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March 25, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note

In re: Tax Appeal of Vreugdenhil and Nakayama

Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals

• Citations: None known

• Docket Number: CAAP-25-0000524

• Opinion

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Combined Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
25-MAR-2026
08:51 AM
Dkt. 49 SO

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I

In the Matter of the Tax Appeal of NICHOLAS KEITH VREUGDENHIL
and YUMIKO NAKAYAMA, 1 Appellants-Appellants

1 The additional Appellants-Appellants in this consolidated appeal are
as follows: DONALD JAMES MACALLISTER and EDITH LOUISE MACALLISTER,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; ROBERT G. RINNINSLAND and RHONDA C. RINNINSLAND, Trustees of
the Robert G. and Rhonda C. Rinninsland Trust Dated March 27, 2018,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; JONATHAN STRUMPF and LINDA STRUMPF, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; SUSAN
PATRICIA MARTIN a.k.a SUSAN PATRICIA SWAN, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; ROBERT DOUGLAS
IRVIN, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 2607 HOLDINGS LTD., 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; ALLEN FRANKLIN
HODGE and KRISTEN LEE HODGE, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; NORMAN BRUCE and ELISABETH
BEERS SANDLER, Trustees of the Sandler Revocable Trust Dated October 13,
1994, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; ROBERT GREAVES ALLISON and DEBRA MARIE ALLISON,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; HAROLD RICHARD HEGLAND and PATRICIA SUZUYE HEGLAND,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; AMY HARTMAN, Trustee of the A. Hartman Family Trust Dated
May 24, 2021 May 24, 2021, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1031086 B C LTD.,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; JACQUELINE LOUISE JONES and BRUCE MICHAEL JONES,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; VALDELICE DIAS MILLER, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; MAUI MONTANA LLC,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; MARC S. BROWNING, Trustee of the Marc S. Browning Exempt
Trust UA Dated 12/19/2012, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; ROBERT R. KLINGMAN and KIMBERLY
K. KLINGMAN, Trustees of the Rob and Kim Klingman Living Trust Dated April
16, 2018, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; LORI ANN OLIVER, Trustee of the Oliver Family
Trust (2013), Dated March 27, 2013, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; LAWRENCE DONALD MASON,
SVEA JOY MASON and PARKER CRAIG MASON, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; RICKARD JOHN CAROVANO
and KATHLEEN MARGARET CAROVANO, Trustees of the Carovano Estate Planning
Trust Dated March 23, 2010, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; HELEN ELIZABETH KOLOZETTI,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; PSALMS OF WAILEA LLC, a Hawaii Limited Liability Company,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; THOMAS MONTINE and KATHLEEN S. MONTINE, Trustees of the
Montine Family Trust Dated October 31, 2018, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; JOHN VICTOR
WARK and ANNETTE SCHROEDER, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; RAYMOND JOSEPH MARSHALL and
AUDREY WALLEY MARSHALL, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; LINDA ANNE WEIGL, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
LAWRENCE JAY BRISKIN and ROBERTA BRISKIN, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; THOMAS B. KELLY
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

APPEAL FROM THE TAX APPEAL COURT
(CASE NOS. 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX
(Consolidated with 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; and 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX))

