The Lahaina fire worsened Maui's housing shortage. Now officials eye limiting tourist Airbnb rentals

HONOLULU (AP) — Alicia Humiston bought her condo in Lahaina after she visited Maui and fell for its rainforests, lava fields and the whales that gather offshore. She travels there about three times a year and rents out her unit for short periods when she's not in Hawaii.

“Maui was my dream place,” she said in a phone interview from her home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

But now Maui's mayor wants to make it impossible for Humiston and thousands of other condo owners to rent their properties to tourists. Instead, he wants them rented long-term to Maui locals to address a chronic housing shortage that reached a new crisis point after last August's deadly wildfire burned the homes of 12,000 residents.

The mayor's proposal faces multiple legislative and bureaucratic hurdles, starting Tuesday with a Maui Planning Commission meeting. Yet it has inflamed an already-heated debate about the future of one of the world's best-known travel destinations: Will Maui continue to cater to tourists, who power the local economy? Or will it curb tourism to address persistent complaints that visitors are overwhelming the island's beaches and roads and making housing unaffordable?

About one-third of Maui's visitors use vacation rentals. They tend to cost less than hotels and are easy to reserve on websites like Airbnb and VRBO. Many have kitchens, so families can prepare their own food.

They have also become a source of strife, particularly after last year's conflagration in Lahaina — the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century. The fire tore through the historic town, killing at least 101 people and leaving nothing but rubble and ash for blocks. Thousands of displaced locals were temporarily housed in hotels usually reserved for tourists, and most survivors still lack stable housing.

Even before the fire, University of Hawaii researchers say so many property owners were renting to tourists — and so few new dwellings were being built — that Maui County suffered a net loss of housing since 2019.

An analysis of property tax records shows 85% of Maui County's condos are owned by out-of-state residents, said Justin Tyndall, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. Transitioning them would boost Maui’s residential housing stock by 13%, which Tyndall said would almost certainly lead to lower buying prices and rents.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen believes that under his proposal, those lower rents would keep locals on Maui because absentee landlords would be forced to either sell their units or convert them to long-term rentals.

There are 7,000 condo units in apartment zones, including 2,200 in West Maui near the Lahaina burn zone, and they account for about half of Maui’s legally operated short-term rentals. If enacted, the change would take effect in West Maui no later than July 1, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026 elsewhere.

“We understand that there’s going to be a give and take. So the question is, what is most important?” Bissen said at a news conference last month. “My priority is housing our local residents - especially now.”

Humiston, president of the Hawaii Rental By Owner Awareness Association, which opposes the bill, won't sell her one-bedroom, oceanfront condo that she bought two decades ago if the bill became law. She also doesn’t plan to rent it long-term.

“It would take my ability to use my property. And I bought it for my use,” she said. “I love it there.”

Some warn that reducing the supply of lodging for visitors will ruin the tourism industry Maui's economy depends on, though backers of the mayor's bill say many vacation rentals will remain and hotels will have empty rooms visitors can stay in.

Hawaii economist Paul Brewbaker calculates that changing the rules for the affected units, which account for one-third of Maui’s visitor accommodations, would result in 33% fewer tourists and cost Maui 14,000 jobs. He called it a “slow-motion train-wreck” that would lead to an “economic crash and burn.”

Maui County Chair Alice Lee said that while housing for residents is a real concern, the council must also consider legal challenges from property owners and the potential hit on tax revenue.

The county collects $500 million in real property taxes annually and more than 40% comes from short-term rentals, which are taxed at a higher rate than owner-occupied residences, she said.

“We are being sued by over 600 people regarding the fire. We have that many lawsuits pending. Do we really want to put ourselves in a position to invite thousands more?” Lee said. “I really don’t think so, because my main concern right now, at this very moment, is to pay the bills and keep the lights on.”

The county has budgeted $300,000 to study the bill's impact on tax revenue and businesses like landscaping and cleaning services.

