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From: david anderson <br /> To: LPCtestimonv <br /> Subject: Testimony about Short Term Rental bill. <br /> Date: Monday,April 15,2024 3:24:32 PM <br /> Hi, <br /> I am what I believe many of you see as a villain, a mainland homeowner who legally vacation <br /> rents his home out. I own a home on the water on the Big Island. We have a business on the <br /> mainland and can only live part time here in Hawaii. Maybe It would be better if I was like my <br /> neighbor to the left of us, he does not rent his home to vacationers. He just visits his Hawaiian <br /> home when he can, he also lives on the mainland,but he can afford his home without renting it <br /> out. We cannot. <br /> Or maybe it would be better to be like my neighbor to the right, she is a native Hawaiian who <br /> owns a three-unit apartment. She has had the place up for sale for three years, leaving two <br /> apartments vacant. All three were vacant for two years, easier to sell vacant I guess,till the <br /> homeless started squatting in her yard and peeing in our back yard. And she decided to have a <br /> renter to keep them away. <br /> I cleared drains for a living for 13 years till I could afford to buy a boat that I lived on while I <br /> used it for charters and my wife and I built up our whale watching business in California from <br /> scratch. My wife and I eventually saved up and bought a dream home in Hawaii. But the vibe <br /> we get from the government and some locals now is go home. Choke Howlies, is a bumper <br /> sticker I have seen. "I know it means too many Howlies..." But the real meaning is felt. <br /> Aloha spirit is in embers. I hope it will come back. Some still have it,thank God. <br /> There seems to be an unproven belief that getting rid of the Vacation rentals will help solve <br /> the affordable housing shortage, Harvard recently did a study, one of the few available; it <br /> proved this does not work. I suggest everyone read it before getting out the pitchforks and <br /> torches and going after vacation rental owner's legal rights. See the link below: <br /> What Does Banning Short-Term Rentals Really Accomplish? <br /> hAps://hbr.org/2024/02/what-does-banning-short-term-rentals-really-accomplish <br /> Another unproven belief, I heard a Hawaiian politician recently say,that homes in Hawaii <br /> went up in price over$500,000 during the pandemic, and he blamed Vacation Rentals. They <br /> are banned where we live in California and homes went up even more than that here. Maybe <br /> cancer is caused by the evil Vacation rentals too. The Governor uses expletives to describe <br /> them. They have become a scapegoat for every problem. <br /> We donated a lot of money to help victims of the fire in Maui, I wept when I heard the news, <br /> however... attempting to force people to rent month to month to help these poor victims is <br /> fascist and un-American. Encourage,yes. I realize Hawaii County is not doing this; however <br /> you still want to take away the right's we homeowners have to rent our homes out. <br /> No, if we leave and sell our place and stop coming to Hawaii because you won't let us rent our <br /> home short term any more, even in the hotel zone where we are located, it will not help <br /> anyone needing a rental home. The flood insurance alone on our house is more than anyone <br /> would want to pay, for affordable rent. ... some rich person who can afford to own it,without <br />