WAILUKU — Controversy over Maui's illegal vacation rental and bed-and-breakfast operations has gone on for years, but Maui County Council Planning Committee Chairwoman Gladys Baisa said it's time to settle the issue, The Maui News reported.

"We need to move this forward," Baisa said Tuesday as committee members heard testimony for the first time on five visitor accommodations bills drafted by Mayor Charmaine Tavares' administration. "It is time for us to deal with this for better or for worse."

After hearing several hours of public comments, Baisa recessed the meeting until 9 a.m. Thursday when the Planning Department will make a presentation on the measures. The bills are aimed at reining in the runaway growth of unpermitted tourist accommodations outside of hotel and resort districts.

Baisa said she expects at least some compromises to come out of her committee this week.

"I have butterflies in my stomach, this has been such a long-awaited process," she said.

About 60 people, most of whom appeared to be transient vacation rental owners, attended the Planning Committee meeting in the Council Chambers. Many used the opportunity to lobby for changes to the Tavares administration's bills, calling on council members to accommodate what's estimated to be more than 1,000 illegal businesses rather than eliminate those that exist outside of hotel/resort districts.

After earlier council attempts to resolve the vacation rental controversy were unsuccessful, the Tavares administration began cracking down on illegal vacation rentals in July. Without zoning enforcement during previous administrations, the number of unpermitted visitor accommodations grew unabated.

Tavares has proposed eliminating a conditional permitting process for vacation rentals in rural, residential and agricultural zones. But at the same time, the mayor wants to streamline the permitting process for vacation rentals in resort areas and business districts. Tavares maintains that permitting too many vacation rentals damages neighborhoods and reduces the already-diminishing stock of affordable housing.

Her tough stance has made her a target of critics who have called her actions heavy-handed and poorly conceived.

"Instead of regulating these businesses, (Tavares' bill) simply eliminates them and segregates the community," said Margrit Tolman, of the Maui Vacation Rental Association.

Vacation rental owners say their businesses make it possible for them to afford their own homes and the high cost of living on Maui. And vacation rentals bring in as much as $319 million annually to the island and create up to 3,400 jobs, they said.

The vacation rental owners are looking for a number of compromises from the Tavares-drafted bills. Those include allowing a grandfather clause for existing businesses, providing sliding scales for fees and taxes, requiring on-site management and organizing a complaint, fine and permit revocation process.

Council Member Bill Medeiros, who holds the East Maui residency seat, asked about placing caps on the number of vacation rentals in particular areas.

The Maui Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored a workshop on the issue last weekend, asked the Planning Committee to stop closing vacation rental businesses until a resolution can be found.

"This could be the promulgation of TVRs," said Council Member Mike Victorino, who holds the Wailuku residency seat. "I am not against TVRs. I am against them blossoming."

Council Member Joe Pontanilla, who holds the Kahului residency seat, said he anticipates a number of changes to the Planning Department's bills, some of which focus on bed-and-breakfasts as well. He also said the committee should make some significant progress on the lingering issues before the council begins the laborious annual budgeting process next week.

Pontanilla said the framework exists for a good conditional permitting process now, but he also recalled how one rural district vacation rental permit in Hana was first introduced when he was on the Planning Commission in 2000. It was finally approved by the council this winter, he said.

Dave DeLeon, government affairs director for the Realtors Association of Maui, suggested that it's easier to get U.S. citizenship than a vacation rental permit outside a hotel/resort area.

Planning consultant Will Spence said the permitting process as it stands can take up to five hearings and $20,000.

Brandon Shim, owner of the Pauwela Cafe in Haiku, said his business relies on windsurfers who stay in vacation rentals.

"If you take them away, I will have to close my cafe," Shim said. "They already feel like they're not wanted here."

One of the new bills would make it easier for landowners in agricultural zones to run bed-and-breakfast businesses. The draft legislation would lower the required annual agricultural output for a farm to qualify for a bed-and-breakfast permit from $35,000 to $1,000.

However, Elaine Wender called on committee members to protect the agricultural zoning laws, and said council members should force owners to stay focused on agriculture and not turn these areas into resorts.

"We've already given too much of our island away to the tourists," Wender said. "No more."

For more Maui news, visit The Maui News.