2024-04-17 Bill 121 Derinda Thatcher

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Testimony TAR Leeward Planning commission meeting Thank you for your consideration of this testimony. ##11 A) I'd like to address the definition of Short Term Rental in Bill 121 Section 1. The current Bill 108 calls a short term rental as 30 days or less. 30 days or less, I agree is an appropriate definition of short term rental. I will add here,that the county has not policed or thoroughly assessed Bill 108 and yet they believe it warrants change before the impact has even been fully assessed of Bill 108. Many of the condos on the mauka side of Alii Dr., have rules in place prohibiting rentals of less than 30 days in their documents and it appropriately controls the complex in the manner it was intended, I believe Bill 108 if monitored and appropriately assessed will do the same as it stands, without the changes proposed by Bill 121. Changing the terminology to 180 days or less as a definition of short term, is erroneous and damaging to our economy, damaging to our workforce needs, eliminates temporary housing for many residents in emergency situations, and is unreasonable. How often is a vacation typically more than 30 days? True examples:A grandmother coming from the mainland to assist her daughter in the care of a new born grandchild, once the mother has to go back to work. She agrees to come for a minimum of 3 months possibly more. She does not want to impact the new little family by sleeping on their sofa, they need their own space to adjust to their new family situation. Grandma needs a rental for a few months, cannot afford to stay in a hotel. Does not want to stay in the hubbub of the bustling town. :Hawaiian Tel installing fiber optic DLS in our communities, their workers need a place for 3 months during this upgrade for our community. : contractor from Hilo needs temporary housing for himself and his workers on a Kona job for a few months. : a Physical Therapist moves to the island and needs temporary housing until he can purchase permanent housing. Once he purchases he will need to rent out a portion of his home to make ends meet and subsidize the high cost of living. This puts an undo burden on him, restricting his rights to rent and make a decent living. The majority of rentals longer than 30 days are not vacationers but often our own residents! B)The unreasonable fees, registrations, parking requirements,floor plan &drafting requirements if there is a change in definition to 180 days. It will place an undo financial burden on many property owners and infringe on their personal property rights. C) a Honolulu judge has already ruled that a 180 day is unjust and inappropriate to be considered short term and rules that 30 days is an appropriate amount of time to consider transient.