KUAU, Maui » Maui County's elimination of illegal visitor rentals in the past year has reduced business from 15 percent to 50 percent on the North Shore, says Haliimaile General Store owner Beverly Gannon.

“;It has devastated the North Shore,”; Gannon said.

But Maui resident Virginia “;Ginny”; Karpovich said she is against the noise and intrusion of some illegal vacation rentals in her coastal neighborhood in Kuau, especially those whose clients parked on the street and on her front property.

“;I told a visitor she couldn't park on my property because I planned to grow flowers,”; Karpovich said.

“;She said she was going to park there because she had paid for a huge event and didn't have anywhere else to park.”;

As Maui residents debate the effect of illegal accommodations for visitors, county lawmakers have been struggling to enact an ordinance that allows for controlled tourist vacation stays in residential, rural and agricultural areas.

A bill seeking to allow some illegal tourism rentals to become legitimate if they conform to new restrictions is scheduled for first reading before the County Council tomorrow.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the Council's chambers.

The bill would allow bed-and-breakfast accommodations to expand beyond hotel, business and residential areas into rural and agricultural regions.

It would impose restrictions intended to limit noise and parking impact on neighborhoods.

The county has generally designated the development of tourism accommodations in resort coastal areas such as Kaanapali and Wailea.

Under a law in effect since 1997, some 26 bed-and-breakfasts and transient vacation rentals have received permits to operate in residential and business areas.

Political observers note that bed-and-breakfasts and other transient rentals without permits increased into the hundreds during the administrations of Mayors James Apana and Alan Arakawa in an era when zoning codes controlling them were loosely enforced as long as they did not cause a stir in the community.

But Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares, citing the loss of long-term rental units to tourism, began enforcing zoning laws last year, saying the illegal visitor operations were eroding the inventory of rentals for residents.

While some councilmembers support the current legislation, critics fear the bill allowing visitor accommodation rentals would artificially raise property values in residential and agricultural areas.

The rise in value adversely affects retirees, who would face higher tax assessments, and farmers, who could see cultivable lands being turned into vacation rentals, critics say.

Warren Watanabe, executive director of the Maui County Farm Bureau, said the county has the responsibility of making sure agricultural lands are used for farming.

But Watanabe said the bill allows farming to be an incidental business to the bed-and-breakfast operation on agricultural land.

Watanabe said that under the bill, bed-and-breakfast owners on agricultural land would be able to receive a permit if they produced a feasible farm plan. But the bill does not provide a definition of feasible farm plan, he said.

Dave DeLeon, government affairs director for the Realtors Association of Maui, said his group supports the bill and wants reasonable regulations that allow tourist accommodations to prosper unless they cause a problem.

“;We're looking for fairness here,”; he said.

DeLeon said under the bill, the permits would be nontransferable, thereby eliminating speculation in property values.

He said based on his group's study prior to Tavares' stepped-up enforcement, tourism vacation rentals generated direct and indirect revenues of between $229 million and $318.8 million annually and between 2,508 to 3,478 jobs.

Gannon said she lost 10 percent of her business during the first month of the mayor's crackdown on transient rentals.

“;We are not seeing people whom we saw year after year,”; she said. “;They said they will not be back because they don't go to hotels.”;

But Kihei resident Barbara Roark, whose neighbor once operated an illegal tourism accommodation rental, said she and her husband bought a home to specifically get away from the visitor activity at condominiums.

She said visitors would make noise in the early morning, once entertaining 50 to 90 people in a wedding party, and there was not much that could be done because the owner lived on the mainland.

“;It just totally disrupted the neighborhood,”; she said.

Bill limits size, number and hours of B&Bs

Under a proposed ordinance before the Maui County Council, there would be no more than 400 bed-and-breakfasts allowed to operate on Lanai, Molokai and Maui on various zoned lands, including rural and agricultural.

There are about 26 bed-and-breakfasts and transient accommodation rentals now operating in residential and business areas with permits.

The owner of a bed-and-breakfast would be required to live on the property and maintain “;quiet hours”; from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. and make sure visitor vehicles are parked on property.

According to the bill, the number of bed-and-breakfast bedrooms in a house shall be no more than six on Lanai and Maui and no more than three on Molokai, with each bedroom accommodating up to two adults and two minors.