Maui Condo Rezoning Update: Which Properties Could Move to H-3 and H-4 Hotel Zoning?

by Wayne Hancock

Maui’s short-term vacation rental landscape continues to change, and if you own, are considering purchasing, or are thinking about selling a condominium that has historically allowed vacation rentals, there is a lot more happening than simply the phaseout of short-term rentals in Apartment-zoned properties.

Maui County is now considering multiple pathways through which certain A-1 and A-2 Apartment District properties could potentially be rezoned into the newly created H-3 and H-4 Hotel Districts, allowing qualifying transient vacation rental uses to continue.

And the list of properties being considered is growing.

That distinction is extremely important because these properties have not automatically been rezoned. The resolutions discussed below are part of a legislative and planning process that could ultimately result in rezoning. Inclusion on a list should not be interpreted as a guarantee that vacation rentals will continue indefinitely.

But inclusion does provide something significant: a potential pathway forward.

How Did We Get Here?

Maui County created the H-3 and H-4 Hotel Districts through Bill 88 in 2026. H-3 was designed for qualifying properties previously in the A-1 Apartment District, while H-4 applies to qualifying properties previously in A-2. Among the permitted uses are transient vacation rentals that were legally permitted immediately before the County’s phaseout took effect.

Creating these zoning districts did not automatically move individual condominium complexes into them.

That requires additional action.

The County has therefore been considering groups of properties under several different resolutions, and each resolution uses a somewhat different rationale for determining which properties should be considered.

That is where Resolutions 26-110, 26-111, 26-129 and 26-130 come in.

Resolution 26-110: Timeshare, Leasehold and Other Special Circumstances

Resolution 26-110 addresses several categories of properties, including properties with a mixture of timeshare and transient vacation rental uses, leasehold properties, and certain very small properties that the resolution describes as having values difficult for the average potential homeowner to afford.

The properties include:

Māʻalaea: Hono Kai, Lauloa Maalaea, Maalaea Kai and Milowai-Maʻalaea.

Kīhei: Maui Sunset, Maui Hill, My Waii Beach Cottage, Indo Lotus Beach House, 2131 Iliili Road, 1194 Uluniu Road, 1178 Uluniu Road, Villa Moana, 1444 Halama Street, 1440 Halama Street, Kapu Townhouse, Waiohuli Beach Duplex and 1470 Halama Street.

West Maui: Kahana Outrigger, Hale Mahina Beach Resort, Hale Ono Loa, Kuleana, Paki Maui III, Paki Maui I & II, Maui Sands II/Maui Sands Seaside and Kaʻanapali Royal.

Already, we can see that Maui isn’t approaching every property in exactly the same way.

Resolution 26-111: Properties Operating Like Hotels

Resolution 26-111 takes a different approach.

Its stated purpose is to consider Apartment District properties that operate like hotels for potential H-3 or H-4 zoning.

Properties being considered through this process have included:

Hāna: Hana Kai Maui.

Wailea: Wailea Ekahi I, Wailea Ekahi II, Wailea Ekahi III, Wailea Ekolu and The Palms at Wailea I.

Kīhei: Kamaole Sands and Luana Kai.

West Maui: Mahina Surf, Papakea and Maui Eldorado.

The important thing to understand is that these lists have not necessarily remained static. Properties have been considered and added as the legislative process has progressed.

That becomes especially important with the next resolution.

Resolution 26-129 CD1: The List Gets Much Larger

Resolution 26-129 created another potential pathway based on a completely different issue: coastal exposure.

The proposal involves A-1 and A-2 Apartment District properties meeting applicable criteria involving the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area, a Special Flood Hazard Area or the Shoreline Setback Area, with proposed H-3 or H-4 Hotel District zoning that would allow continued transient vacation rental uses.

Resolution 26-129, CD1 includes 32 properties:

Hale Ili Ili
Hale Kai I
Hale Kai O’Kihei
Hale Mahialani
Hale Ono Loa
Kahana Reef
Kaleialoha
Kamaole One
Kanoe Apartments
Kihei Bay Surf
Kihei Bay Vista
Kihei Garden Estates
Kihei Parkshore
Kihei Resort
Kihei Villa
Koa Resort II
Lahaina Roads
Leilani Kai
Leinaala
Lokelani
Maalaea Banyans
Mahinahina Beach
Makani A Kai
Makani Sands
Noelani
Pikake
Polynesian Shores
Punahoa Beach Condominiums
Puʻunoa Beach Estates
Shores of Maui
Waiohuli Beach Hale
Waipuilani

That is a substantial expansion of the properties potentially receiving a pathway toward hotel zoning.

