For Immediate Release:
Press Release by:
Alice L. Lee, Chair
Maui County Council
media@mauicounty.us
Final reading brings approval to Bill 9
WAILUKU, Hawaiʻi (Dec. 15, 2025)—By a 5-3 vote at a special meeting today, the Maui County Council gave final approval to Bill 9, CD1, FD1 (2025), phasing out transient vacation rental uses in apartment zoning districts within the next three to five years, Chair Alice L. Lee announced.
If signed into law by the mayor, TVRs in the A-1 and A-2 districts will be prohibited by the resulting new ordinance starting in 2029 in West Maui and 2031 elsewhere in the county. Today’s action brings to a close a process that started a year ago when the planning director submitted the bill to council on the mayor’s behalf.
“This is one of the most challenging proposals to come before the council, and I am truly thankful for all of the testimony that was provided both for and against Bill 9,” said Lee, who holds the seat for the Wailuku-Waiheʻe-Waikapū residency area. “That said, there is work to be done to address some of the issues identified with the bill and in identifying other solutions to Maui County’s housing shortage.”
At its next meeting on Friday, the council will discuss Resolution 25-230, which would refer to the Lānaʻi, Maui and Molokai planning commissions a proposed bill to amend the comprehensive zoning ordinance by establishing the H-3 and H-4 hotel districts. The proposal, based on recommendations from the Housing and Land Use Committee’s Bill 9 Temporary Investigative Group, would allow 4,500 units now in the apartment zones to continue with TVR use even after Bill 9’s phaseout is complete.
Voting yes on Bill 9 were Councilmembers Gabe Johnson, Tamara Paltin, Keani N. W. Rawlins-Fernandez, Shane M. Sinenci and Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins. Lee, Council Vice-Chair Yuki Lei K. Sugimura and Councilmember Tom Cook voted no.
For more information, call the Office of Council Services at (808) 270-7664.
