A group of Lahaina wildfire survivors is vowing to camp on a popular resort beach until the mayor uses his emergency powers to shut down unpermitted vacation rentals and make the properties available for residents in need of housing. Organizers with the group Lahaina Strong are focusing on 2,500 vacation rental properties they’ve identified in West Maui that don’t have the usual county permits to be rented out for less than 30 days at a time. For years their owners have legally rented the units to travelers anyway because the county granted them an exemption from the standard rules. Lahaina Strong says the mayor should use his emergency powers to suspend this exemption.
