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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0675.612 2022-2024 p/ PcPLuO bill 12l Comm.GZ5 expedia rou ,� J p =' ?rt November 6,2024 _ i , Councilmember Ashley L. Kierkiewicz County of Hawai'i Hawai'i County Building 25 Aupuni Street a ' Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 Re: Bill 121, Draft 4 Dear Chair Ashley L. Kierkiewicz,Vice Chair Dr. Holeka Goro Inaba, and members of the Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Development, On behalf of Expedia Group,a family of brands that includes Expedia.com, Hotels.com,and short-term rental leader Vrbo,I am writing to share comments on Bill 121,Draft 4 and our support of Section 7 of the bill,pertaining to hosting platforms,as currently drafted. If passed,we look forward to crafting a reasonable compliance plan that fulfills our obligations under this ordinance. Expedia Group welcomes balanced regulation and management of short-term rentals and has worked with municipalities around the world to craft,enact, and enforce laws to regulate vacation rentals. Draft 4 Bill 121, Draft 4 will allow county officials to review the tax map key(TMK) number and transient accommodation tax(TAT) ID number associated with transient accommodation rentals(TARs)so county staff can compare listing information to the county's data for registered TARs. Expedia Group shares similar reporting with other counties in Hawaii,which has helped counties like Kaua'i to drive a high rate of compliance with its short-term rental laws.The legislation would also set a consistent standard across the industry by passing a law applying to all hosting platforms. We support maintaining the current definition of"transient"as referring to occupancy of thirty consecutive days or less,and we greatly appreciate the amendments included in Drafts 3 and 4 of Bill 121 that would allow existing,30+day,unhosted rentals to obtain a nonconforming use certificate (NUC).Thank you for addressing the conflict that would have been created for 30-179 day, unhosted rentals and providing an opportunity for these properties to stay in compliance. We recommend changing the exemptions in the definition of"transient"in Chapter 25-1-5 to match the exemptions for transient accommodations tax in the Hawai'i Revised Statutes in Chapter 237D-3, which rely on the characteristics of a structure rather than a person, e.g., exempting a student dormitory rather than lodging occupied by a student. Under the current draft,any full-time students, military personnel,or temporary health-care employees would not be subject to transient accommodations regulations, even if the stay was personal and recreational.These exemptions offer limited benefit as there is no way for most booking services and hosting platforms to confirm the 0 1111 Expedia Group Way West I Seattle,WA,98119 I USA I T+1 206 481 72001 . Comm. No. W IL expediagroup.com Ref. To: Ref. Date NOV - 8 2024 identity of a traveler to show that they qualify for exemptions,weakening the efficacy of the ordinance overall. Amendment via Communication 675.591 We recommend changing the proposed amendments regarding nonconforming use certificates(NUCs) to clarify that existing NUCs issued after the passage of Ordinance 2018-114 can be retained. Specifically,we recommend changing Chapter 25-4-16.13(a) (2)to read "An un-hosted transient accommodation rental is in a zoning district other than those permitted under section 25-4-16.3. Nonconforming use certificates issued prior to the effective date of this ordinance will be eligible for renewal and are not subject to subsection (b)(2)." We also recommend clarifying that the new standards for obtaining a NUC only apply to new applications by changing Chapter 25-4-16.13 (b)to read "After the effective date of this ordinance,in obtaining a new nonconforming use certificate the owner shall have the burden of proof in establishing that the buildings site was in regular use as a transient accommodation rental on or before the effective date of this ordinance,and:" We recommend you reject the change to the definition of"transient accommodation rental" proposed in the amendment introduced via Communication 675.591.This would newly define a transient accommodation rental as having no more than five bedrooms for rent.This could prevent existing,,hosted rentals with more than five rooms for rent from continuing operations. The amendment introduced via Communication 675.591 is an improvement to the amendment proposed at the October hearing via Communication 675.509.Changes like not requiring nonconforming use certificates(NUCs)to operate more than one TAR will improve the operability of the legislation.Thank you for deliberately and consistently working to improve and refine the legislative text. Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments.We appreciate all of Hawai'i County Council's thoughtful work to craft balanced legislation.Changes to date,including the amendments adopted in July and September,show the sponsors'commitment to crafting sensible,practical legislation.We look forward to working with Hawai'i County Council as it continues to contemplate Bill 121. Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any additional information we can provide. Mahalo, Mackenzie Chase Regional Manager, Hawai'i Expedia Group 1111 Expedia Group Way West I Seattle,WA,981 19.1 USA I T+1 206 481 72001 F+1 206 481 7240 expediagroup.com