According to today’s Maui News, the Maui County Council Planning Committee agreed to pass a draft of a new Bed and Breakfast bill by a 4-0 vote. The bill will now go in front of the full council for their approval. This came as a pleasant surprise after the tone of last week’s meeting suggested that there was still quite a bit of haggling to be done.

The new bill has a number of key provisions. Here are some of the highlights as pointed out by the Maui News.

• After going back and forth, the committee decided to raise the cap for potential bed and breakfasts on island to 400. Modest increases were made to the North Shore, Upcountry and East Maui totals.
• The landowner must live on the same lot as the B&B, but could live in a separate house.
• B&Bs could have up to six bedrooms each on Maui or Lanai, or up to three bedrooms on Molokai
• B&Bs on agriculturally zoned land more than 5 acres must show at least $35,000 in revenue from agricultural operations. B&Bs could operate on smaller agricultural lots without a revenue requirement as long as the lot existed before Nov. 1 and a farm plan is in place.
• Guests would have to follow “house policies,” including quiet hours from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., no amplified sound that can be heard off the property, and no on-street parking overnight.
• Homes used for B&Bs could not qualify for the homeowner property tax exemption.
• Most permits would be approved by the planning director, but some permits, such as applications that have drawn protests from neighbors, would go to the Maui Planning Commission for approval.
• An initial B&B permit would be valid for three years, renewals would be valid.

This caps months of meetings by the planning committee on Bed and Breakfasts. They still have the more onerous issue of TVRs to review. It is not likely that this issue will come in front of the planning committee until after the first of the year when a new council is sworn into office. We will continue to provide coverage on the full county council’s debate on Bed and Breakfasts on the Maui Real Estate Blog.