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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-18 POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BI [ 1 7II1RE ' TED T` PLCd-2024-000003 THE COUNTY COUNCIL HAS REFERRED BILL 121 TO THE PLANNING DIRECTOR AND WINDWARD AND LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSIONS FOR COMMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS The bill adds new sections to the Zoning Code and amends other sections related to Transient Accommodation Rentals(TARs) and Hosting Platforms. The purpose of this bill is to manage the impacts of TARs by: 1. Repealing the definition of "short term vacation rentals"; 2. Establishes new definitions for transient accommodations; 3. Amends the rental period from thirty consecutive days or less to 180 consecutive days or less; 4. Identifies three types of TARs; 5. Defines where these uses will be allowed; 6. Provides an avenue for existing TARs to apply for a nonconforming use certificate (NUC) that would allow them to continue to operate in a non-permitted district; Changes parking requirements to a schedule set by the planning department rather than a formula; 8. Clarifies applicable dates for the tax amnesty; 9. Creates standards to regulate hosting platforms; and 10 Provides new enforcement regulations for TARs. 1 ���NW VJ �/V 1 I G'IiIVJ��AW lM/I��/►�W����'1,�1M/h/. `Bill 121 defines `transient accommodations' as the "furnishing of a room, apartment, suite, single family dwelling, or the like to a transient for less than one hundred eighty consecutive days for each letting in a hotel, apartment hotel, motel, or condominium or unit as defined in chapter 514B, cooperative apartment, dwelling unit, or rooming house that provides living quarters, sleeping, or housekeeping accommodations, or other place in which lodgings are regularly furnished to transients." The definition goes on to offer examples of what transient accommodations exclude, which include, hotels, motels, inns; apartment hotels; boarding facilities; lodges; and timeshares." Owner-hosted is Un-hosted is defined as THREE TYPES OF TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS defined as ". . .any Operator-hosted is ". . .any transient transient defined as ". . .any accommodation rental accommodation transient that is not the principal rental hosted by a accommodation home of the property person who uses the rental hosted by an owner and without an building site as their operator". operator located on the principal home"; building site during rental operations". Owner-hosted TAR may be permitted in any zoning district as long as the TAR is subordinate and clearly and customarily incidental to its use as the principal home of the owner. Owner-hosted TAR shall be located in the single-family dwelling, inclusive of a detached bedroom or guesthouse and shall not be permitted in an additional farm dwelling, second dwelling or `ohana dwelling. The owner of an Owner-hosted TAR shall live in the single-family dwelling and not live in a guesthouse or detached bedroom. WHERE ARE THEY PERMITTED? If an Owner-hosted TAR has been in regular use within an `ohana dwelling on or before January 1, 2024 then the TAR may register the `ohana dwelling as a nonconforming use by securing an NUC from the Planning Director. Bill 121 identifies the following zoning districts and areas where existing and new Operator-hosted TARs can operate as a permitted use: m,� POA& WHERE ARE THEY PERMITTED? • V, CG, CN, CV and CDH zoning district; • Residential districts, situated in general plan resort and resort node areas, including areas designated as open in the general plan which adjoin the resort or resort node areas along the shoreline and areas within a project d istrict; and • Multiple-Family Residential zoning district, for multiple family dwellings within a condominium property regime as defined and governed by Chapter 514A or 5146, Hawaii Revised Statutes, including within a project district. Outside of these areas, Operator-hosted TARs that existed prior to January 1, 2024, may continue to operate if the Planning Director issues an NUC. New Operator-hosted TARs outside of the permitted zones will not be permitted. Bill 121 identifies the following zoning districts and areas where existing and new Un-Hosted TARs can operate as a permitted use: • V, CG, CN, CV, CDH zoning district; • Residential districts, situated in general plan resort and resort node areas, including areas designated as open in the general plan which adjoin the resort or resort node areas along the shoreline and areas within a project district; and m,� POA& WHERE ARE THEY PERMITTED? • Multiple-Family Residential zoning district, for multiple family dwellings within a condominium property regime as defined and governed by Chapter 514A or 5146, Hawaii Revised Statutes, including within a project district. Un-hosted TARs within zoning districts that are not listed above, may only operate with an existing NUC. No new NUCs willbe issued I for Un-hosted TARs. HOW ARE EXISTING TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATION RENTALS PERMITTED? Existing TARs located within permitted zoning districts as well as outside of a permitted zoning district will have until January 30, 2025 to submit a registration application to the Planning Department. Existing TARs will be able to operate until their application is either approved or denied by the Department. Existing registered Un-hosted TARs will not be required to re-register, however they will be required to renew their registration annually. New TARs in permitted zoning districts are required to register and pay the initial registration fee with the Director prior to use of such rental. REGISTRATION PROCESS Bill 121 requires the following fees