Laserfiche WebLink
Children leave for college or board at Kamehameha Schools. Parents and in-laws move in <br /> and out. Family members may be temporarily off-island. Household needs change over <br /> time. Homes naturally have periods where existing space is temporarily available. <br /> When that space already exists, no new structures are being built, no demonstrable harm <br /> is occurring, it is not clear what public purpose is served by restricting a family's ability to <br /> responsibly use that space. <br /> For many working families,the ability to responsibly use an extra room, `ohana, or existing <br /> space in their own home can make the difference between remaining in Hawaii and being <br /> forced to consider leaving. <br /> My husband and I purchased our three-acre property with the intention of preserving it for <br /> future generations. My oldest child is 21, my second is 16, and very soon they will be <br /> working adults in this community,facing the same housing challenges that so many local <br /> families already face today. Our hope has always been that, after college our children will <br /> have a place here to return to and build their lives and gather our family together on this <br /> land we love. Hosting guests in the short-term until they are all career established adults <br /> gives us supplemental income that helps us afford to keep this property in our family. <br /> 6.The occupancy and public health arguments appear inconsistent and may alarm <br /> local multigenerational households. <br /> I have concerns about the way occupancy limits and public health concerns are being <br /> framed in Bill 147. <br /> For example, if the County is now suggesting that more than two people per bedroom <br /> creates a public health or infrastructure concern,then residents deserve a clear <br /> explanation: how is that health and safety concern different in a vacation rentals than it is <br /> in a long-term rental or owner-occupied home with the same number of occupants?There <br /> are entire neighborhoods with clearly more than six people living in a three bedroom home. <br /> Are they also in jeopardy of being cited or fined? <br /> If the County is not enforcing those same standards in long-term rentals or owner- <br /> occupied homes,then it raises a serious question about fairness and consistency. It <br /> also creates understandable concern among local families: is the County opening the <br /> door to regulating how many people can live in a family home?That is a dangerous <br /> precedent, and it should be addressed directly. <br />