CALL TO ACTION:
PLEASE TESTIFY THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH.
OVERTOURISM HAS COME ROARING BACK IN FULL FORCE ON MAUI.
OVERRELIANCE ON TOURISM KEEPS OUR ECONOMY VULNERABLE TO DOWNTURNS.
THE MAUI COUNTY COUNCIL HAS A CHANCE TO KEEP THINGS FROM GETTING WORSE.
Please testify on Bill 159, Relating to Transient Accommodation Caps
(see below for details)
Friday, November 4, 2022 at 9:00 am
Maui County Council
Prior to the last Maui County Council meeting on October 21st, Maui Tomorrow fully supported Bill 159, which would have made the moratorium on additional visitor industry accommodations permanent. We put out a call for testimony in favor of the bill, and are grateful that so many people showed their support.
It is important to emphasize that neither the existing moratorium nor Bill 159 would reduce the current number of visitors, as has been stated by the billʻs opponents. In fact, the visitor industry would be able to continue at its current level, and no jobs would be lost. However, current visitor numbers are already in excess of what is called for in the Maui Island Plan. Some limits on further expansion of tourism are necessary to ensure our quality of life.
Unfortunately, not all Councilmembers who voted to send Bill 159 to the planning commissions for their review were fully on board. In particular, support from Councilmember Mike Molina was tentative then, and remains questionable.
This questionable support meant that the entire bill could fail to pass, so amendments were proposed to help as much of it as possible across the finish line – amendments that would limit visitor accommodations in some areas, but permit continued expansion in others.
When the public became aware of these proposed changes to what had once been a very good bill, many were extremely concerned. After all, in its new form, Bill 159 would end the moratorium 14 months early, and would immediately allow continued expansion of hotels and timeshares. Although the bill would stop further development of visitor units in several other zoning districts, it wasn’t clear how much that would help solve our overtourism problem.
Before coming up with our position on the revised bill, Maui Tomorrow worked to estimate the remaining number of new visitor units that would be prevented with the proposed amendments. Based on our analysis, we believe that about 70 percent of potential new visitor accommodation units would be stopped by the amended version of Bill 159.
As a result, Maui Tomorrow has decided not to oppose the revised bill. If passed, it will be a partial victory in the battle to limit further tourism expansion on Maui. Of course, if Councilmember Molina were to support an additional amendment limiting hotels and timeshares, we could keep tourism at its current level.
We urge everyone to testify in support of the revised bill, but with additional amendments to limit hotels and timeshares.
PLEASE TESTIFY:
- In person, at Council Chambers this Friday, 200 S. High St, Wailuku
- Online: https://maui.bluejeans.com/295235670
- By email (deadline 9 am on Thursday, November 3, 2022): county.clerk@mauicounty.us
- Please also CONTACT INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS as soon as possible:
ALICE LEE, Council Chair: Alice.Lee@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-7760
KEANI RAWLINS-FERNANDEZ, Council Vice-Chair: Keani.Rawlins@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-7678
TASHA KAMA, Presiding Officer Pro Tempore: Tasha.Kama@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-5501
GABE JOHNSON: Gabe.Johnson@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-7768
KELLY KING: Kelly.King@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-7108
MIKE MOLINA: Mike.Molina@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-5507
TAMARA PALTIN: Tamara.Paltin@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-5504
SHANE SINENCI: Shane.Sinenci@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-7246
YUKI LEI SUGIMURA: Yukilei.Sugimura@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-7939
Mahalo for Protecting Mauiʻs Future!