2018-09-06 Hearing Transcript - Council Initiated Bill 108, Draft 4

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REPLOGLE: So, next coming up will be when you don't renew your car registration, you will be denied your car? People are going to make investments in these things. JACKSON: Right, so REPLOGLE: Things happen. JACKSON: Right. REPLOGLE: I'm not trying to make excuses for them, but that's pretty harsh. It's almost as though the intent is to get rid of vacation rentals, nonconforming, and bring them into the Resort complex. JACKSON: That is generally the intent of the bill, is to direct new vacation rentals into the Resort and Commercial areas. REPLOGLE: Thank you. JACKSON: Recommendation 14. So, we're actually changing this recommendation a little bit. In your Background and Recommendation report, it has all of that language there, and we're actually recommending removing references to the residential occupancy. So, to ensure that short-term vacation rentals meet basic health and safety standards, consider adding requirements that the rental complies with Fire, Building, and sanitation codes. For example, to address the Building Code, a requirement in the registration section could be added that a short-term vacation rental may only be established within a dwelling for which the Building Division has issued and finalized building, electrical, and plumbing permits as a dwelling. And, you have in your package a memo from the Fire Department and the Building Division explaining some of the health and safety standards that they're suggesting. The bill should also consider the impact on staffing resources for the Fire and Building Departments since it's likely that inspectors from these departments will be called out more frequently to inspect the short- term vacation rentals for Code compliance. Currently, the bill only provides that enforcement account to the Planning Department, but does not give any additional resources to Fire or Building Departments to enforce this bill. And, I think this is the last one, recommendation 15 would be to create increased fines for violation of this bill. The Maui and Kauai County Planning Departments have informed the Director that because short-term vacation rentals are a very profitable business, the fines need to be high enough to discourage violation of the proposed law. Our current Zoning Code violation fines start at $100 per day plus a one-time civil fine of $500, and many of the short-term, the non -hosted, right, short-term vacation rentals in our County are offered at $100 a night and more, so if the fees aren't aligned to discourage the short-term vacation rental and the owner will still be able to generate an income even after paying fines, then they're not going to be willing to comply with the law. EXHIBIT C 18