to register and operate a TAR: Owner-hosted TARs will require an initial registration fee of $500 and an annual registration renewal fee of $100. In addition, an Owner-hosted NUC requires an initial filing fee of $250 and an annual renewal fee of $250. Operator-hosted TARs will require an initial registration fee of $750 and an annual registration renewal fee of $150. In addition, an Operator-hosted NUC requires an initial filing fee of $375 and I an annual renewal fee of $375. Un-hosted TARs will require an initial registration fee of $1,000 and an annual registration renewal fee of $250. In addition, an Un-hosted NUC requires an initial filing fee of $500 and an annual renewal fee of $500. REGISTRATION PROCESS (CONT, The applicant will also need to submit the following information to register a TAR: • A registration form that includes the name and contact information for the property owner or operator if different from the owner; • A site plan showing the location of all structures on site and the requisite parking; • A floor plan showing the location of the rooms for rent; • A notarized affidavit in the format determined by the Director that the TAR meets health, safety and code requirements; • A maximum renter limit calculation; • Verification that State of Hawaii general excise tax are in effect; and • Verification of the County of Hawaii real property tax clearance certificate. • If applicable, the owner will be required to submit a copy of their valid real estate broker's license or real estate salesperson's license. ANNUAL RENEWAL PROCESS • All TARs, including NUCs, will be required to renew their registration annually with the Planning Department on the dates prescribed by the Director. • The Director may deny a renewal for any of the following reasons: 1. The applicant has violated applicable laws; 2. The affidavit affirming that the TAR meets all health, safety and code requirements is found to be inaccurate; 3. The owner is delinquent in payment of County property taxes, transient accommodation taxes, fees, fines, or penalties assessed in relation to the TAR; 4 Evidence of non-responsive management, such as issuance of a notice of violation, police reports, or verified complaints of noise or other disturbances relating to the TAR operations; 5. The renewal request and renewal fee were not received withing ninety days of the expiration date indicated on the certificate; and �. A violation of standards set forth in the proposed section 25-4-16.17 of the Hawaii County Code has occurred. ANNUAL RENEWAL PROCESS (CONT, If a renewal is submitted within ninety (90) days after the due date, a late renewal fee of $100 shall be assessed. However, NUC renewals that are overdue by more than ninety (90) days will not be accepted and will therefore render the NUC ineligible for further renewal. In addition, the Director may deny an NUC renewal if the use has been abandoned for any reason for a continuous period of twelve calendar months. The Director must provide the decision to deny a renewal in writing to the property owner and the owner may appeal the decision to the County Board of Appeals within 30 days of receipt of the decision. Any TAR that is not registered within the required deadlines is considered unpermitted and subject to penalties, until the TAR becomes properly registered and compliant with the requirements of the bill. I � I q.11 ,i] NHill 9 CIA I [I I 9.11 Pill � M I I q.11 I [I] � Il I Bill 121 requires the following standards for all TARs: • Responsive Management Standard. • Hosted rentals, (including, Owner-hosted and Operator-hosted TARs), shall have a host physically reside on the building site of a TAR during the TAR operations and shall be reachable at the request of renters, neighbors and County agencies within 1 hour of the request. • Un-hosted TARs shall have a reachable person that shall be available via telephone to a request for his/her presence within 1 hour of receiving the request and shall be physically present at the TAR within 3 hours of receiving a call from a renter, neighbor, or County agency. • Posted Information Standard. • Registrations and NUC numbers, shall be displayed in a conspicuous place on the premises that is readily visible to an inspector. • For numerous NUCs that are associated with a single address, certificates may be visible in a common area. ► I ► ' I I ' I ' ' ► I I ' ► I II ► • Good Neighbor Policy Standard. • The renter limit that shall not exceed the renter limit established at the initial registration. • Gathering sizes shall be limited to two times the overnight limit with a requirement that gathering sizes must use the available off-street parking. • Breakfast meals may be offered to registered guests in hosted TARs provided that the owner secure applicable permits from the State Department of Health. • Special events such as weddings, wedding receptions, concerts or events, are prohibited unless allowed by a special permit or use permit. • Quiet hours shall be from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. • Off-street parking shall meet the requirements set forth in section 25-4-51 and all guests vehicles shall be parked in the designated on-site parking areas. Advertising and Signage Standards. • All print and internet advertising shall include the TARs registration number and, if applicable, NUC registration numbers. • Advertising of unpermitted uses, such as weddings, wedding receptions, concerts, or events is prohibited unless there is a special permit or use permit issued for these uses. • Professional services shall only be secured by registered guests, and not offered through the owner or operator. • All advertisements for the TAR shall comply with the Sign Code and County Streets Code. • Signage displaying the street