Maui Housing Committee Advances Key Rezoning Resolutions for South and West Maui Condos

The unfolding story of Maui’s short-term vacation rental landscape just took its next major procedural step.

On Monday, July 6, 2026, the Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee voted 6-2 to forward two critical resolutions—Resolution 26-110 and Resolution 26-111—to the full Council. This move officially starts the process of shifting dozens of specific Kīhei, West Maui, and Māʻalaea properties out of apartment zoning and into the newly established H-3 and H-4 hotel zones.

If passed by the full Council, these resolutions will refer companion bills to the Maui Planning Commission to formally amend local community plans and change the zoning for these selected complexes.

Understanding the Backstory: Bill 9 and Bill 88

To understand why this committee vote matters, we have to look back at the legislative framework established over the last several months:

• Bill 9 (The Phase-Out): Passed in late 2025, Bill 9 seeks to phase out short-term rentals operating in apartment-zoned districts, aiming to convert those units into long-term residential housing for local families. The phase-out deadlines are set for January 1, 2029, in West Maui and January 1, 2031, for the rest of the county.
• Bill 88 / Ordinance 6008 (The Pathway): Signed into law in June 2026, Bill 88 created two brand-new hotel zoning designations: H-3 and H-4. These categories were explicitly modeled after existing apartment-district construction standards, designed to give properties that have historically operated as visitor accommodations a legal mechanism to apply for hotel status and avoid the impending Bill 9 phase-out.

What is happening now is the execution phase. Bill 88 didn't automatically rezone any properties; instead, it built the road. Now, the Council is starting to route the first groups of properties down that road.

Which Properties Are Included in this First Wave?

Rather than processing all 104 eligible properties on the historical "Minatoya List" at one time, the Council is reviewing them in sequential waves. The Housing and Land Use Committee, chaired by Council Member Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins, spent two days working through the initial lists and adopting specific amendments.

The advanced resolutions categorize the first wave of properties into two main groups:

Resolution 26-110

This resolution covers properties with timeshare, leasehold, or other specific characteristics. Notable complexes moved forward under this resolution include:

• Māʻalaea: Hono Kai, Lauloa Maalaea, Maalaea Kai, Milowai-Maʻalaea, and Kanaʻi a nalu
• Kīhei: Maui Hill, Maui Sunset, and several individual parcels along Uluniu Road, Iliili Road, and Halama Street
• West Maui: Kahana Outrigger, Kuleana, Kahana Village, Hale Mahina Beach Resort, Paki Maui, Maui Sands, and Kāʻanapali Royal

Resolution 26-111

This resolution targets properties that the county identifies as already operating fundamentally like traditional hotels. Properties advanced under this measure include:

• Wailea Ekahi I, II, and III
• Wailea Ekolu
• The Palms at Wailea
• Papakea
• Maui Eldorado

Note: During the committee review, amendments were adopted to fix historical planning designations. For instance, three specific properties on Halama Street in Kīhei were corrected to reflect their actual single-family designations rather than multifamily.

The Central Debate: Housing vs. Economic Impact

The testimony heard during the committee sessions highlighted the familiar, deeply felt divide within the Maui community:

The Perspective for the Phase-Out: Community members and groups advocating for the full implementation of Bill 9 emphasize the desperate need for local housing. They point out that residential-zoned condominiums should be preserved for residents rather than continuing to operate as visitor accommodations.
The Perspective for Rezoning: Property owners and real estate professionals argue that these specific complexes have legally and continuously functioned as visitor rentals for decades. Forcing a blanket phase-out could result in severe economic corrections for individual retirement portfolios, loss of county property tax revenues, and job losses, without necessarily ensuring the units become affordable options for local families.

What Comes Next?

The approval by the Housing and Land Use Committee sends these resolutions to the full Maui County Council for a vote. If approved there, the measures go before the Maui Planning Commission for review before returning to the Council for final readings.

Because the underlying framework remains a highly watched and deeply debated issue, we will continue to monitor each step of the legislative process closely. Stay tuned for further updates as these bills move to the full Council floor.

Image from: Mauinow

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