2024-05-18 Bill 121 Anonmynous - Laserfiche WebLink

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To Chairperson Barbara Defranco, May 18, 2024 Leeward Planning Commission, First off, I want to start with thanking you all for your service to us and our community. I'm writing this on behalf of my family, our employees and local business we support, in opposition of several portions of Bill 121. 1 moved to the island 20 years ago as an African American woman because I fell in love with the island and the reputation of the islands being more welcoming to those of mixed race. Our 5 children were born and raised on the island. My father-in-law, my husband and his brothers were high school football coaches and we were very involved in our community. We have both long term rentals and one short term rental and several amazing local people who work with us to keep them in operation. During COVID, like many other people, my husband lost his job in the hospitality industry due to heavy restrictions placed on the island. Our boys, high school football players, were also just short of being forced to get the "MBNA jab" (despite health conditions that prevent us from doing so) in order to play the sport they loved. We had to make a hard decision, and despite our plan to never leave the island, our home, friends and family...we were forced to move to the mainland with just one week notice. We knew we would do everything to keep our forever home, the one we worked so hard for, that we all put in sweat equity to remodel. Financially it didn't make sense for us to rent it long term, however, we didn't want to sell it. That is when we decided to short term rent it. Our tenants who live on property next door, a local family who have lived there since we purchased it, agreed to be our on site hosts and property managers. They were able to stay in their home at an affordable price and we were able to supplement their income in a declining economy. We have put in a lot of work to create a nice place for visitors to stay. We have had zero issues with guest and no complaints. We do not allow large gatherings and ensure we properly vet who will be staying in our home. We live in an agricultural zone and chose this when we purchased it to have sustainability. Sustainability with farming, chickens, and also the space to potentially rent in the future. We employ 9 people to help support their families at this property, as well as providing affordable long term housing for 12 people. We pay all GE, TA, HCTAT, non homeowner exclusion nor cap property taxes, and income taxes...for a total of 38% to the County and State. Our insurance has increased significantly to cover the cost of short term rentals and kept it with a local insurance company. We are making just enough to cover the bills and help us provide a living for our family and supplement several others on island. We have gone through the process to make our home ADA compliant and accessible. We, like other hosts, direct many of our guests to several local restaurants and businesses on the island. We strongly encourage our guests to participate in several agritourism activities that support the recent state initiative to promote this. Being able to have the freedom to short term rent our home has allowed us to temporarily provide education to our kids while allowing them to play the sport they have played since they were children. It has allowed my husband to secure a job so he can provide for our large family, and keep the cost of living affordable. Our long term plan was to move back to our home, on the Big Island, once our older children are off to college and we are back on our feet. According to the most recent bill, we would be grandfathered in, however are concerned with the County's ability to not renew under extremely vague circumstances referenced in the bill (i.e. "pertinent violation of the law"). We are also concerned with all the additional costly and timely permitting and registration requirements. The other issue with under the current bill, we cannot have the option to move back and live in our guest house while continuing to short term rent the other on the same property. Due to all the aforementioned reasons, if this bill passes as is, we feel it would be best to sell the property. We will not long term rent it due to the expenses versus rental income and lax landlord rental protections. We would no longer be paying the taxes to the County and State. We would list it, more than likely it will sell for cash to someone on the mainland or Asia, thus further increasing the cost of housing (and requirement for cash offers in the state). We would