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The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Kaanapali, is pictured in early October, shortly before the reopening of tourism in Hawaii. As tensions over tourism continue to rise, the bill before the Maui County Council is proposing a moratorium on building permits for hotels in West and South Maui until community plan updates for both areas are finished.
The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
A Maui County Council bill is proposing to halt building permits for West and South Maui hotel development until community plans for both areas are updated.
Introduced by Council Member Kelly King, who holds the South Maui residency seat, the proposed bill would add a new chapter to the Maui County Code, placing a moratorium on building permits for hotel development applications in the West Maui and Kihei-Makena community plan areas.
Maui residents call for tourism management, beach access
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Leaders look for ways to balance economic recovery with anti-tourism sentiment
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Maui Police Department officers patrol Wailea Beach on Saturday. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
WAILEA Demonstrators gathered peacefully on Wailea Beach on Saturday to send a message to government and tourism officials that tourism management is sorely needed.
“Hotels and activity companies have been profiting from selling space on our beaches with no compensation to the county and state, no limits to the amount of equipment used and are taking over our beaches,” community activist Kai Nishiki said leading up to the “Take Back the Beach” event.
The rally drew scores of residents, along with Maui Police Department and state Department of Land and Natural Resources personnel, from 7 a.m. until sundown Saturday.