Jeremy Stice, a real estate agent who was born and raised on Maui, and his wife have spent 12 years building a company that today manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, mostly for other owners. About half of them would be affected by the measure, said Stice, who is also president of the Maui Vacation Rental Association.

Stice isn't sure local residents would buy — or could afford — short-term rental units even if they do become available for permanent housing.

For example, a studio in Papakea, one of the targeted condo complexes, would sell for about $600,000, he said. A 30-year-fixed mortgage at current interest rates, plus the homeowner association fees, would total about $5,000 a month for a small space, he said.

If locals don't buy them, and tourists don't rent them, it's possible the units would sit mostly empty as second homes for wealthy absentee owners — an even worse outcome.

To prevent that, the county should raise taxes on second homes, create incentives to promote long-term rentals and prioritize new housing construction, said Matt Jachowski, a Maui housing data consultant.

“The only way out of this housing crisis is to do everything — to do everything in our power to add more resident housing,” he said.

FILE - The aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, is viewed Aug. 17, 2023. The mayor of Maui County wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation rentals from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, walks around The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Ridge Villas with 142 units for short-term rental is part of the 101 properties that the County of Maui may begin phasing out as early as 2025. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, poses for a portrait at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Papakea Resort stands on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Papakea Resort stands on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Maui Eldorado isseen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, talks about the short-term rentals along the coast at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Papakea Resort is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Maui Eldorado is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii.The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, poses for a portrait at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Papakea Resort is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of fatally setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train used his shirt to fan the flames, causing her to become engulfed in the blaze, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, made his first court appearance and was arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court.

He appeared briefly before a judge and wore a white jumpsuit over a weathered black hooded sweatshirt. He did not speak. He will remain jailed ahead of his next court date on Friday.

The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on a stationary F train at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn. Police said Tuesday that identification of the victim was still “pending at this time.”

Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who was sitting motionless in the train car and may have been sleeping, and used a lighter to set her clothing on fire. Zapeta then used his shirt to fan the flames, leading to her becoming engulfed in the fire, Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg said on Tuesday.

Zapeta then sat at a bench on the subway platform and watched, according to police.

Rottenberg added that under interrogation Zapeta said he didn’t know what happened, noting that he consumes alcohol. But he alleged that Zapeta identified himself to interrogators in images related to the attack.

Video posted to social media appeared to show the woman standing inside the train ablaze as some people look on from the platform, and at least one officer walks by. NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said Sunday that several officers had responded to the fire and one stayed to keep the crime scene “the way it’s supposed to be" while the others went to get fire extinguishers and transit workers.

They were eventually able to douse the fire, but “unfortunately, it was too late,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said — the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Zapeta was taken into custody Sunday afternoon while riding a train on the same subway line after police got a tip from some teenagers who recognized him from images circulated by the police.

A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support. The shelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Federal immigration officials said Zapeta had been previously deported in 2018 but at some point reentered the U.S. illegally.

In a statement, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the attack a “gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman” that would be “met with the most serious consequences.”

The crime — and the graphic video of it that ricocheted across social media — deepened a growing sense of unease among some New Yorkers about the safety of the subway system in a city where many residents take the subway multiple times each day.

Overall, according to authorities, crime is down in the transit system this year when compared to last year — major felonies declined 6% between January and November of this year and in 2023, data compiled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority show. But murders are up, with nine killings this year through November compared to five in the same period last year.

Earlier this month, a Manhattan jury acquitted Daniel Penny in the death of an agitated subway rider that the former Marine placed in a chokehold last year. The case became a flashpoint in ongoing debates over safety, homelessness and mental illness on the system.

Policing the subway is also difficult, given the vast network of trains constantly moving between the system’s 472 stations, with each stop containing multiple entry points and, in many stations, multiple floors and platforms.

On Sunday, police at the station where the woman burned to death were patrolling a different area and responded after seeing and smelling smoke, authorities said.

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

Sebastian Zapeta, 2nd left, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)

A suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (WABC-TV via AP)