Maui County Council Recommends 32 Properties Keep Vacation Rental Status and The List Makes No Sense

Maui County Council just sent 32 properties back to the Planning Commission with a recommendation to keep vacation rentals, and the list skips some of the most obvious candidates. Papakea has a front desk and hotel zoning. Three fully leasehold complexes met the stated criteria. None of them made it.Wondering where your Maui plans land in all this? Book an Aloha Vision Quest: bit.ly/avq-bookingHappy Aloha Friday from the water. Before the zoning news, Jon and Daniel catch up on a week of surfing alongside dozens of turtles, a Makana exchange in the parking lot with past clients, and why so many of the people we work with say there's simply nowhere else like Maui.Then the big one. At Wednesday's meeting, the Maui County Council voted to send 32 properties back to the Maui Planning Commission as recommendations for H3 or H4 hotel zoning. We walk through the full list, from Maalaea Banyans and Kihei Bay Surf to Polynesian Shores and Lahaina Roads, and call out the ones that surprised us. Kihei Garden Estates and Kanoe Apartments are on it. Papakea, Kamaole Sands, Kanai A Nalu, Maui Sands, and Hale Mahina are left off, even though several of them check the boxes the county originally laid out (sea level rise areas, leasehold, operating like a hotel).Where does it go from here? The Planning Commission has said no to nearly everything so far, and the full council still needs a supermajority of six votes. Properties left off the list aren't ruled out for good. If the effort stalls, lawsuits are likely, and those have historically kept vacation rentals in place while cases work through the courts. Jon also raises what this could mean for Maui's property taxes, which are among the lowest in the nation.Our take: the buyer best positioned right now is the true second-home buyer who wants some rental income for a few years before spending more time here.On the Maui Hot List: a $348K two-bedroom penthouse at Mount Thomas sitting 412 days, a hotel-zoned Keawakapu two-bedroom, Royal Kahana going on four years without a sale, a $160K Harbor Lights unit, a Kihei oceanfront cottage and lot asking a combined $8M, a 370-square-foot studio at Hotel Molokai, and a Kaanapali Shores one-bedroom carrying $2,739 a month in maintenance fees.Retire with Maui is hosted by Daniel Rude (RS-79734) and Jon Brath (RS-76551) of dreams2REALITY Hawaii, brokered by Real Broker LLC. Jon was born and raised on Molokai and has 22 years in real estate. Daniel has managed more than 300 transactions across Maui and Oahu.Ready to talk through your Maui plans? Book your Aloha Vision Quest: bit.ly/avq-booking Still weighing your options? Grab the 3 Paths to Maui guide: bit.ly/maui-3paths-ytMaui no ka oi