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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0675.028 2022-2024 From: Sylvia Dahlby Sent: Monday,January 22, 2024 11:42 AM To: Council Testimony Subject: TAR Council Hearing - testimony in opposition to Bill 121, 122, 123 January 22, 2024 c :c). : Office of the County Clerk 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, HI 96720 t`) Re: TAR Council Hearing testimony in opposition to Bill 121, 122, 123 N. Aloha, Please vote NO on Bill 121, Bill 122, and Bill 123. I encourage the Council to reconsider the unintended consequences of these Bills. • Many small business owner-occupied AirBnB hosts like myself will have their livelihood threatened or be forced out of business. I'm a retiree, on a fixed income, and rely on the additional income from renting a room in my home. It is not suitable for long-term rental, and I cater mostly to inter-island kama'aina business travelers who visit Hilo primarily from Oahu and also the Kona side. • Unfair and punitive taxation on small, locally-owned businesses. I earn less than $io,000 annually from my AirBnB room rental, and pay about a month's rent to the GET/TAT/HCTAT. Between my business expenses and income tax, that eats up another month's rental income. I've already considered shutting down because of increased property taxes that will further cut into my net revenue; the proposed Bills guarantee I will be forced to close my AirBnB rental by June. • Lack of enforcement of existing laws and standards. Nearly all the proposed new rules around parking, noise and creating a nuisance in local neighborhoods are ALREADY covered by existing Hawaii County code. How about better enforcement of those rules?Why punish conscientious short-term renters like me instead of going after the bad actors? How will any additional regulations help? • The Bills are loaded with excessive and intrusive regulations that treat local family-owned businesses like big hotels owned by mainland or foreign corporations. Any additional cost of doing business for me results in increasing my rates. The proposed fees and fines are particularly onerous, this will surely price more folks out of paradise.With the cost of buying a home out of reach for so many locals, there would likely be more purchases from wealthy mainland investors and foreign buyers. • The proposed Bills do not address the underlying pressure on the local housing market. Comm. No. Ui.5.1? 1 Ref. To: P! rump- Ref.Date JAN 2 3 2024 I am acquainted with other AirBnB owner-occupied hosts on Hawaii Island. This includes a few that have shut down at the end of 2023 because of the property taxes. They have canceled their GET/TAT/HCTAT licenses, and like me, their rooms are not suitable for long-term rental accommodations. STVRs did NOT cause the housing shortage, and shutting them down will not solve the problem.Any real efforts to create more affordable housing should start by making it less time- consuming and costly to build new housing and reform of the Hawaii Land Use Commission to encourage more housing. "It's already so hard for anyone to afford to live here. Why make it harder?" VOTE NO. Mahalo, Sylvia Dahlby 16 Malanai Street Hilo, HI 97621 (808) 212-4182 SylvieDah173 P gmail.corn 2