2017-02-01 Hearing Transcript - County Council Initiated Bill 256

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CLARKSON: —Well, I, I just have the feeling. Here's as business that's basically unregulated and now they, the Council is proposing to jump in and regulate one aspect of that business which is parking. My understanding is that there hasn't been a whole lot of, of trouble caused by short-term vacation rental parking, and I don't know. I just—why make, why make a change to the zoning ordinance, if that's what this is, the County Code, for basically what appears to be not much of a reason. And—and making the change just makes life harder for people who presumably haven't been causing much of a problem anyway. HENKEL: Yeah, I agree that, you know, I feel that small, diversified businesses should be nurtured more than restricted, but I don't know how to, to react to this yet, you know. JACKSON: That's, that's a fair assessment, and we did point out in the Background Report some of the parking requirements for other areas in the State. And, Maui County, Kauai County, and City & County of Honolulu all do allow short-term vacation rentals and their parking requirements are less restrictive than what the Council is proposing. HENKEL: Are there any more comments or questions of staff? Okay, now I see a County Council Member in the audience. Were you going to come up and comment, Susan? LEE LOY: I wasn't going to comment. Aloha HENKEL: —Thank you, thank you for being here. Would you raise your hand, please? LEE LOY: Yeah, sure. HENKEL: Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth in this matter before the Commission? LEE LOY: I do. HENKEL: Thank you. State your name and where you reside. LEE LOY: Sure. Aloha, my name is Sue Lee Loy. I live in Hilo. I actually am here because my predecessor initiated the Bill 256. So, in follow up to the work that he was doing previously, you know, I began to track it. Do I have any comments? You know, I think the process allowed for the Council to hear some concerns, initiate a process, and then send it down to the Department that has the skill sets and the resources to evaluate them. Having reviewed the Background Report, you know, like you folks, I trust the skill sets and the technical expertise coming from the Planning Department. What I also am hearing is Commissioner Ikeda does have some concerns about what the Council will do. I cannot speak for them, but if you, I think if you folks provide them clarity on what you folks support and what you folks don't support, that will be reflected in the record that goes up to the County Council, and then we can allow them to evaluate it based on their districts, and their districts' needs. EXHIBIT B 4