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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0739.202 2016-2018PLC Y CLLR C � o AWA fl hitt �o`b . Aloha All M� /� 0.18 JUL 10 A '5h O "1 The house next door is an unsupervised vacation rental. All of us in this neighborhood call it "The Party House". After enduring this "mess of a vacation rental home" next door I turned my anger and sadness into ACTION! The Real Property Tax office here in Kona was helpful and caring. After all of the proper steps were taken my mainland based neighbor will now pay his fair share of property taxes as a nonresident! The Tax Office in Hilo has also been very helpful. Although privacy laws prevent me from knowing details of the investigation, I was told that I would be notified when my neighbor gets his GET and TAT licenses. I'm waiting to be notified. In the meantime, I'm keeping track of how many nights the home next door is occupied just to be able to calculate for myself how much tax revenue is going up in smoke. Hopefully the field investigator with the tax office is doing the same thing using the online information found on the VRBO and Home Away booking calendars. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has also gotten busy with an investigation into the lack of a Hawaii State Real Estate License for the "property manager" overseeing the home next door. I did the basic legwork on my own then the department picked up from there. People who are property managers are required to have licenses in place... just like a medical doctor,'a dentist or a manicurist! The Hawaii County Planning Department has DENIED both of the "Zoning, Land Use and SMA Violation Complaint" forms that I have submitted. I have read and, with the patient help of two different land use attorneys, believe that I have an elementary understanding of the land use laws. There are activities that are allowed on AG land. These activities are listed and very specific. Using AG land for short term vacation rentals is not an allowed activity according to the written laws on the books. right now. If there is a variation of land use on AG land a Special Use Permit is required. The Planning Department acknowledges that they accept complaints regarding land use as evidenced by the title of their form. If they accept complaints it stands to reason that the Planning Department is in charge of enforcing these violations. According to their two responses, they do not. The County Health Department also pushed back when approached regarding the acceptability of a sewage system approved for a one bedroom home that is now advertised to sleep 17+ occupants. My instincts told me that the Health Department didn't want to open up a big can of worms by addressing this issue, not just for the home next door, but for many more homes like it all over our island. I will approach the Department of Environmental Management on my next pass on this subject. Perhaps they will be open to hearing about my concern. Comm. m. No. �q. o2 Ref. T®s Ref. Date-JUL, 10 2911 Will the passage of Bill 108 solve all of these issues? I believe that it will answer both the property tax and GET/TAT tax issues. I believe that it will improve the issue of having someone "responsible" at the helm of these unsupervised party houses. I might suggest that the responsible person have a Hawaii State Broker's License. I believe that it will require that the AG land be used as AG land is intended and as outlined in laws that are currently written. A variation of land use will require a Special Use Permit. I believe that neighbors would be involved in the process and allowed input into granting or not granting the permit. More importantly, it create a framework that will enforce the land use laws. As for the impact of environmental issues in these homes with a changed usage from a single family home to a home inviting and advertising many times the original number of occupants, that still needs addressing. I ask you to move ahead on the passage of Bill 108. The Bill is a beginning framework that is urgently needed in a runaway problem that impacts many, many people., Mahalo for your time, Carol and Scott Fuller Our neighborhood (and on behalf of all of the people impacted negatively by unsupervised short term rentals)