The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Maui County Council on Feb. 7, 2025.
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Feb. 7, 2025, 9 a.m.
Council Chamber, Kalana O Maui Building
To: Maui County Council
Alice Lee, Chair
Yuki Lei Sugimura, Vice-Chair
From: Jonathan Helton, Policy Researcher
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
RE: RESOLUTION 25-48 — REFERRING TO THE LANAʻI, MAUI, AND MOLOKAI PLANNING COMMISSIONS A PROPOSED BILL ON RESTRICTIONS AND STANDARDS FOR BED AND BREAKFAST HOMES
Aloha Chair Lee, Vice-Chair Sugimura and other members of the Council,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Resolution 25-48, which would waive registration rules for bed and breakfasts destroyed by the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires.
Current county ordinance requires that would-be bed and breakfast operators must have owned their dwellings for at least five years — and the dwellings must be at least five years old — before they can apply for a bed and breakfast permit.
Rules also require that a person applying for a bed and breakfast permit must live in the dwelling — a situation that is impossible if the dwelling was damaged or destroyed in the fires.
Waiving these two parts of the code would help Lahaina’s bed and breakfast proprietors get back on their feet economically and contribute to the county and state tax base as well.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Jonathan Helton
Policy Researcher
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
