The Maui County Council has taken its first formal step toward creating two new hotel zoning districts designed to accommodate certain existing vacation rental properties as the County moves forward with a phased ban on transient vacation rentals in apartment-zoned areas.
By an 8-1 vote on Jan. 7, the Council approved Resolution 25-230, sending a proposed ordinance establishing H-3 and H-4 hotel districts to the Lanaʻi, Maui and Molokaʻi Planning Commissions for review and feedback. The resolution does not rezone any properties but begins the required review process under the County Charter.
The resolution is closely tied to Bill 9, the Council-approved measure that sets a timeline to phase out transient vacation rentals in apartment districts countywide. Under Bill 9, vacation rentals would no longer be permitted in West Maui apartment districts after 2028, with apartment districts elsewhere in the county following on Jan. 1, 2031.
Councilman Tom Cook, who chairs the Water and Infrastructure Committee and represents the South Maui residency area on the County Council, told Aloha State Daily that the new zoning categories are intended to acknowledge that not all apartment‑zoned vacation rental properties can realistically transition to long‑term housing.
“It became clear that not all affected properties are suitable for residential conversion,” Cook said.
Cook said many of the properties impacted by Bill 9 are older buildings with high maintenance costs, leasehold constraints, or locations vulnerable to sea-level rise, making residential use impractical. The H-3 and H-4 districts, he said, would allow those legacy visitor properties to remain appropriately zoned rather than being forced into a housing role they cannot reasonably fulfill.
At the same time, Cook said the approach allows the County to focus housing efforts on properties that are better suited for residential use, while maintaining stable real property tax and general excise tax revenue that supports infrastructure, services and housing programs.
Cook emphasized that the proposed districts would not automatically rezone properties or expand the number of vacation rentals.
“The creation of the H-3 and H-4 districts does not automatically rezone any property, nor does it add new vacation rental properties,” he told ASD.
Any property seeking H-3 or H-4 zoning would still be required to meet all applicable development standards and planning requirements. The primary difference, Cook said, is that the new hotel districts would allow transient vacation rentals, while A-1 and A-2 apartment zoning would not.
The Council opted to transmit a clean version of the bill to the planning commissions without attaching site-specific environmental conditions. Cook said that approach was intentional, since the zoning categories could apply in a variety of settings.
“Environmental considerations are best addressed during the actual rezoning process,” Cook told ASD, when individual property conditions can be evaluated
Cook added that, in his view, shoreline erosion and sea-level-rise risks should be addressed comprehensively across all shoreline properties, rather than through zoning-specific rules. Those concerns, he said, should be examined when individual properties apply for rezoning, as appropriate.
Asked how the Council is weighing housing goals against potential impacts to County revenue, Cook said the Temporary Investigative Group’s recommendations for H-3 and H-4 districts reflect an effort to support housing while keeping the County's finances in mind.
“Housing policy must be balanced with economic reality,” he told ASD.
Cook declined to comment on how the proposal could affect the County’s legal position amid pending litigation related to Bill 9, citing County policy on ongoing lawsuits.
The planning commissions are expected to review the proposed ordinance and provide findings and recommendations to the Council before any further legislative action is taken.
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