2024-04-03 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Kristina Anderson Testimony

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From: Kristina Anderson To: WPCtestimonv Subject: Opposed to Bill 121 and 122 Date: Wednesday,April 3,2024 5:55:44 PM Honorable Planning Commissioners: Please accept my testimony in strong opposition to the above bills. I have hosted a room in my home as a short term rental for years and this income has helped offset the extremely high costs of living in Hawaii, especially a single mother of twins whose dad abandoned them as young teens. Both my kids finished college at UH and have three degrees among them. This would not have been possible without the short term rental income I receive from renting to mostly quiet visitors. However, Over the years, I have housed more than tourists coming to snorkel in South Kona.These include: -visiting professors attending conferences at UH -an entomologist who was treating all of Milolii with dengue-reducing mosquito traps during the dengue crisis,and giving presentations to county officials -a group of archeologists who were doing surveys along the lava flows -Hilo realtors doing open houses on this side -Flight attendants who were grounded when the Kona runway closed -A fish biologist who booked my place specifically to snorkel at our subdivision's beach. He's studying the health of the fish on all the local reefs. --New residents of our subdivision who are building and needed temporary quarters nearby --Teachers who have just arrived from the mainland and need to get settled --A construction crew hired to make repairs to some county facilities right after the pandemic I pay all my taxes--GE, TAT, HCTAT, federal and state income and property. Even though I live in my primary residence, I lost my homeowner exemption rate and the cap because I rent short term. Over the years, my small, humble place has paid out tens of thousands in taxes! The proposed features of 121 will render me completely unable to compete in this market. It's not like a make a fortune doing this. It's a lot of hard work and sometimes guests can be difficult. But I have not wanted to quit until now. Between the hassles and expenses of registering for something I've been doing for years LEGALLY and the loss of my homeowner exemption rate, it's just no longer tenable. I have had to take early retirement because my pay as a substitute teacher will not cover my constantly rising expenses. And no, I will NEVER rent my place long term. In addition to it being set up as a furnished, temporary rental, it's just too small and inappropriate for long term renters. I also want to reserve my studio for my kids when they visit from the mainland. And in addition, I am scared to death of getting squatters who would be difficult and expensive to evict. I have three or four friends who had to spend thousands to get bad tenants out. I'd rather let it sit empty than take