address of the TAR and the registration number shall be visible from the main roadway used to access the property. COMPLAINTS Bill 121 requires the Director to receive and track complaints for all TARs. The Director shall also provide information about TAR rules, policies and procedures to property owners, managers, neighbors, and the general public. The Director is also responsible for implementing the provisions of the bill as well as maintaining a public list of all TARs that have registered or received an NUC and include any violations associated with the property. ENFORCEMENTS Bill 121 allows zoning inspectors to rely on any advertisement offering the property as a TAR. Bill 121 requires that the Department issue a notice of violation in writing within 10 days of the Director's determination that the violation has occurred. Should a violation occur, Bill 121 requires that the Director impose fines located in the TAR fee and fine schedule and can further assess fines that are two times the highest daily rate at which the TAR has been advertised. Bill 121 provides additional provisions for TARs that have received three or more enforcement actions within a twelve-month period, which will then allow the Director to either suspend their TAR registration and, if applicable, NUC for a period of two years, or refuse to renew a certificate or registration if the applicant has not addressed an enforcement violation. Bill 121 also proposes to establish a TAR enforcement account administered by the Director, for the purpose of enforcing this law. The account will be funded by fees collected for registration of TARs, fees collected for annual renewal of TARs and NUCs and fines collected from enforcement actions. HOSTING PLATFORMS • Bill 121 requires registration of all hosting platforms (e.g. Air BnB, VRBO, etc.). Registration of hosting platforms includes submitting a registration form to the Department that shall include written consent from all owners or operators of TARs. The hosting platform may cancel its registration by written notice and the Director may cancel a hosting platforms registration for violations of this Code. All hosting platforms registered with the Department shall submit monthly reports to the Director and shall include: 1. The name of the person responsible for each listing; 2. The physical address and tax map key number of each listing; 3. The transient accommodation tax identification number; 4. The length of stay for each listing; and the fee charged for each stay. Should a violation occur, Bill 121 requires the Planning Director to fine hosting platforms with civil fines of not less than $1,000 and not more than $10,000 for each day that the violation has occurred. 11� � r I PLANNINP% r fil '. CTOR S pfaMMtMAkt"* & The Planning Director recommends that the Planning Commissions send a favorable recommendation of Bill No. 121 to the County Council with the following suggested revisions: RECOMMENDATION Under Section 2. Amend the definition of transient to state: "Transient" or "transients" means any visitor or person who rents or uses lodging or dwelling unit, portion thereof, for [,less thaft, hundred eighty d ] thirty consecutive days or less and whose permanent address for legal purposes is not the rtransient accommodation rental. Reason: The Planning Department has already established a set of operational standards and regulations in place for short-term vacation rentals that are in operation for thirty consecutive days or less. If there is going to be an amendment to the time period in which a TAR can be rented, then a new class of nonconforming use certificates will need to be taken into consideration for short-term rentals that operate between 31 and 179 days. RECOMMENDATION Delete the term "second dwelling" in Section 25-4-16.1(a)(2) and Section 25-4-16.2(b)(2) and replace the term with "additional dwelling unit" Reason: The term "second dwelling" is not defined within the body of the bill, so therefore the Director is proposing to remove the term "second dwelling" and to add "additional dwelling unit" which can be used to describe the various types of dwellings in which a transient accommodation rental shall not be permitted in. RECOMMENDATION Amend Section 25-4-16.1(b)(1) as follows: (1) If the transient accommodation rental has been in regular use in an ohana dwelling or additional dwelling unit (excluding an additional farm dwelling unit) on the same building site, the owner shall have the burden of proof in establishing that the ohana dwelling or additional dwelling unit (excluding an additional farm dwelling unit) was in use as a transient accommodation rental on or before January 1, 2024, and may register by obtaining a nonconforming use certificate pursuant to this section. Reason: In an effort to address the various types of dwellings that may be located on a building site, the Director recommends adding "additional dwelling unit" which are currently in use as a TAR to be issued a NUC so long as the structure can show that it has been in use as a TAR before January 1, 2024. TARs are not permitted in additional farm dwelling units. RECOMMENDATION Section 25-4-16.1(b) and Section 25-4-16.2(c) should identify existing bed and breakfast establishments that may become nonconforming uses should Bill 122 be adopted. Therefore, under the two sections listed above, the following should be added: "Any bed and breakfast establishment which received approval prior to [effective date of Bill 121] through issuance of a use permit or special permit, is considered a legal use of the affected parcel as a hosted transient accommodation rental and may continue to operate provided the conditions of approval of the use permit or special permit have been met and the good neighbor standards and