Verbal attacks, nasty text messages, misinformation campaigns and fistfights. The debate over the Maui mayor’s proposal to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing has been fierce and personal with high stakes for the island’s economy and key tourism industry.

The issue will come to a head next week when the County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee starts deliberating on the plan, set out in Bill 9, after hearing more than 20 hours of impassioned testimony from hundreds of people.

“This item has been one of passionate discussion,” Committee Chair Tasha Kama said ahead of the first day of public testimony on June 9. “Unfortunately, it has created division to the point of bullying, intimidation and fear of retribution within our community.”

The committee ended up scheduling four more hourslong listening sessions as local activists and residents faced off against property owners, lawyers, real estate agents and others from the Valley Isle and other states. The measure may face a vote as early as Wednesday. It would still need full council approval, but the committee vote is seen as indicative since it includes all nine council members.

The tug-of-war over short-term rentals, which has played out elsewhere in the islands, on the mainland and in other countries, reflects strong emotions as officials struggle to provide more affordable housing amid economic concerns about eliminating options popular with tourists.

Maui tensions over the issue have been heightened since the deadly 2023 Lahaina wildfire that destroyed thousands of buildings and displaced more than 12,000 people.

Bissen’s plan would eliminate the exemptions that have long allowed roughly 7,000 apartment-zoned units — known as the Minatoya list after former county attorney Richard Minatoya, whose 2001 legal opinion established those exemptions — to operate as Airbnbs or rentals on other platforms that cater to visitors.

Supporters and opponents of the measure alike acknowledged that eliminating about half of the county’s short-term rentals would have serious economic consequences and could result in some property owners losing money.

One widely cited study by the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization warned that the elimination of nearly half of the county’s short-term housing stock would lead to widespread job loss, a decrease in tax revenue and a weakened economy.

While those in favor argued that the potential negative effects of Bill 9 are outweighed by the opportunity to free up thousands of urgently needed units on an island with a longstanding housing shortage, opponents said the legislation was unlikely to significantly increase affordable options for local families.

Debate Heated, Sometimes Hateful

Debate surrounding the topic has been so heated that some testifiers insisted on remaining anonymous out of concern for their safety. 

The committee also received thousands of pages of submitted testimony, much of it including insults, profanity and misinformation. Some was sent under fake names like “Haole Killa.”

Council member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, who represents Molokaʻi, acknowledged during the public hearing on June 18 that submitted testimony had “gotten out of control on both sides,” and it was evident that some appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence or submitted under fake names. 

“Staff is working on that, and we will better manage our testimony mechanism,” she said. “So apologies to anyone that has felt intimidated.”

Paele Kiakona, a co-founder of the advocacy group Lahaina Strong — a community organization that supports the measure — said he and other members of the group had been attacked publicly and ridiculed, received “crazy, slandering, text messages” and had been the subject of online misinformation campaigns. At times, he said, he feared for his safety and that of his family.

“But it comes with the territory,” he told Civil Beat. “It’s because people feel very passionately about it. It’s controversial. It’s why nobody’s ever taken it up.”

Lahaina Strong also has been accused of stoking tensions in person and with social media posts mocking the other side. Some opponents of the mayor’s plan testified that they had been harassed or threatened because they shared their views on the matter.

Kiakona chalked that up to “seeing the opposing side experiencing just some of the stuff that we’ve been experiencing,” and he said Lahaina Strong was “not here to make anybody feel ridiculed online or in any way.”

Aaron Kelling, who said he owns six short-term rentals and a local property management company, testified on June 9 that he had been threatened while at a local restaurant after he spoke against the mayor’s plan during a 2024 planning commission meeting.

“Someone came up to me and said that they saw my testimony, they disagreed with what I was saying and they were going to burn my house down,” he said. “It’s very upsetting and very concerning. The rhetoric is just too much.”

Other property owners were unwilling to testify out of “fear of retaliation,” he said.

Extended Timeline No Panacea

Initially, the mayor proposed starting the conversion in West Maui on July 1 and in the rest of the county on Jan. 1. He has since proposed an amendment that would allow for an implementation timeline stretching over up to three years.

The extension did not quell fears.

There was “no doubt” that Maui needed more affordable housing options, local real estate brokerage owner Matt Tarasenko told council members on June 18, but “this bill will not solve that problem, and it will be creating bigger issues for locals.”

“This will not only have devastating financial effects on the locals that work within the hospitality industry, but also those locals that are indirectly tied to the vacation rental industry: small businesses such as restaurants, activity providers, nail salons, retail stores, artists, trades people, landscapers, electricians, plumbers, contractors, etc.”

Responding to questions from council members, Tarasenko implied that in addition to managing about 80 vacation rentals, he owned two buildings totaling more than 600 units. He later clarified that he actually owns two short-term rental units in buildings with a combined total of about 600 units.
If Bill 9 were to pass, he said during the meeting, he would keep his two units vacant “for when family or friends come to visit.”

Some pointed out it’s not only out-of-state or large property owners who would be harmed.

Heather Casada said the vacation rental she owns in South Kīhei has become her sole source of income since her business, B&B Scuba, closed due to a drop in tourism after the 2023 wildfires. She said she would likely sell her unit if Bill 9 passes.

“I am deeply invested in our community, and I strongly oppose Bill 9 because I’m convinced this bill will do more harm than good,” she said. “I worry that my already closed small business will be one of many forced to close if this bill passes.”

Others said it boiled down to a desire to protect their homes and the island’s culture even if that means sacrificing on the economic front.

“Locals didn’t ask to make tourism our main source of income, and while we are carrying this industry on our backs, we do not need (short-term rental) owners to speak for us and lie about what we are willing to live in or how it will completely decimate the tourist industry,” said Misty Cotter, a longtime Lahaina resident and a fire survivor. “Buying up local housing should never be a retirement plan. This is about community, and you’re either a part of it or you’re extracting from it.”

UPDATE: This story has been updated to clarify what one short-term rental proponent said about his properties.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.