Travel to Maui, Hawai’i

Yesterday I attended the meeting of the County Council, as they heard testimony from citizens regarding the debate over new laws to govern permitting process for Maui Vacation Rentals, and even if they should be allowed at all.

I put in my 2 cents….  Here it is: 

…..  I would like to address the issue regarding vacation rentals on ag land.
I think that this is a great idea.
In fact I see that if the ag land is being used for organically sustainable agriculture, even if it is limited to vegetable gardens that provide food for the occupants, that to welcome visitors into such an environment would not only bring the visitor’s experience to a whole new level, it would uplift the land itself.

Take the issue of pesticides.
Many of the guests that come through us are from sterile invironments and are afraid of insects.  Some of my hosts have given in to spraying pesticides after having to refund money when guests have seen roaches, or ants, and freaked out.  It’s no secret that the use of pesticides and herbicides is EXTREMELY harmful to our environment, to say nothing about our human health.  Having guests being part of organic farming methods on ag land would be very useful in educating them to see insects as a beautiful part of our world, and get past the old conditioning that they are horrible, disease-carrying creatures to be wiped out…. and that there are symbiotic ways of living that allow for their existence without being over-run by them.
This would not only help to protect our own environment on Maui, but would also serve to cut down on the use of pesticides and herbicides around the world, as these guests take their new perspectives home with them, and hopefully change their destructive habits.

In addition, there is a growing number of travelers, who are demanding healthy, pesticide-free environments to stay in, and to cater to these individuals would be a definite boon to our industry and to our island.

I think that far from making it harder to obtain a permit for use of ag land for vacation rentals, that the permitting process should be made especially easy for organic farm lands.  Have the highest organically sustainable standards that must be met, and then let the vacation rental process be a breeze.  This would offer incentive and support for sustainable lifestyles, and a way for organic farmers to subsidize their income here on Maui.

Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono.
The Life of the Land is perpetuated in Righteousness.
We HAVE to take care of the ‘aina first and foremost, as this is the ground upon which we can all really prosper.

Mahalo.

On Monday November 14th., at 1 o’clock in the County Council’s Chambers in Wailuku there will be another testimony meeting concerning new laws to govern vacation rentals on Maui.

David Dantes of the Maui Vacation Rentals Association wrote a very good article on the subject in the latest "Points of View" in the Haleakala Times, and I was going to provide you with a link, but I wasn’t able to find the article in the online version.  I found everything else….

I wrote to the editor asking him to direct me to it…. will post it when I hear back from him. 

So residents, visitors, any interested parties, this meeting is open to the public, and promises to be very interesting. Come on down, and make your voice heard if you so desire.