HomeMy WebLinkAboutKing, Robert and Vina
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:bob king <skykingair@yahoo.com>
Sent:Wednesday, August 26, 2026 10:23 AM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:Public testimony on Bill 147-request for a carve out
SUBJECT: Public Testimony on Bill 147 – Request for
Exemption/Carve-Out for Primary Residence Room Rentals
Dear Hawaii County Council Members,
I am writing to share my comments regarding Bill 147 and its
proposed framework for Transient Vacation Rentals (TVRs)
and hosted accommodations. While I fully respect the Council’s
effort to address the island’s housing crisis and protect
residential long-term housing inventory, I strongly request that
the Council consider a clear carve-out or streamlined exemption
for resident owners renting out one or two spare bedrooms
within their primary residence.
The stated intent of vacation rental regulation is to prevent
whole homes and long-term apartments from being converted
into commercial tourist accommodations. However, renting a
single spare bedroom in an owner-occupied primary home is
fundamentally different:
Zero Impact on Housing Inventory: A spare room in an
owner’s primary home is not a unit that would otherwise be
placed on the long-term rental market for a family.
Eliminating or heavily burdening this practice will not
create a single additional long-term housing unit for local
residents.
Economic Lifeline for Local Residents: With the rising cost
of living, property taxes, and general household expenses in
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Hawaii, renting an extra bedroom provides crucial
supplemental income that allows local residents and fixed-
income homeowners to stay in their homes.
Built-in Oversight: Because the primary resident lives on-site,
noise, parking, and neighborhood impacts are naturally self-
regulated in a way that unhosted commercial rentals simply
cannot match.
Lumping primary-resident room rentals into the same
regulatory framework, permit requirements, and fee structures
as commercial, unhosted STVRs creates an undue financial and
administrative burden on local families who are simply trying
to make ends meet.
I urge the Council to refine Bill 147 to include a distinct, low-
barrier category or outright exemption for Hawaii County
residents renting one or two bedrooms inside their primary
homestead. Please protect local homeowners while targeting
regulations where they belong—on commercial, whole-home
operators.
Thank you for your time, service, and consideration of local
resident perspectives.
Sincerely,
Robert and Vina King
District 4 Puna
15–2800 Honu Street
Pahoa, HI 96778
808-557-7799
Sent from my iPhone
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