and DEBORAH E. KELLY, Trustees of the Kelly Family Trust Under an Unrecorded
Trust Instrument, Dated June 8, 1994, as Amended and Restated,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; ROBERT MURRAY SAMELS, MARIE THERESE VERMETTE, ELLIOTT PERRY
WEISS and MAUREEN ANN BULGER, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; WILLIAM T. CHATHAM and
GWENDOLYN D. CHATHAM, Trustees of the William and Gwendolyn Chatham Trust
Dated, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; DANIEL RAY CHEN and CHRISTINE CHI LI CHEN,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; VERNON JACKSON KIMBALL and WENDY MONICA RYAN,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; WILLIAM SCOTT MCNARY and JUDITH DICKINSON MCNARY, Trustees
of the William S. McNary Hawaiian Property Trust Dated October 3, 2017 and
the Judith D. McNary Hawaiian Property Trust Dated October 3, 2017,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; CARL W. NEWMAN and SUSAN G. NEWMAN, Trustees of the SLAC
Real Property Trust, Dated July 12, 2018, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; MICHAEL C. WAX and
SUSAN E. WAX, Trustees of the Wax Family Revocable Living Trust Dated April
15, 2016, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; C. JOSEPH WELTER and AMY JO WELTER-REINOSO, Co-
Trustees of the Doris M. Welter Testamentary Family Trust, as Amended,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; KARL LANCE ASCHENBACH and GEORGIANA FERREE ASCHENBACH,
Trustees of the 2012 Aschenbach Revocable Trust, Dated October 2, 2012,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; ALEXANDER WALTER MCINTOSH and VALERIE ANN MCINTOSH,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; RON WILCOXEN HARRIS and RENEE WILCOXEN HARRIS,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; VCWG HOLDINGS LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; NEIL ANTHONY FRITZ and BETTY JANE FRITZ, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX;
DOREEN M. GOSCILA, Trustee of the Doreen M. Goscila Survivors Trust Created
under the Leonard D. and Doreen M. Goscila 1999 Revocable Trust Dated
September 29, 1999, as Amended, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; SANDRA ANNE DRANSFIELD and
DAVID JOSEPH MOUSSEAU, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; ALISON MARIE KERR, Trustee of the
Alison Marie Kerr Trust Established April 3, 2015, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; STUART
GORDON MARSHALL and THERESA MARIE ARSENAULT, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; EVAN A. RAY and
LINDA S. THIEDKE, Co-Trustees of the Evan A. Ray and Linda S. Thiedke Trust
Dated November 9, 2001, 1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX; and MARK WILLIAM BARON,
1CTX-XX-XXXXXXX.

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SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Nakasone, Chief Judge, Wadsworth and McCullen, JJ.)

This consolidated tax appeal involves a challenge
brought by Maui condominium unit owners to a change in the
county's real property tax classification of their units, from
the lower tax rate for an "Apartment" classification, to a
higher tax rate for a "Non-owner-occupied" classification. We
affirm.
Appellants-Appellants Nicholas Keith Vreugdenhil and
Yumiko Nakayama and eighty-one other owners of condominium units
at Wailea Palms (collectively, Appellants) appeal from the
"Order Denying [Appellants'] Motion for Summary Judgment,"
"Order Granting Appellee County of Maui's [(County)] Cross-
Motion for Summary Judgment," and "Final Judgment," all filed
and entered on June 24, 2025 by the Tax Appeal Court. 2
On appeal, Appellants contend the Tax Appeal Court
erred when it (1) denied Appellants' motion for summary judgment
"by ruling that Appellants' units should not be classified as
Apartment"; and (2) granted the County's cross-motion for
summary judgment "by ruling that Appellants' units should be
classified as Non-Owner Occupied."
Upon review of the record on appeal 3 and relevant legal
authorities, giving due consideration to the issues raised and

2 The Honorable Kevin T. Morikone presided.

3 Appellants requested the transcript of the May 19, 2025 summary
judgment hearing but no transcript was filed. Hawai‘i Rules of Appellate
Procedure (HRAP) Rule 10. Appellants also did not file a certificate stating
that they deemed it unnecessary to have transcripts prepared, as required by
HRAP Rule 10(b)(2). It appears, however, that this appeal may be resolved
without the transcript, because the Appellants appeal from written summary
judgment orders, and the parties do not refer to any statements or ruling
made at the hearing.

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arguments advanced by the parties, we resolve this appeal as
follows.
Wailea Palms is a condominium property regime located
in Kīhei, Maui, and is comprised of fifteen separate two-story
buildings, each consisting of eight individual condominium
units. Prior to the passage of 2019 and 2020 ordinances
pertinent to the issues raised in this appeal, Wailea Palms
units were classified as "Apartment" for county real property
taxation purposes. Under the previous "Apartment"
classification, Appellants claim that they were taxed at the
$3.50 per $1,000 fair market value (fmv) tax rate prior to tax
year 2020-2021. The 2019 and 2020 ordinances amended the real
property tax classifications in MCC § 3.48.305 (quoted infra),
by adding two new classes of "Owner-occupied" and "Non-owner-
occupied," which resulted in Appellants' units falling into the
new "Non-owner-occupied" class. Under the "Non-owner-occupied"
classification, Appellants claimed they were taxed at a higher
rate of $5.85-$12.50 per $1,000 fmv, beginning in tax year 2020-
2021.
Between August and December 2024, Appellants
individually filed forty-seven appeals before the Tax Appeal
Court, alleging that "based on Ordinance 5160" (which was passed
in 2020 and effective December 5, 2020), the County "erroneously
classified" Appellants' Wailea Palms units "as Non-Owner
Occupied . . . instead of 'Apartment,'" resulting in the
imposition of a "substantially higher" tax rate "beginning in
tax year 2020-2021." The individual appeals were consolidated.
On February 25, 2025, Appellants filed a motion for
summary judgment, arguing that their units should have remained
classified as "Apartment" because MCC § 3.48.305(B)(3) (2024)
provides that:

