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1. Bill 147 does not adequately distinguish absentee ownership from local, hosted <br /> accommodations. <br /> The problem of absentee ownership is real.There are already ways for people who do not <br /> live here year-round to make a property appear"hosted"on paper.An owner may have a <br /> relative, representative, caretaker, or renter associated with the property,while the actual <br /> owner is not genuinely residing there or participating in the community. If preventing <br /> absentee ownership is central to the purpose of Bill 147,then the bill should clearly <br /> explain how those situations will be verified and enforced. <br /> 2. If the purpose is tax collection and accountability,the policy should be narrowly <br /> tailored to that purpose. <br /> Civil Beat reported that one driving force behind Bill 147 is Hawaii County's concern that it <br /> may be missing significant tax revenue from vacation rentals.According to the article, a <br /> county economic impact study found that approximately$12 million in Transient <br /> Accommodations Tax and $1.6 million in General Excise Tax remains unreported and <br /> uncollected, and that registration requirements could help the County collect what it is <br /> owed. <br /> If tax collection and accountability are the true concerns,then I support the County <br /> focusing directly on those issues. However, my experience in the permitting process has <br /> raised serious concerns about whether the County's stated goals and its actual <br /> administrative requirements are aligned. <br /> 3.Zoning should not become a blanket reason to restrict local families from using <br /> existing space in their own homes. <br /> I hope the Council will answer this question clearly: <br /> Why should zoning alone determine whether a local family may responsibly use existing <br /> space within the home they already own? <br /> If a family has worked for decades to purchase a home in one of the most expensive <br /> housing markets in the nation, and through careful planning or changing family <br /> circumstances has an extra room, an `ohana, or existing living space available,why should <br /> the County prohibit that family from welcoming guests simply because of the zoning <br /> designation attached to the property? <br />