2024-04-02 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Penny Lee Testimony

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3. About 46%of the Big Island is state land use "AG" and currently only about 2.2% "Urban". The TAR bill allows unlimited vacation rentals in resort and commercial zoning and "Project Districts". On the rest of the island, nobody can operate a vacation rental unless they receive a NUC(Nonconforming Use Certificate). Nonconforming vacation rentals also have to renew this NUC every year with many requirements,fees and threat of greater than $10,000 fines wielded at the discretion of the Planning Department. No other NUC needs to be renewed annually. Heather Kimball, during the introduction of Bill 121 at the county council, repeatedly stressed that the NUC is NOT A PERMIT, and the TAR process just a "registration".The sworn affidavit requirement is a trap for many. Now with state bills HB1838 or SB2919 in the legislature that very nonconforming "grandfathered" status becomes worthless.The bills give the counties the power to eliminate nonconforming uses at any time, specifically just for vacation rentals only. Why would anybody sign up for a NUC under the TAR bill under these circumstances? For our families our vacation rentals are usually our biggest investment. How can we count on our vacation rental income when it can be taken away from us at any time? Hawaii County offers no assurance for continued operation of legal vacation rentals in the future. By the way-we are relying on the grandfathering clause for many things, like our non-conforming single-family homes on AG land and the non-conforming subdivisions with small lots on AG land,for example. Grandfathering is central to protecting property rights. It's a slippery slope if the county were now to selectively remove the grandfathering of vacation rentals.The state legislature has said that they would leave the evaluation of legalities to the County,this could potentially be a large legal liability for the County. 4.The TAR bill has elaborate rules about where the owner/host of a hosted vacation rental can stay and not stay on their property. On AG land there are further rules and restrictions. One of the results/goals of all this is to try to ensure that hosted vacation rentals can not offer a legal cooking facility to their guests. Vacation rentals usually include cooking facilities, that's what our guests (often families)expect. Considering the many rural and remote areas on the Big Island, this does not make sense to leave guests stranded to eat crackers and sandwiches? Guests also choose vacation rentals for privacy. Forcing the owner to be "hovering" around on the same building site is intrusive and the opposite of what guests want.These rules are strangling the operation of vacation rentals and making them undesirable (on purpose). 5. Small scale transient accommodations like small business vacation rentals and Bed and Breakfast are much more appropriate for the Big Island's rural character. Several of the Community Development Plans explicitly mention this. They offer economic input for otherwise underserved and lower-income areas. Many communities on the island don't want any Resort development in their areas. If the County is serious about supporting small scale farming on this island for food sustainability, vacation rentals are a great way to make small farms financially viable. Interestingly the draft General Plan doesn't mention TARS, STVR or vacation rentals at all (it mentions vacation rentals/STVR only ONCE). It mentions the word "Resort" 38 times. So this is Hawaii County's plan for the future (2045)? We often hear "We want vacation rentals only in resort zones" and "We want the champagne tourist"they are all slogans that lead to one thing: a Monopoly for Corporate Hotels and Resorts. Somebody needs to work for achieving a balance and reining in the Monopoly of the resort industry. Under the guise of "Destination Management"the Hotel industry now seems to want to control every beach, reef and scenic point on the island. With the TAR bill and various related state bills they are pushing local residents out of their vacation rentals all across the island, while securing and expanding a Monopoly for the Resorts towards owning 100%of the tourist accommodation market. Leaving little to nothing for the local residents.