HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0675.326 2022-2024From: Dan and Shannon Fisher
Sent: Saturday, July 6, 2024 6:17 PM )
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Oppose Bill 121, 122, 123 r--'
Members of the Hawaii County Council,
am writing to urge the council to oppose bills 121, 122 and 123 for the following reasons; '.
1. Residents who own and operate short term rentals contribute significantly to the tax base i6j,�heir� '
areas through the collection of GE and TA taxes.
2. Residents who operate short term rentals employ locals in their areas and help sustain the
communities.
3. By offering short term rentals especially in rural areas, other businesses like mom and pop stores and
restaurants in the areas also benefit from the effects of tourism because the visitors have access to food
and shopping in the remote areas they choose to stay in.
4. Residents who operate short term rentals for transient visitors have mostly well kept yards and
beautify the neighborhood. Where I live in Volcano we follow the long range plan that includes a rural and
naturally beautiful landscape.
5. Residents who invest/design their homes specifically to rent spaces for short term rentals are not
specifically designed to house month to month or long term renters. For example, if a home were
modeled specifically to rent 3 rooms for transient visitors with private entrances to each unit and their
own private bathrooms this design is unique and creates privacy for each unit it could not be rented to a
family. If such a property was not able to continue to rent to visitors it would not be able to recoup
earnings by renting long term to families or even single people, no full kitchen or common areas.
6. A lot of families who rent short term space are doing so to create a business and earn money to pay
the mortgage and maybe have an opportunity to pass the business on to their children.
7. Communities are made stronger by home sales, people buying their own home, not renting long term.
By putting short term rentals out of business it does not improve the economy.
8. During the 2018 eruptions there were a lot of vacation rental homes that went out of business. Some
were destroyed by the lava in fact the entire Kapoho community, mostly all short term rentals. Many
other short term rental businesses did not survive the loss of tourism/visitors at that time. These homes
were sold, not turned into long term rentals. After that devastation all of our property taxes went up and
an additional County TA tax was implemented. I believe this increase was a direct result of the county
missing out on this short term rental income.
9. My question to the counsel is, How do you see a benefit by
continuing to entertain puttingvalid short term rentals out of business? They will surely have to raise
taxes for others to get the money they will miss.
Dan and Shannon Fisher
Corn'"' N
Ref. To:
Ref. Dane — 8 - �