Case File · Maui County, Hawaii · 2025
5-3 vote. Mayor signed same day. 6,000+ vacation rentals phased out.
Maui County Council passed Bill 9 on December 15, 2025 by a 5-3 vote on second and final reading — ending the apartment-zone transient vacation rental exception known as the Minatoya List. Mayor Richard Bissen signed the same day. West Maui apartment-zoned TVRs phase out January 1, 2029; the rest of Maui County follows on January 1, 2031.
The largest transient vacation rental phaseout in U.S. history. The political force that made it possible: the August 2023 Lahaina wildfire and the housing crisis it created. For STR operators, resort developers, and vacation-rental investors, Maui Bill 9 is the case that redefines regulatory-takings risk in coastal Hawaii.
Jurisdiction
Maui County
State of Hawaii
Units Phased Out
6,000+
Apartment-zoned TVRs
Vote
5-3 Final Reading
Dec 15, 2025
Phaseout
2029 / 2031
West Maui first
RealClear Analysis
How a 2001 corporation-counsel opinion became a 2029 phaseout.
The Minatoya List is a 2001 administrative opinion that grandfathered a specific set of apartment-zoned units as transient vacation rentals. For twenty-four years, that opinion defined the regulatory boundary. Bill 9 withdraws the grandfather — and it was the Lahaina wildfire that made that politically possible.
Administrative grandfathers are durable until they aren't
The Minatoya List survived through four mayoral administrations and multiple council turnovers. Its durability was a function of political caution, not legal permanence. A crisis (Lahaina) plus a politically aligned council and mayor can withdraw an administrative grandfather in a single calendar year.
Same-day signing predicts vigorous litigation defense
When a mayor signs a controversial measure the same day the council passes it — without the traditional days-to-weeks review period — the administration is signaling it will defend the measure vigorously in court. STR operators filing takings claims should expect the county to litigate aggressively, not negotiate.
Phased sunsets create tiered investment risk
West Maui phases out in 2029; the rest of Maui in 2031. Investors holding Minatoya List units in West Maui face a different liquidity and operational horizon than those elsewhere in the county. Phased sunsets also invite court-ordered delays that rearrange the calendar — but the 2029/2031 framework is the current baseline.
Policy Analysis
Maui Bill 9 — Minatoya List Phaseout
Maui County, HI — 6,000+ apartment-zoned STRs
Largest STR Phaseout in U.S. History
- More than 6,000 apartment-zoned transient vacation rentals to be phased out
- Council vote 5-3 on second and final reading December 15, 2025
- Mayor Richard Bissen signed same day — 'people over profits'
- West Maui sunset: January 1, 2029
- Rest of Maui County sunset: January 1, 2031
- ~6,500 TVR parcels remain exempt — Minatoya List distinguishes the two
Vote
5-3 Passage
SECOND AND FINAL READINGMayor Action
Signed Dec 15, 2025
SAME DAY AS VOTEWest Maui Sunset
January 1, 2029
FIRST PHASERest of Maui Sunset
January 1, 2031
SECOND PHASECase Timeline · 2023–2031
From wildfire to phaseout. In under three years.
The Lahaina fire opened the political window. The 5-3 council vote and same-day signing closed it.
August 8, 2023
Lahaina wildfire; housing crisis accelerates
The August 8, 2023 Lahaina wildfire destroys thousands of homes and displaces residents across West Maui. The post-fire housing crisis raises the political cost of continuing to allow apartment-zoned units — many of them on the Minatoya List — to operate as short-term vacation rentals while long-term residents are displaced. The STR phaseout debate moves from long-running policy argument to immediate political necessity.
2024
Mayor Bissen proposes the Minatoya List phaseout
Mayor Richard Bissen's administration proposes Bill 9 — a phaseout of the apartment-zoned transient vacation rental exception known as the 'Minatoya List,' named for the 2001 Maui County corporation-counsel opinion that grandfathered a specific set of units built before the apartment zoning district. The administration frames Bill 9 as a correction of a long-standing zoning exemption that allowed TVRs to operate in apartment-zoned districts inconsistent with post-fire housing needs.
