O Kīhei are underinsured by at least $5 million with flood insurance costing roughly $10,000 per unit per year, while critics say hotel zoning locks in visitor revenue instead of housing.
Short-term rental property owners, mostly non-resident investors, would gain the ability to keep and market their units as visitor accommodations.
Local residents competing for a shrinking supply of attainable long-term housing — including Lahaina fire survivors still displaced — would lose potential housing units.
Mentions & discussions (6)
Housing and Land Use Committee (2025-2027) — September 9, 2026
The committee is deciding which A-1/A-2 apartment-zoned condo properties can be rezoned to Hotel so their short-term rental uses continue after Bill 9 phases out TVRs in apartment districts. Each unit kept in TVR use is a unit not returned to the long-term housing stock.
Housing and Land Use Committee (2025-2027) — August 27, 2026
Two resolutions would refer bills to the Planning Commission to let apartment-zoned short-term rental properties switch to hotel zoning and keep operating as visitor accommodations instead of returning to long-term housing. Most testifiers called this an unraveling of Bill 9 during a housing crisis; owners of flood- and erosion-exposed buildings pushed to be exempted. The committee adopted criteria 5-4 and put off any decision to September 9.
Housing and Land Use Committee (2025-2027) — July 6, 2026
Dozens of condo buildings in Kihei, Māʻalaea, Wailea and Lahaina that now operate as vacation rentals could be moved into hotel zoning (H-3/H-4) via county-initiated rezonings. Supporters say the tax revenue and transition clarity fund housing; opponents say leasehold and two-bedroom units are residents' best shot at affordable ownership and are being handed to tourism.
Housing and Land Use Committee (2025-2027) — July 1, 2026
The committee is deciding which of the county's apartment-zoned condo properties get moved into the new H3/H4 hotel districts, preserving their legal short-term rental use. Everything else could eventually return to the long-term housing pool. The lists, criteria, and process for adding or removing properties are still being worked out.
Housing and Land Use Committee (2025-2027) — May 26, 2026
Bill 88 would create two new zoning categories letting apartment-district condos that operated as short-term rentals keep doing so, if they're later rezoned. Supporters say it honors commitments made when Bill 9 passed and protects jobs; opponents say it could quietly undo Bill 9's goal of converting units to housing during a crisis.
Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee (2025-2027) — March 25, 2026
UHERO's re-analysis phases out the roughly 6,000 apartment-zoned TVRs gradually (West Maui by 2029), spreading out the estimated $900 million visitor-spending loss and 1,800 job losses. Members asked what happens if fewer units are phased out — a rough answer: cut the impacts in half.
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.
Resolution 26-111 — Hotel-like apartment district upzonings (HLU-19)
Properties with front desks, lobbies and hotel services would be formally zoned hotel, ending any path back to apartment residential use.
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