Written by: Star-Advertiser Staff
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There will be no need for a ban on short-term rentals in West Maui to get the remaining 3,109 survivors of the Aug. 8 wildfires out of hotels and into long-term housing, Gov. Josh Green said today.

“We will not need a short-term rental moratorium on Maui,” he said.

There are enough housing options on Maui to accommodate everyone 231 days after the fires, Green said, but not all of them are in West Maui where most people want to stay.

So Green and other officials are still trying to find owners of West Maui vacation rentals to voluntarily transition to renting to evacuees and take advantage of not having to pay county property taxes, which Green called “a good deal.”

At the same time, Green said that he has asked state Attorney General Anne Lopez to crack down on illegal short-term rentals in West Maui, especially for owners who live on the mainland.

He acknowledged that more enforcement personnel will be needed but ultimately hopes that stronger penalties across the state — including possible property seizure of illegal units — will convince some owners to sell their rentals to the state to be used for local families.

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Gov. Josh Green held a press conference this afternoon to discuss an update on housing plans for Maui residents who were displaced by wildfires.