HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0675.470 2022-2024September 3, 2024
Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Development
Re: Bill 121, Draft 3
Aloha, Chair Kimball and all the County Council Members:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony. Today I am testifying as a private citizen
regarding Bill 121 and the recent amendments put forth by the Council. White I do not betievethat
regulating short term rentals will result in more housing availability or more affordable housing, I
thought the bill was moving in the right direction. I especially appreciated changing the
requirement for an "affidavit" to a declaration for health and safety in the registration process.
However, the bill is now 30 pages long which is much too tong for most people to read, digest and
understand exactly how it will affect them. The minutiae that has been added along with the
amendments is imposing unnecessary restrictions on your constituents' lives. For example, now
including home trades if they are not a one-to-one transaction because the owners might get some
points from a trade! Would you regulate people for paying for something if they got points on their
credit card? What next? The requirement that a TAR on an adjoining property be 200' from the main
dwelling makes no sense. What difference would that make? It seems like every time you include
something new that there is a restriction to it that complicates the matter.
In spite of all the arguments and public testimony, including the Planning Director's opinion, on
keeping TARs at 30 days vs 180, the Council has pushed forward with 180 days or less. Also, in
spite of the testimony to delay passage of this bill until after the Economic Impact Study, the
Council is pushing forward.
Enforcement of this bill is going to be a nightmare. Most likely full enforcement will take years if
indeed it can be fully enforced at all. The purpose of this bill is to get everyone who is renting short
term to register but there is so much to understand and comply with that many will just keep
operating without registering. Also, the fees to register and renew will most likely be a burden to
those who are renting just to make ends meet. This bill is becoming a monstrosity that will be little
understood or adhered to. Please listen to your constituents.
Respectfully submitted,
'Toy rmtoyv
Joy Dillon
Hilo Resident
808-640-2544