Public testimony sought on stiff fines for illegal vacation rentals

The county is poised to set civil fines of up to $20,000 plus $10,000 per day for unpermitted transient vacation rental operations, but first a public hearing will be held Nov. 5 to take testimony.

The hearing will begin at 5 p.m. at the Kalana Pakui conference room in Wailuku, with written and oral testimony accepted.

Following last year’s election, Section 13-10 of the County Charter was updated to state that “the penalty for the operation of a transient accommodation without a necessary permit shall not exceed a civil fine of $20,000 plus $10,000 per day for each day the unlawful operation persists, unless a higher fine is authorized by state law.” The charter had previously limited penalties to a fine of $1,000 and $1,000 per day.

The Maui County Code was updated Oct. 7 by ordinance to be consistent with the charter, but before the stiffer penalties can be implemented, the Planning Department’s Administrative Rules also must be updated. If there are no major changes made to the proposed rule changes following the public hearing, the department will finalize the amendments and forward them to Mayor Michael Victorino for his signature. Once signed, the new rules would take effect.

The proposed amendments are available online at mauicounty.gov/121/Planning-Department. Written testimony also may be submitted by mail (send to Planning Department, 2200 Main St., Suite 315, Wailuku, HI 96793) but must be received before the close of the Nov. 5 public hearing.

Medical assistant students can take classes on Maui

A new collaboration between the University of Hawaii Maui College and Kauai Community College allows Maui students to take classes from KCC’s accredited medical assisting program via videoconference, with lab classes held at the Maui campus.

KCC’s medical assisting program coordinator, Victoria Mathis, said there are four students in the program on Maui who are on track to graduate as certified medical assistants in May. For more information, email Mathis at vwalker@hawaii.edu or visit kauai.hawaii.edu/medical-assisting.

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