Maui Council gears up for pivotal vacation rental phase-out bill hearing; Kama asks for ‘aloha’

The Maui County Council anticipates a large turnout of public testimony on the highly controversial vacation rental phase-out bill. Already, the Council has received many written testimonies, then posted on mauicounty.legistar.com as of late Sunday.

Bill 9 will be heard beginning at 10 a.m. Monday in the eighth-floor Council Chambers before the Housing and Land Use Committee, chaired by Council Member Tasha Kama. According to a news release from Kama, the hearing will end “promptly” at 4:30 p.m.

And, at that point, anyone who already signed up to testify in person but had not been called yet will be able to testify first when the committee’s recessed meeting reconvenes at 9 a.m. June 18, also in the Council Chambers.

“Testifiers will be held to a two-minute testimony time with one minute to conclude if needed,” Kama’s news release says.

Written testimony is preferred and may be submitted via eComment. Public testimony may be viewed online at The County of Maui – Calendar under “Meeting Details” or eComment.

“There is a high interest in this legislation, as demonstrated by multiple meetings at Maui Planning Commission, so I expect needing to recess this meeting to several future dates,” Kama said. “I regret that this policy consideration has created deep divisions within our community. Planning Commission testimony was often inflammatory and, sometimes, unwarrantedly hurtful. We are called as residents of Hawaiʻi to show aloha – I am hoping that spirit reigns during these meetings.”

Kama said the Council has a standard of meeting decorum.

“Decorum requires testifiers to address their comments to the committee as a whole – not to specific members of the committee or to others in attendance,” her news release says. “Testimony should only address the policy decision being considered in the meeting, not the motives or characteristics of testifiers.”

Kama pledged that she would be “strictly enforcing Council’s standard of decorum during these meetings.”

Testifiers violating the standard of decorum may be removed from the meeting, she said.

The Maui County administration, led by Mayor Richard Bissen, will provide a short introductory presentation to the committee prior to public testimony.

“I hope that those interested in this legislation make time to attend and give their testimony,” Kama said. “I also hope that they also respectfully listen to others who may hold opposing views. These will not be easy decisions for Council. I know we will not satisfy everyone.”

To accommodate expected large crowds, the Council’s Office of Council Services has arranged for overflow seating for public viewing in the Planning Conference Room in the Kalana Pakui Building, the County Building annex, at 250 South High St. Online viewing will be possible via Granicus, Akakū, Facebook and YouTube.

How to participate:

• Monday’s Council meeting will be televised live beginning at 10 a.m. on Akakū Maui Community Media, cable Channel 53. It also can be viewed online via Teams at http://tinyurl.com/HLU-Committee.
• To call in testimony, dial 1-808-977-4067, code 461 899 61#
• In-person testimony also is taken at the beginning of meetings in the eighth-floor Council Chamber at the Kalana O Maui Building, 200 South High St., in Wailuku.
• Written testimony will be accepted via eComment. Search for the meeting date on mauicounty.us/agendas, click on the eComment link, then select the agenda item to submit comments on.
• Also, written testimony will be accepted via email to HLU.committee@mauicounty.us or postal service to HLU Committee, Maui County Council, 200 S. High St., Wailuku 96793.
• Information regarding upcoming council and committee meetings, including instructions on how to provide testimony, can be found at mauicounty.us/agendas.