West Maui private pool interim ban advances to the mayor for final consideration

The Maui County Council passed a bill on second and final reading Friday to enact a temporary ban on new private swimming pools in West Maui, a measure intended to conserve water for housing and wildfire recovery efforts.

Passed on second and final reading, Bill 161 prohibits the permitting of new private pools in the West Maui Community Plan area until Dec. 31, 2030, or until specific water availability conditions are met. The bill advances to Mayor Richard Bissen for final action.

Council Member Tamara Paltin, who holds the West Maui residency seat and introduced the measure, said the restriction is necessary to prioritize essential needs during a time of water scarcity.

The bill includes exemptions for public pools, repairs to existing pools and pools for homes being rebuilt in the Lahaina fire impact zone, provided the property had a pool prior to the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires. Applications for pool permits that were complete and filed before the ordinance’s effective date are also exempt.

Supporters of the ban argued that West Maui’s water resources should be reserved for residents and the development of workforce housing rather than luxury amenities.

Department of Water Supply Director John Stufflebean previously reported to the Council that a typical swimming pool in Lahaina uses approximately 56 gallons of water per day for maintenance and evaporation, compared to the average household consumption of 500 gallons per day.

The interim ban is tied to the completion of a three-phase groundwater availability study and a determination by the State Commission on Water Resource Management that the region’s water system capacity is sufficient to meet demand.

In a related action, the Council also considered measures to require covers for existing pools to reduce evaporation. Stufflebean noted that properly used pool covers can reduce water loss by approximately 90%.

In another water-related matter, council members also gave final approval to Bill 158 to establish water conservation measures and regulate water use during water shortage declarations.

The bill includes an amendment that pool covers are required at all times for private pools — except when under repair — when not in use during the day, the property is vacant and when the pool is vacant for more than 30 consecutive days. Existing pools would not be required to comply until March 1, 2027.

In addressing Maui’s high-cost rental market and its impact on housing affordability, council members passed on second and final reading Bill 168. The measure aims to create a new real property tax exemption for homes rented at no more than 70% of their fair market value.

The fair market rent would be set by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, beginning with the tax year starting July 1, 2027.

According to the Department of Finance, there are 4,173 parcels in the long-term rental program, and the estimated annual cost of the proposed property tax exemption would be $1.2 million if all the property owners took advantage of the new exemption. 

For landlords charging no more than 70% of fair market rent, the property would be completely exempt from real property taxes if the property’s value is no more than $500,000. For higher-value properties, the amount of the exemption would be $100,000.

Also for housing, the Council passed Bill 3 on second and final reading. The measure amends the fiscal 2026 budget, increasing funding for the Department of Housing’s interim financing and buy-back revolving fund by $2 million.

For infrastructure development, councilors approved Bills 177 and 178, amending the Maui County fiscal 2026 budget and authorized the mayor to enter into intergovernmental agreements for loans from the state of Hawaiʻi’s Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund.

The loans provide $22,409,000 for the Department of Environmental Management to upgrade the returned activated sludge dewatering system at the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility. The state loan brings total project funding up to $34.3 million.

In other action on first reading, council members passed:

Bill 19, which provides a new $2 million appropriation to the Department of ‘Oiwi Resources. The funding is from the Historic Preservation Fund of the US National Park Service, and it is slated to support the restoration planning and early implementation activities for the Lahaina Royal Complex. Project plans include protecting, preserving and beginning the cultural and ecological restoration of sacred Native Hawaiian sites, including Moku’ula and Loko o Mokuhinia.

Bill 20, which amends the County’s fiscal 2026 budget to include a $750,000 grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency to help with infrastructure development to reduce land-based water pollution in nearshore waters.