2024-04-02 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Nathan Eggen Testimony

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From: Nathan Eooen To: WPCtestimonv Subject: Testimony Regarding Bill 121 Date: Tuesday,April 2,2024 1:30:40 PM Chairman Dennis Lin Windward Planning Commission County of Hawai'i 25 Aupuni St. Unit 1502 Hilo, HI 96720 Aloha Chairman Lin, I am a rural home owner on Hawai'i Island and I am writing to you regarding concerns with Hawaii County Bill 121 /TAR. I do not support Bill 121 for several reasons. First, this bill will make resident owned and occupied vacation rentals in the small towns and rural areas with ag zoning mostly illegal. The bill may say it allows an owner in any zone at any time to register but the additional rules/restrictions mean that most ag zone rentals will be prohibited because it is most common to rent an ohana or other structure when there is more land available in a rural location. There are many kupuna who rely on renting their ohanas etc on their property as their sole source of income. This way of surviving -renting out ohanas to visitors - has existed since long before AirBNB or the internet. Dictating what part of your property you can rent or what bedroom you can sleep in is a government overreach. And as you likely know, Ag zoning makes up about 48% of the entire island. Preventing existing resident owned vacation rentals from operating in these rural areas means that the visitor economy in the smaller towns in Hawaii County will collapse leading to further tax revenue decline for the county and job loss at restaurants, stores, arts, culture, and other venues as they shrink or close. Look at towns in areas such as North Kohala, Kau, Hamakua, and Puna-they have no resort areas and yet the retail store and restaurant options in these locations are almost entirely visitor supported. These small towns were hurting badly for decades after the end of sugar. The visitor economy is their primary source of revenue. People who live in Hawai'i should be able to participate in the highest value tourism activity which is providing lodging to guests. Why should anyone who wants to participate in lodging tourism work for a mainland corporation for low wages instead? Third, the bill will lead to job loss and reduce tax income from the supporting businesses that work with TARs such as cleaners, landscapers, construction, and maintenance jobs due to the shrinkage of this market. Fourth, the bill as written appears to have many legal problems that will almost certainly result in costly litigation for the County of Hawai'i spending taxpayer money for years. The County of Hawai'i and therefore Hawaii County tax payers could also be liable due to constitutional takings of individual property rights through this regulation. The 180 day restriction has already been blocked by a federal injunction and Hawaii County appears to be blindly walking into that same mistake. Fifth, this bill has been floated as a"fix" for the housing crisis in Hawai'i. STVR of all types