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Maui County Council voted tonight to overturn Mayor Michael Victorino’s veto on one of the most controversial measures in recent times: a pause on building more units for visitors to Maui while studies can be conducted on how to deal with overtourism.
After a wave of passionate public testimony that ran from morning to night, the board decided to override the veto with a 6: 3 vote, with board members Alice Lee, Yuki Lei Sugimura and Tasha Kama dissenting.
Bill 148, which comes into force upon approval, imposes a moratorium on new transitional units until the council implements the recommendations of a temporary inquiry group on tourism management, or in two years, whichever comes first.
The rule will not affect existing homes or those that received final approvals prior to voting.
Victorino after the meeting “expressed disappointment” with the decision but added that he intended to “make the most of” the two-year break.
“We must move forward and focus on the future of our people and our commitment to economic diversification and recovery from this crippling pandemic,” he said in a press release tonight. .
Bill 148 was drafted to help alleviate the under-regulated growth of transient accommodation linked to increased tourism, “which has negative impacts on the environment, overwhelms the county’s existing infrastructure and negatively affects quality. of residents’ life, according to the legislation.
Claiming that it lacked transparency and public input, Victorino, however, vetoed the measure at the end of December after it was approved by the council at second and final reading on December 3. He also said the move would boost illegal vacation rentals.
However, Council members today highlighted many previous meetings where the public has spoken out in favor of the moratorium. They recalled that the bill would maintain the existing units and that previous moratoria have been successful.
“We need to change the paradigm and change our economy,†Council Vice President Keani Rawlins-Fernandez said ahead of the vote. “We’re in a crisis, as we all know, as we’ve heard from our witnesses, as we’ve heard from the community, as we see on social media, we read it all the time.”
President Lee, however, said that in order to effectively diversify the economy, incomes must be diversified.
“And no one, and I mean no one, has come up with a single idea on how to replace the revenue from the tourism industry,” she said before the vote.
Lee added that the tourism industry generates more than 50 percent of real estate income. The county raises around $ 385 million and the tourism industry contributes more than $ 200 million.
“So with all their flaws, we have to be careful how we scale down this industry before we have something to replace it,†she said.
The council’s decision tonight ends many months of solid public support and fervent reluctance from industry executives as to whether a pause in new unit construction will help manage overtourism.
“So many people have testified – some of us four or five times now,†said Sara Tekula, a Maui resident, who was among more than 50 witnesses on the matter today. “Go forward with the will of the people. “
Supporters of the moratorium say Maui has been overwhelmed with tourists, whose number of arrivals is approaching pre-pandemic levels. They raised concerns about the impacts of visitors on residents’ quality of life, infrastructure and the environment and the need to diversify the economy.
Critics, meanwhile, say the construction industry and other local jobs will be negatively impacted, that the moratorium will not prevent tourists from coming and that illegal rentals will proliferate as a result.
Introduced by Rawlins-Fernandez in June, the bill places a moratorium on new temporary accommodation – including hotels, timeshares, short-term rental homes and temporary vacation rental units – across the island from Maui.
Council members passed an original proposal for a moratorium by Council member Kelly King on building permits for visitor accommodation in South and West Maui last July, but the mayor vetoed it. The council later decided not to override the veto on legal issues with the bill.
“I started to hear the dissatisfaction of the people of Maui with the growing number of tourists during my first term on the board, but it took a more progressive body to really support the idea of ​​a moratorium,” King said. after today’s meeting. “A break is needed to stop making the problems of over-tourism worse as we create solutions that work for all residents of Maui Nui.”
Council member Tamara Paltin said ahead of the vote that everyone must work together to find solutions to the negative impacts of tourism.
“It is not just for the (temporary inquiry group) to find all the solutions to the problems that have existed for decades,” she said. “And the brainstorming on solutions should never end when TIG ends. . . . It is up to all those who are passionate about this subject to find solutions and to propose solutions and to work with us on solutions.
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