2025
Council deliberation — UHERO economic analysis
Bill 9 proceeds through Maui County Council committee hearings throughout 2025. The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) produces an economic-impact analysis. STR operators, visitor industry advocates, and residents testify extensively. The bill passes first reading and moves to second and final reading.
December 15, 2025
Council passes Bill 9 5-3 on second and final reading
On December 15, 2025, the Maui County Council passes Bill 9 on second and final reading by a 5-3 vote. In favor: Councilmembers Tamara Paltin, Gabe Johnson, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Shane Sinenci, and Nohelani U'u-Hodgins. Opposed: Chair Alice Lee, Vice Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura, and Councilmember Tom Cook. Gabe Johnson, in his remarks, says: 'This bill is people over profits. It's for the community over your checkbook.'
December 15, 2025
Mayor Bissen signs Bill 9 into law the same day
Mayor Richard Bissen signs Bill 9 into law on December 15, 2025 — the same day as the council's final passage. The signing statement from the administration: the legislation 'corrects a long-standing zoning exemption that allowed transient vacation rentals to operate in apartment-zoned districts.' Same-day signing signals unusual alignment between council majority and executive on a high-stakes land-use measure.
January 1, 2029
West Maui Minatoya List phaseout takes effect
The first phaseout milestone under Bill 9: West Maui apartment-zoned TVRs on the Minatoya List must cease operation. The West Maui-first sequencing reflects the post-fire housing need in Lahaina and surrounding communities.
January 1, 2031
Rest-of-Maui phaseout takes effect
The second phaseout milestone: the remaining apartment-zoned TVRs on the Minatoya List across the rest of Maui County cease operation. Approximately 6,500 TVR parcels remain exempt under Bill 9 — typically hotel-zoned or resort-zoned properties not covered by the Minatoya List's apartment-zoning grandfather.
Key Officials & Voices
Who voted, who signed, who dissented. And who warned what.
Mayor Richard Bissen
Mayor, Maui County
County Executive — Signed Dec 15, 2025
Documented Record
Signed Bill 9 into law on December 15, 2025 — the same day the Council passed it on second and final reading. Administration statement: the bill 'corrects a long-standing zoning exemption that allowed transient vacation rentals to operate in apartment-zoned districts.'
Bissen's same-day signing is the strongest possible executive endorsement. Mayors often delay signing controversial legislation to monitor reaction or preserve negotiating leverage. Same-day signing announces that the executive is committed to defending the measure against legal challenge — and treats Bill 9 as the administration's signature housing policy.
Councilmember Gabe Johnson
Maui County Council — Lanai Residency
Yes Vote — 5-3 Majority
Documented Record
Voted yes on Bill 9 second and final reading December 15, 2025. Quoted remarks: 'This bill is people over profits. It's for the community over your checkbook.'
Johnson's 'people over profits' framing is the politically durable message the majority has settled on. The frame survives economic-impact critique because it reframes the loss of TVR revenue as a chosen priority — not an oversight. That framing is what a same-day mayoral signing doubles down on.
Chair Alice Lee
Chair, Maui County Council
No Vote — 5-3 Minority
Documented Record
Voted against Bill 9 on second and final reading December 15, 2025, joining Vice Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura and Councilmember Tom Cook in dissent.
The Chair voting with the minority is unusual — it typically signals a process or economic-consequences concern rather than outright opposition to the housing goal. Chair Lee's dissent will likely be the rallying record for STR operators who challenge the phaseout in court, because it creates an internal council record of cautionary legislative intent.
UHERO (University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization)
Independent Economic Analysis
Technical Basis for Debate
Documented Record
Produced an economic-impact analysis of Bill 9 during council deliberation — providing both proponents and opponents with a shared factual basis for arguing the economic consequences of the phaseout.
UHERO's role is structurally important because it provides a neutral-authority economic record that the council majority, the mayor's administration, and opposing STR operators can all cite selectively. In any future litigation challenging the phaseout on economic grounds, both sides will anchor their arguments to UHERO's work.
RealClear
Track administrative grandfathers that could disappear in a crisis year.
RealClear identifies jurisdictions where valuable land-use rights depend on administrative grandfathers or corporation-counsel opinions — and models the scenario where a natural disaster, housing crisis, or political turnover withdraws the grandfather on an accelerated schedule.
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