Update, September 11: The Housing and Land Use Committee voted 5-4 on September 9 to recommend adoption of Resolution 26-129, as amended, moving another group of apartment-zoned shoreline properties forward in the process toward potential H-3 and H-4 Hotel District zoning. The committee’s action does not itself rezone the properties. Resolution 26-130 was not taken up and remains under committee review.
Update, September 4: The Housing and Land Use Committee has now taken an important step toward defining which coastal properties may qualify for consideration. On August 27, the committee voted 5-4 to adopt new coastal eligibility criteria, including a 51% Sea Level Rise Exposure Area threshold, as well as criteria involving shoreline regulations and Special Flood Hazard Areas. Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130 themselves remain under committee review and are scheduled to return September 9.
Maui County’s implementation of Bill 9 continues as the Housing and Land Use Committee considers another group of apartment-zoned vacation rental properties for potential H-3 and H-4 Hotel District zoning.
The current proposals, Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130, have generated hours of public testimony, multiple proposed amendments and questions about which properties should qualify for hotel rezoning.
Unlike Resolutions 26-110 and 26-111, which the Maui County Council advanced in July, Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130 remain under review.
The next Housing and Land Use Committee meeting is currently scheduled for September 9, when we will be watching to see which proposed amendments are adopted, which properties remain on the list and whether the resolutions advance to the Maui Planning Commission.
Understanding the Maui Vacation Rental Rezoning Resolutions
With several similarly numbered bills, ordinances and resolutions involved, here’s what each one does:
Bill 9 / Ordinance 5909: Vacation Rental Phaseout
Phases out transient vacation rental use in Maui County’s A-1 and A-2 Apartment Districts. The phaseout is scheduled to take effect beginning January 1, 2029, for West Maui properties and January 1, 2031, for properties elsewhere in Maui County.
Bill 88 / Ordinance 6008: New H-3 and H-4 Hotel Districts
Bill 88 established the new H-3 and H-4 Hotel Districts, creating a potential rezoning pathway for certain apartment-zoned properties affected by the vacation rental phaseout.
Importantly, the creation of H-3 and H-4 zoning did not automatically rezone individual properties. Property-specific zoning changes still have to proceed through the County’s land-use process.
Resolutions 26-110 and 26-111: First Property Rezoning Referrals
Cover properties identified based on characteristics including timeshare use, leasehold status, existing variances and hotel-like operations.
The Maui County Council advanced Resolutions 26-110 and 26-111 in July, referring proposed community plan and zoning changes for Planning Commission review.
Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130: Current Property Rezoning Proposals
These are the current proposals before the Housing and Land Use Committee.
Resolution 26-129 focuses on apartment-zoned properties within the County’s Sea Level Rise Exposure Area, while Resolution 26-130 addresses a smaller number of properties with additional property-specific circumstances.
Resolution 26-129: Sea Level Rise Exposure Area Properties
Resolution 26-129 proposes community plan amendments and H-3 or H-4 Hotel District zoning for A-1 and A-2 Apartment District properties within the County’s Sea Level Rise Exposure Area.
The resolution uses the County’s recognized planning threshold for coastal erosion associated with 3.2 feet of sea level rise. It also notes that properties within the Shoreline Setback Area and Special Management Area remain subject to applicable shoreline and SMA regulations regardless of their zoning.
As originally introduced, Resolution 26-129 identified eight properties:
South Maui and Māʻalaea
- Island Sands
- Māʻalaea Kai
- Kīhei Bay Surf
- Kīhei Bay Vista
West Maui
- Lokelani
- Hale Ono Loa
- Pikake
- Hale Kai I
Importantly, these properties have not been rezoned. Resolution 26-129 would refer the necessary community plan amendments and proposed zoning changes to the Maui Planning Commission for review.
However, that original eight-property list is no longer the only list under consideration.
Maui Vacation Rental Rezoning: More Properties are Being Considered for Resolution 26-129
During the committee’s August review, Council members introduced amendments that could add substantially more properties to Resolution 26-129.
September 9 Update: The list below reflects the additional properties that were proposed for inclusion in Resolution 26-129 during the committee’s August meetings. Not all of these properties were included in the amended resolution recommended for adoption on September 9. We are continuing to monitor the County’s proceedings and will update this list as the County’s amended property records become available:
South Maui and Māʻalaea
- Makani A Kai
- Maalaea Banyans
- Kamaole One
- Kihei Resort
- Waiohuli Beach Hale
- Shores of Maui
- Kihei Parkshore
West Maui
- Kahana Reef
- Nohonani
- Makani Sands
- Hoyochi Nikko
- Noelani
- Puunoa Beach Estates
- Polynesian Shores
- Lahaina Roads
- Kaleialoha
Because some Council members’ proposed amendments overlap, these represent 16 distinct additional properties, rather than 16 properties per amendment.
That distinction is important for owners: being proposed for addition is not the same as being approved for referral or rezoned.
What Qualifies as Being Within the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area?
One of the biggest questions surrounding Resolution 26-129 has been how much of a property must fall within a coastal hazard area to qualify for potential H-3 or H-4 rezoning.
The Housing and Land Use Committee took an important step toward answering that question on August 27, voting 5-4 to adopt new coastal eligibility criteria.
Under the criteria approved by the committee, a property may qualify for consideration if it is:
- 51% or more impacted by the 3.2-foot Sea Level Rise Exposure Area (SLR-XA);
- subject to Maui Planning Commission shoreline regulations; or
- within a Special Flood Hazard Area.
