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specific to the actions within Hawaii County occurs before this bill moves forward. This has <br /> not been done. The studies that were referenced are based on flawed, outdated research from <br /> places like New York, San Francisco, or even Honolulu,which are not very relevant to small, <br /> non-diversified,primarily visitor-supported small economies. <br /> Third, the bill as written appears to have many legal problems that will almost certainly result <br /> in costly litigation for the County of Hawai'i, spending taxpayer money for years. The County <br /> of Hawai'i and therefore Hawaii County taxpayers could also be liable due to constitutional <br /> takings of individual property rights through this regulation. The 180-day restriction has <br /> already been blocked by a federal injunction, and it appears that Hawaii County is blindly <br /> walking into the same mistake and litigation. <br /> Fourth, this bill has been floated as a "fix" for the housing crisis in Hawai'i. However, short- <br /> term vacation rentals of all types represent less than 5% of the housing stock in the state. The <br /> need for housing is far greater than just 5% of the housing stock. Look closely at the statistics <br /> floated by the Kohala Coast Resort Association; they have extremely flawed data showing <br /> duplicate properties (counting the same unit that is listed on Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway <br /> as three STVR units) and even show that the majority of the units in their report are actually <br /> hotel rooms from the resorts listed as rentable. Marriott International and other chain hotels <br /> list on these peer-to-peer rental platforms too. These flawed statistics are leading to false <br /> conclusions. <br /> Finally, consider that the housing crisis in Hawaii existed well before AirbnbNRBO or even <br /> the internet. House construction started lagging demand in the 1980s. It is now a decades-long <br /> problem. The majority of Hawaii County's housing issues are due to factors like rigid state <br /> Land Use Commission (LUC) zoning, lengthy and challenging development processes <br /> (rezoning, subdividing), lengthy permitting delays,the huge affordable housing department <br /> corruption scandal in Hawaii County, and the cost of a limited supply of buildable land with <br /> water, services, etc. Hawaii County could help affordable housing a lot more by more easily <br /> creating small residentially zoned parcels and removing barriers to new lot creation and <br /> housing development. The Planning Commission can be leaders of this housing change <br /> instead of supporting damaging measures against the largest economic sector in Hawaii <br /> County. <br /> With Aloha, <br /> Nathan Eggen <br /> Hawi, Kohala, Hawaii <br />