And it demonstrates why simply asking whether a condominium was on one particular rezoning list no longer tells the whole story.

Resolution 26-130: Yet Another Category

Resolution 26-130 demonstrates just how property-specific this process can become.

It concerns 10 Walaka Street in Kīhei and Makai Sunset Inn at 1415 and 1411 Front Street in Lahaina.

According to the County, 10 Walaka Street has a single owner, while Makai Sunset Inn operates like a hotel and is also within the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area.

So we now have several different rationales being considered for essentially the same ultimate question:

Should a particular Apartment-zoned property be given a pathway to hotel zoning that allows its historically legal transient vacation rental use to continue?

This Is Where Things Get Interesting

When you look at all of these resolutions together, a much larger picture emerges.

Some properties are being considered because of timeshare, leasehold or ownership characteristics.

Others because they operate like hotels.

Others because of sea-level-rise, flood or shoreline conditions.

And in some cases, more than one characteristic may apply.

But it raises an obvious question for owners whose properties aren’t included:

What about us?

Grand Champions Is a Good Example

Grand Champions in Wailea illustrates the question particularly well.

Wailea Ekahi is being considered.

Wailea Ekolu is being considered.

The Palms at Wailea is being considered.

Yet Grand Champions has not been included in the same hotel-operations pathway.

For those familiar with Grand Champions, that is difficult to understand.

Grand Champions has operated within the Wailea Resort environment for decades. It has substantial historical vacation-rental use, professional property management, extensive landscaping and common areas, pools and other resort amenities.

We have been told that the Grand Champions Board is communicating with the Housing and Land Use Committee and others involved in the process. Hopefully those discussions provide some clarity.

But Grand Champions is only one example.

As these various pathways expand, owners at other historically vacation-rental properties may reasonably be asking exactly the same question.

What Exactly Are the Standards?

This may ultimately be one of the most important questions for Maui condominium owners.

If one condominium is considered sufficiently hotel-like to warrant H-3 or H-4 consideration, what specifically makes it hotel-like?

Is it a front desk? Professional management? Housekeeping? On-site employees? Resort amenities? Historical vacation-rental activity? The percentage of units operated as vacation rentals? Location within an established resort community?

And if coastal exposure creates another pathway, how much of the property must fall within the applicable area?

These aren’t insignificant distinctions.

For individual owners, the answer could potentially affect the future use, income potential, marketability and value of an asset that may represent a substantial portion of their personal wealth.

Don’t Confuse “On the List” With “Rezoned”

This is probably the most important point for buyers and sellers right now:

A property appearing in one of these resolutions does not mean it has received final H-3 or H-4 zoning.

These resolutions involve referrals and proposed changes that must move through the required planning and legislative process.

Likewise, a property that isn’t on one of today’s lists should not automatically be assumed to have exhausted every possible avenue. These lists have already evolved through the legislative process.

This is a moving target.

Why This Matters Beyond Vacation Rentals

There is a larger issue here than simply whether somebody can rent a Maui condominium to visitors.

Maui has a serious housing challenge. The County is attempting to address that challenge while also confronting decades of land-use decisions that allowed thousands of individually owned condominium units to participate legally in Maui’s visitor economy.

Many of these properties were built, marketed, purchased, managed and taxed within that environment.

At the same time, not every vacation-rental condominium is necessarily equivalent to a traditional residential apartment that could easily become someone’s long-term home.

The creation of H-3 and H-4, and these subsequent rezoning resolutions, recognizes that there are important differences among these properties.

The difficult part is determining which properties belong on which side of that line.

The Maui Condo Market Is Entering a New Phase

For years, one of the first questions buyers and real estate professionals asked was:

“Is it on the Minatoya List?”

That question alone is no longer enough.

Today we also need to ask: What is the property’s current zoning? Was transient vacation rental use legally permitted? Is the property included in a proposed H-3 or H-4 rezoning resolution? If so, under which resolution and why? What stage has that proposal actually reached? And if the property isn’t included, is another pathway still being considered?

Those distinctions matter tremendously.

Maui’s condominium landscape is changing in real time, and the ultimate outcome is still being determined.

For owners, buyers and sellers, this is not the time to rely on rumors, social-media graphics or yesterday’s property list alone. The underlying County legislation and the status of each individual property need to be checked carefully.

The question is no longer simply whether a Maui condominium has historically allowed vacation rentals. The question is what legal pathway that property may have for those uses to continue in the future.

And right now, that is one of the most important issues facing Maui condominium real estate.

Wayne Hancock