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Multi-dwelling-unit improvements containing five or more
dwellings that would not be classified "TVR-STRH" must be
classified as "apartment".

On April 29, 2025, the County filed a cross-motion for
summary judgment, arguing that MCC § 3.48.305(B)(3) was
inapplicable because Appellants' units are not "multi-dwelling
unit improvements," and that Appellants' units were properly
classified as "Non-owner-occupied" under MCC § 3.48.305(B)(2)
(2024), which provides that:

Real property improved with a dwelling that would not be
classified as "owner-occupied", "hotel and resort", "time
share", "TVR-STRH", "commercial", "industrial",
"commercialized residential", or "long-term rental" must be
classified as "non-owner-occupied".

Following a May 19, 2025 hearing on the motions, the
Tax Appeal Court issued the June 24, 2025 orders and Final
Judgment from which Appellants timely appealed.
We review summary judgment rulings de novo. W. Maui
Resort Partners LP v. County of Maui, 154 Hawai‘i 121, 131,
547 P.3d 454, 464 (2024). "When interpreting a municipal
ordinance, we apply the same rules of construction that we apply
to statutes. Statutory interpretation is a question of law
reviewable de novo." Id. at 131-32, 547 P.3d at 464-65
(citation omitted). "[T]he fundamental starting point for
statutory interpretation is the language of the statute
itself. . . . [W]here the statutory language is plain and
unambiguous, our sole duty is to give effect to its plain and
obvious meaning." Id. at 132, 547 P.3d at 465 (citation
omitted).
MCC § 3.48.305, "Classification of real property,"
provides:

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A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection B, real
property must be classified, upon consideration of its
highest and best use, into the following general
classes:

1. Owner-occupied.
2. Non-owner-occupied.
3. Apartment.
4. Hotel and resort.
5. Time share.
6. TVR-STRH.[ 4]
7. Agricultural.
8. Conservation.
9. Commercial.
10. Industrial.
11. Commercialized residential.
12. Long-term rental.

B. In assigning land to one of the general classes, the
director must give major consideration to: the
districting established by the land use commission in
accordance to chapter 205, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes; the
districting established by the County in its general
plan and comprehensive zoning ordinance; use
classifications established in the Hawai‘i state plan;
and other factors that influence highest and best use;
except that:

1. [(describing the "owner-occupied"
   classification)]

2. Real property improved with a dwelling that would
   not be classified as "owner-occupied", "hotel and
   resort", "time share", "TVR-STRH", "commercial",
   "industrial", "commercialized residential", or
   "long-term rental", must be classified as "non-
   owner-occupied".

3. Multi-dwelling-unit improvements containing five
   or more dwellings that would not be classified
   "TVR-STRH" must be classified "apartment".

[(Nos. 4-7 describing the "commercialized
residential," "time share," "TVR-STRH," and "hotel
and resort" classifications, and Nos. 8-10 describing
"long-term rental" classification)]

C. Dwelling units in the hotel district must be classified
as "TVR-STRH" unless classified as "long-term rental",
"commercialized residential", "apartment", or "owner-
occupied".

4 "TVR-STRH" means the classification of "real property that is
used or can be used for transient vacation rentals or short-term rental
homes." MCC § 3.48.005 (2024).

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D. Dwelling units located in the apartment district or in a
planned development must be classified as "TVR-STRH" if
transient vacation rentals are a permitted use unless
classified as "long-term rental", "commercialized
residential", "apartment", or "owner-occupied".

