HomeMy WebLinkAboutLoewen, Madeleine
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:Madeleine Loewen <mjrloewen@gmail.com>
Sent:Friday, August 28, 2026 12:20 PM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:Bill 147
As a farmer living in Hawaii over 20yrs, I feel like this bill is deliberately aimed at penalizing us. Farming is
NOT a sustainable venture in the islands. With all of the many issues that threaten our crops, we NEED
income from vacation rentals to make our farms operable. We will NOT be renting long term as we
cannot manage our farms while people are living in them. We need the flexibility to earn income during
tourist season, and to be able to run machinery and harvest when they aren't around. We use the income
from our vacation rental to support our farm. We use it to pay for our kids extra curricular activities. This
is all income that goes back into the pockets of local businesses.
I have always paid my taxes, now I have to commit to a lengthy and difficult registration process. Are
ohana units going to be permitted? What do I need to do to ensure compliance before the deadline? Will
the county walk us through these steps and guarantee that they will be worthwhile? I don't want to invest
funds into this vacation rental registration process only to be denied at a later stage. Please can we have
more clarity, along with guarantees we will be refunded if our vacation rental is not approved?
Thank you,
Madeleine
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