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Tsuneda, Kaci
From:Maka Maka <makalekahi@gmail.com>
Sent:Thursday, November 5, 2026 12:01 PM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:Testimony in OPPOSITION to Bill 147
Aloha Chair and Council Members,
I respectfully oppose Bill 147.
We were told this was just registration. When Bill 47 passed, residents were assured it would not
change zoning or operations. Many were planning on registering in good faith, despite our doubts. Bill 147
now adds operating standards, new definitions, permit requirements, and fines of up to $10,000. This
goes back on the county’s word. Asking people to register first and learn the rules later is not fair to those
who trusted the process.
Intent is not law. We have repeatedly been told the bill’s intent is simply to clean up the code. But intent
is not written into the ordinance, and future administrations will enforce the text, not the explanations
given at these hearings. If the bill’s purpose is housekeeping, its language should be narrow enough that
no explanation is needed.
Who is this helping? Hosted rentals are not the problem. They have operated for decades legitimately
with the county’s full knowledge, and the Planning Director himself told this council that active rentals
generate few complaints and operate in a non-impactful way. No community demand or complaint
record calls for this bill. It imposes new regulation on the group causing no harm.
It will hurt farmers and seniors. Farmers have testified at every hearing that farmstay income is what
keeps their farms producing. Many kūpuna rely on hosting to stay in their homes on fixed incomes. Why
are we adding hurdles and additional expenses for the people trying hardest to stay on the land? If
farmers face obstacles to registering, let’s remove them, not add more regulation.
When testifiers say the bill is confusing, the answer should not be that we don’t understand it. Several
council members have said the same thing. Ideally, this bill would be voted down, Ordinance 25-50
would be repealed, and we could start over with a truly simple registration. Please vote no. At minimum,
if this bill must pass, I ask that it include only what is needed for registration, as residents were
promised.
Mahalo for your time and consideration
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