(Footnote and emphases added.)
Appellants advance two arguments to support their
contention that "[u]nder the plain language of the MCC the units
at the Wailea Palms should be classified as Apartment, not as
NOO [(Non-owner-occupied)]." Appellants argue that "the
buildings at Wailea Palms are multi-dwelling unit improvements"
under MCC § 3.48.305(B)(3) (emphasis added); and that the "units
at Wailea Palms CANNOT be used for transient vacation rentals"
and thus must be classified as "Apartment" under MCC
§ 3.48.305(B)(3). Appellants claim that because their units are
"contained within one of 15 larger multi-dwelling structure
[sic] of 8 units each—well in excess of the five-dwelling
minimum for a multi-dwelling unit[,]" they should be classified
as "Apartment" under MCC § 3.48.305(B)(3). Appellants emphasize
that their argument is not based on an attempt "to classify each
separate condominium unit as a multi-dwelling structure[,]" or
"to have the Wailea Palms units assessed collectively." Rather,
Appellants contend that:

there is a difference between how properties are classified
—i.e., what category do the properties fall into—and how a
property is assessed, which takes into account factors like
location, size, and condition. In other words, while units
within a single condominium building could be assessed very
differently, they should not be classified differently.

Appellants rely on distinctions between property
classification and assessment that are immaterial in determining
the proper classification of their units. MCC Chapter 3.48,
governing real property taxation, empowers the County director

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of finance to assess real property for taxation purposes, see
MCC § 3.48.010(A) (2024), and provides that "[r]eal property
shall be assessed in its entirety to the owner thereof[.]" MCC
§ 3.48.150(A) (2024) (emphasis added). Under MCC § 3.48.305(B),
the director assigns real property to one of the enumerated
"general classes" under subsection (A) for real property tax
assessment purposes. MCC § 3.48.561(A) (2024) provides for real
property tax rate "tiers" based on the "[c]lassifications"
"established in section 3.48.305." Thus, real property taxes
are assessed "to the owner," based in the first instance on how
the owner's real property is classified. Under MCC § 3.48.305,
each owner’s real property must be assigned to one of the twelve
listed general classes for the purpose of determining the
appropriate tax rate.
Here, the real property subject to taxation assessed
"to the owner" under MCC Chapter 3.48 is each Appellant's
individual Wailea Palms unit, not the building that contains
eight individual units. Each Appellant's unit is clearly not a
"[m]ulti-dwelling-unit improvement[] containing five or more
dwellings" necessary for an "Apartment" classification under MCC
§ 3.48.305(B)(3). The "plain and obvious meaning" of "multi-
dwelling-unit improvements" does not include each Appellant's
individual dwelling unit. See W. Maui Resort Partners LP, 154
Hawai‘i at 132, 547 P.3d at 465 (citation omitted).
MCC § 3.48.305(B)(2) provides that "[r]eal property
improved with a dwelling that would not be classified as 'owner-
occupied', 'hotel and resort', 'time share', 'TVR-STRH',
'commercial', 'industrial', 'commercialized residential', or
'long-term rental' must be classified as 'non-owner-occupied.'"
Here, it is undisputed that each Appellant's unit is "real
property improved with a dwelling" and that each unit is an

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individual dwelling. Thus, each Appellant's unit was
appropriately classified as "non-owner-occupied" under MCC
§ 3.48.305(B)(2).
We conclude the Tax Appeal Court correctly ruled that
Appellants' units were properly classified as "Non-owner-
occupied" rather than "Apartment," and properly denied
Appellants' motion for summary judgment and granted the County's
cross-motion. See W. Maui Resort Partners LP, 154 Hawai‘i at
131, 547 P.3d at 464.
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the Tax Appeal
Court's June 24, 2025 "Order Denying [Appellants'] Motion for
Summary Judgment," "Order Granting [County]'s Cross-Motion for
Summary Judgment," and "Final Judgment."
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai‘i, March 25, 2026.
On the briefs:
/s/ Karen T. Nakasone
Brett R. Tobin,
Chief Judge
for Appellants-Appellants.
/s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth
Brian A. Bilberry,
Associate Judge
Corporation Counsel,
County of Maui,
/s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen
for Appellee-Appellee.
Associate Judge

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