advertising and signage standards in section 25-4-16.17 (Transient accommodation rental operation standards) are met." Reason: This provision will help the Planning Department to address existing bed and breakfast establishments that have received prior permits to operate. RECOMMENDATION Change Section 25-4-16.5(1) as follows: (1) The transient accommodation rental must have off-street parking as required by the department's transient accommodation rental parking schedule set forth in section 25-4-51 or applicable parking standards in this chapter; Reason: This provision will ensure that the number of parking should correspond to the number of dedicated stalls for a dwelling and are consistent with Section 25-4-51 of the Zoning Code. RECOMMENDATION Amend Section 25-4-16.7(x)(6) as follows: (6) An [neterized affidavit] declaration in a format determined by the director[, ,] that the transient accommodation rental meets health, safety, and code requirements. Reason: The Planning Director recommends replacing the requirement for a notarized affidavit with a declaration. A declaration is commonly used to submit factual evidence and will be sufficient to assert the authenticity of the information provided by an applicant that the TAR meets all health, safety and code requirements. This will assist applicants and allow for a more streamlined registration process. RECOMMENDATION Amend Section 25-4-16.7(a)(7) and Section 25-4-16.17(2)(A) to add that the renter limit "...shall be limited to no more than 2 adults per bedroom and an additional two adults for the transient accommodation rental unit as a whole, unless authorized by the Director." Reason: This calculation will help the Planning Director determine the maximum renter capacity based on number of permitted bedrooms within a dwelling. Such provisions will ensure that the safety standards are in place for transient accommodation rentals. For example, the renter limit for a 4-bedroom TAR would be 10 guests. RECOMMENDATION Under Section 25-4-16.13(a), consider adding a requirement that the notification be sent to all surrounding property owners once the transient accommodation rental registration number has been issued and remove the requirement to inform neighbors on instructions on how to submit complaints to the planning department. Reason: Notice to surrounding property owners for administrative applications versus planning commission applications are different in that a planning commission notification allows for a neighbor to file a Petition for a Contested Case Hearing whereas an administrative application notification is mainly informational. Therefore, to avoid confusion, the proposed provision requires the applicant to submit a notification once the transient accommodation rental number has been issued and a reachable person has been established on site. RECOMMENDATION Under Section 25-4-16.17(2)(C), consider adding the following formula to determine how to calculate a gathering size, "The total gathering size shall not exceed double the overall renter limit and shall only use [t4e] off-street parking or legal on-street parking [ tl�Tsment aeeengvv edatmen rental]." Reason: The amendment clarifies that the overall gathering size limit and would provide the opportunity for those parking on the street as long as it is legally permitted within that area. RECOMMENDATION Recommend amending Section 25-4-16.17(3)(D) to remove the transient accommodation number from the roadway signage requirement. Reason: The Planning Department has received complaints of transients traveling down the wrong driveway and/or roadway when trying to find their TAR. In addition, Planning Department staff have also received complaints that by posting transient numbers, there has been an increase in theft in the dwellings that are easily viewed as unoccupied. This provision clarifies that just the street address of the transient accommodation rental will need to be visible from the main roadway for safety measures and the transient accommodation rental registration number should not be required along the roadway. RECOMMENDATION Under Section 25-4-17.4(a), consider removing the requirement that a notice of violation be sent in writing within ten days of the occurrence of a violation and replace it with the provision that the notice be sent within ten days of the Director's determination that a violation has been committed. Reason: Over the past few years there has been an increase in the submittal of complaints and the assigned inspectors have needed additional time to compile information forjust one complaint. It is the Department's full intention to complete these reviews as expeditiously as possible, but this added time will bring relief during the times of increased complaint submittals and will allow for additional time to review complicated complaints. The Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions are required to take action on Bill 121 as described in Section 25-2-43(b) of the zoning code. Bill 121 was transmitted by the County Council to the Department on January 30, 2024, which means the commissions are required to transmit their recommendations to the council by May 29, 2024. The commissions may recommend approval of all, some, or none of the Director's suggested recommendations. The commissions may also recommend their own revisions to the bill. Once Bill 121 alongside Bill 122 and 123 is heard before the Windward and Leeward 1 Planning Commission, the recommendations will be sent back to the County Council's Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Development, where the bills will then be forwarded with a recommendation to Council. At Council, the bills will need to go through the 1st and 2nd (Final) Reading in order to be passed as an ordinance.