The criteria also retain the requirement that the property was not originally intended for affordable or workforce housing.
The committee’s action establishes criteria for evaluating the properties, but does not itself approve Resolution 26-129 or rezone the properties being considered.
The committee continued its deliberations on September 9 and ultimately voted 5-4 to recommend adoption of Resolution 26-129, as amended. How the County’s coastal eligibility criteria apply to individual properties remains important as the proposed community plan and zoning changes continue through the review process.
Some Property Owners are Asking to be Included
Another development during the August hearings has been active participation from owners and condominium associations seeking inclusion in the proposed hotel rezoning.
Representatives associated with properties including Kihei Parkshore, Nohonani and Waiohuli Beach Hale have argued that their properties should also be considered.
Their testimony raises a broader issue the committee must address: whether the criteria being used to identify properties are being applied consistently.
At the same time, opponents of expanding H-3 and H-4 zoning argue that removing additional properties from the Bill 9 phaseout would reduce the number of apartment-zoned units potentially available for long-term resident housing.
That tension between property-specific circumstances and the broader housing goals behind Bill 9 has become a central part of the implementation debate.
What is Resolution 26-130?
Resolution 26-130 is a separate, smaller proposal from the Sea Level Rise-focused Resolution 26-129.
It addresses two A-2 Apartment District properties proposed for H-4 Hotel District zoning.
The properties include 10 Walaka Street in Kīhei, a single-owner property with historical transient rental use, and the Makai Sunset Inn properties at 1411 and 1415 Front Street in Lahaina.
The Makai Sunset Inn historically operated as transient accommodations, is located within the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area and was destroyed during the August 2023 Lahaina wildfire.
Because Resolution 26-130 involves additional property-specific circumstances, it is useful to distinguish it from Resolution 26-129 rather than describing both measures simply as “sea level rise rezoning.”
Resolution 26-129 Advances After Several Committee Meetings
The committee first took up Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130 on August 5.
After nearly three hours of testimony, the meeting recessed without a vote.
The committee returned to the issue on August 19 and heard approximately another two and a half hours of testimony, before again recessing without final action.
When the committee reconvened August 27, members moved from testimony and discussion into deliberations over the criteria that should be used to evaluate properties.
The committee ultimately voted 5-4 to adopt the coastal eligibility criteria described above, including the 51% Sea Level Rise Exposure Area threshold.
Public testimony on Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130 was also closed on August 27.
When the committee reconvened September 9, members continued deliberations and voted 5-4 to recommend adoption of Resolution 26-129, as amended. Not every property previously under consideration was included in the amended resolution.
Resolution 26-130 did not advance and remains under committee review.
The Housing Question Remains at the Center of the Debate
The August hearings also introduced new data about sales of properties affected by the vacation rental phaseout.
The Maui Vacation Rental Association presented an analysis of 162 Minatoya List sales between December 1, 2025 and August 14, 2026.
According to MVRA, 12 of those sales, or 7.4%, could be confirmed as purchases by Maui resident owner-occupants. Including another nine buyers MVRA classified as probable resident owner-occupants increased the figure to approximately 13%.
The significance of that number is disputed.
Vacation rental advocates have cited the analysis in questioning whether eliminating transient vacation rental use will result in a significant number of units becoming resident housing. Supporters of the phaseout have argued that the same figures show that some properties are already transitioning toward resident ownership.
Because the analysis comes from MVRA rather than an independent County study, the figures should be viewed as one data point in the broader discussion rather than a definitive measure of Bill 9’s impact.
Earlier Resolutions Head to the Maui Planning Commission
There is also movement on the first group of properties considered for potential H-3 and H-4 zoning.
Resolutions 26-110 and 26-111 are scheduled to go before the Maui Planning Commission on September 22 at 9:00 a.m. These are the resolutions the Maui County Council advanced in July covering the first group of apartment-district properties proposed for potential H-3 or H-4 zoning.
The Planning Commission hearing represents the next stage of review. It does not mean the properties have been rezoned.
What’s Next for Maui Vacation Rental Rezoning?
The Housing and Land Use Committee is currently scheduled to continue its consideration of Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130 on September 9, 2026.
There are several developments we will be watching closely.
- September 9 at 10:00 a.m.: The Housing and Land Use Committee is scheduled to continue deliberations on Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130. One of the biggest things we’ll be watching is how the newly adopted coastal criteria are applied to the individual properties under consideration.
- Property List: The committee still needs to determine which properties ultimately move forward under Resolution 26-130 and address remaining proposed amendments and conditions.
- September 22 at 9:00 a.m.: The Maui Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed community plan and zoning changes associated with Resolutions 26-110 and 26-111.
- Still to Come: Additional resolutions are anticipated, with the next group expected to focus primarily on affordability. No introduction date has been announced.
For owners, buyers and sellers, the most important distinction remains that being named in a resolution or proposed amendment does not mean a property has already been rezoned.
We will continue monitoring the County’s proceedings and update our coverage as the property lists and rezoning proposals become clearer.
If you own a Maui property affected by Bill 9, or are considering buying or selling a property that may be affected, contact Maui Real Estate Advisors to discuss how the evolving regulations may relate to your specific property.
With Aloha,
This Bill 9 Maui Real Estate update represents our opinion based on available information and should not be considered financial or legal advice.
Interested in learning more about Bill 9? You can read our other updates here.
