HomeMy WebLinkAboutBiber-Ferro, Maria
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:maria biber-ferro <mariabiberferro@gmail.com>
Sent:Sunday, August 30, 2026 10:21 PM
To:Council Testimony
Cc:Hustace, James
Subject:Opposition to Bill 147
Aloha Council Members,
My name is Maria Biber-Ferro. I am a documentary film maker and snorkel guide, who has lived in
North Kohala for the past 4 years. I am currently a constituent of Council Member James Hustace.
I am writing to register my opposition to Bill 147 as currently written. While I support provisions in
the bill that provide for hosted rentals to register with the County, pay taxes and follow good neighbor
policies, I am very concerned about other provisions that prohibit existing hosted vacation rentals
from continuing to fully operate and provide jobs, housing and other benefits to myself and the
community.
North Kohala has very limited places where visitors to the island can stay. That includes visitors for
family reunions, the Kohala Reunions and events like King Kamehameha Day and the recent 100-year
anniversary of Kohala High School. When we have friends and family come visit, they are able to stay
at vacation rental properties within 10 minutes of our house. Otherwise, they would have to stay at
hotels (assuming they could afford them) almost an hour away.
THIS BILL HARMS GOOD, LONG TIME NEIGHBORS
I am very concerned that Bill 147 prohibits existing hosted vacation rentals with more than five
bedrooms from operating as hosted rentals. Even worse, it fails to grandfather in currently operating
hosted rentals who have complied with all the rules when built, paid their taxes, provided jobs and
otherwise have been great neighbors.
Further, under the old rules that have been in place for decades, there was no limit on the number of
bedrooms that a hosted rental could rent. So, these property owners built their properties with that
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expectation in mind. Now, shortly after Hurricane Lala devastated huge parts of our island, this
Council is having a meeting not about Hurricane relief, but instead on a bill that would further
suppress economic activity by putting existing hosted rentals that exceed an arbitrary number of
bedrooms out of business.
THE DATA SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
This Council should be aware of the economic impact of its decision since it spent almost $100,000
on an Economic Impact Study by Hunden Partners in 2025. This study confirms what I know by just
living and working on island – hosted vacation rentals serve an important economic lifeline for the
island.
Indeed, on page 33, the study that this Council paid for states that existing hosted vacation rentals
“are vital to the livelihood of thousands of families on Hawaii Island. Many Kama ʻ āina rely on \[this\]
market for employment or assistance in affording their homes.” According to page 10 of this Council’s
study, the economic impact of the hosted rentals is nearly $1 billion a year. To put that in simpler
terms, this Council’s study on that same page suggests that regulation, like Bill 147, would cost the
island “more than 12,000 full-time jobs and more than 30,000 part-time jobs.”
And, for what? Not to solve the housing crisis. First, in order to have housing, people need jobs.
Second, many people rely on hosted rentals with more than five bedrooms to be able to live
here. Third, this regulation will not increase affordable housing on island. Your study on page 60
states “only 4% of current Vacation Rental owners and operators said they definitely would convert
their property to a long-term rentals. . . This suggests that the likelihood of STVRs converting to long-
term housing for residents is minimal.”
Further, this legislation is ambiguous as to where the host must live on a hosted rental
property. Currently, regulations allow for hosts to live on property, but not in the same building. This
is good since according to the Economic Study, 93% of vacation rentals on island do not have a host
living in the same building as the visitors. This bill is not clear about how this would continue to work
because the bill refers to a host living at the “same building site as the TVR.” The term “building site”
is left undefined. It should be changed to Tax Map Key to make it clear that a host that lives on the
same site as the rental property is a host.
THERE IS A CLEAR COMPROMISE
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There is an easy fix for this legislation. Grandfather in everyone who is currently operating a hosted
vacation rental when the host lives on the TMK regardless of whether they have five or seven
bedrooms. This will allow these hosted rentals to continue to provide jobs and services to the
community while allowing the County to restrict the number of bedrooms in future hosted
rentals. This is what happened when the County originally regulated un-hosted short-term
rentals. The hosted rentals – the vast majority of which are owned and operated by folks living on
island deserve no less.
In closing, I believe that everyone that owns or operates a hosted short-term vacation rental should
register, pay their taxes and be a good neighbor. We can accomplish that without loss of current jobs
and loss of places for quality visitors to the island to stay by grandfathering current hosted rentals in
under the prior regulations .
Mahalo for your consideration.
Maria Biber-Ferro
Maria Biber-Ferro
310.869.8413 cell
mariabiberferro@gmail.com
http://www.mariabiberferro.com
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