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The bill's approach to regulating where hosts live in relation to their guests is overly <br /> restrictive and fails to consider the diverse living arrangements that exist within our <br /> community. I recommend that the Planning Commission advocate for the removal of <br /> restrictions about where hosts live and where guests stay, as long as the owner is in the <br /> same building, on the same parcel, or on an adjacent parcel. <br /> According to the legislation's own website (hicountytar.consider.it), the results are already <br /> in. respondents overwhelmingly approve of Transient Accommodation Rentals. They <br /> overwhelmingly disagree that TARS take away from housing opportunities. They <br /> overwhelmingly agree that TARS add to the LOCAL economy. Please read the website you <br /> created for the purpose of getting community feedback, and you'll see very clearly what <br /> your constituents think about the proposed legislation. <br /> Since one of our—and your—biggest concerns is the impact of the proposed laws on our <br /> area's economy, please consider who benefits from the income you propose to eliminate. <br /> In the case of Puna rentals, the income goes in large part to local service providers such as <br /> cleaners, yard maintenance workers, handyman services, local markets and restaurants, <br /> pest control, and the list goes on. Not to mention that visitors who stay in Puna purchase <br /> many of their daily living necessities in Puna, in their LOCAL district, rather than adding to <br /> the bottom line of out-of-state corporations. <br /> Our state and county depend on tourists to survive. The rentals threatened by the TAR <br /> legislation make up an important part of Hawaii County's tourist housing portfolio. Or <br /> does the county only want to accept elite travelers? I have believed that Hawaii stands for <br /> diversity, not only in race, religion and other social areas but in economic level. The visitors <br /> who may one day make our 'ohana the strongest may be the poorest. What options will <br /> we provide for them? What options for the agri-tourists who are drawn to Hawai'i's 'aina- <br /> friendly environment and way of life? We should be helping our renters to become the <br /> best renters in the world, not strangling their ability to show aloha to strangers. <br /> We know people who are renting to Hawaii residents who are in transition and need <br /> affordable, short-term housing. Where will they find it if this legislation passes? <br /> Please do not pass what I consider to be a rash and overbearing legislative solution in <br /> search of a problem. <br /> Thank you for considering my concerns and recommendations. I hope that the Planning <br /> Commission will take these points into account and work towards regulations that make <br />