HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0739.335 2016-2018 Pik
COU TY CLERK till [O
COUNTY OF HAWAII
From: mandysCalhawaiiantel.net
To: Council Testimony t p OCTSubject: Testimony in support of Bill 108 2U18 09 1 5 AM 11:
10
Date: Sunday,October 14,2018 8:50:43 AM
Dear Council,
I'm a County of Hawaii District 4 resident of 19 years, renter, and evacuee of Leilani
Estates who is still displaced from the eruption. Council Member Eileen O'hara posted an
• informative memo on NextDoor.com this morning seeking community support in her
opposition of the Bill, but I am submitting testimony in favor of it.
I have been monitoring the rental market/housing crisis, especially for single occupancy, for
• several years now and noticed a severe decline in available housing before the eruption
claimed so many homes. Studios were few and far between; there were only a few more
options for small or large families. Strict, past County regulations on ohana dwellings I think
could have been a factor, but unregulated short-term vacation rentals even more so. I
watched several long-term situations that I sought posted instead as vacation rentals on
VRBO, AirB&B, and craigslist over the years. The last place I rented in Leilani for seven
years...has since become an unhosted vacation rental.
Since the eruption, housing has gone beyond a crisis and become a disaster in and of itself.
The scant amount of rentals available in all of Hilo and Puna are priced inline with Kona's
but without the same job market. There's an argument that vacation rentals create jobs,
but there are those of us who have income yet do not have a place to call home. There's the
argument that vacation rentals should be allowed anywhere and everywhere to
accommodate visitors, yet people like myself (a tour guide) who service visitors cannot find
what they need on the rental market.
I think that allowing hosted vacation rentals and restricting unhosted rentals, as Bill 108
proposes, would help strike a balance between resident's and visitor's needs. If Council
Member Ohara calls for an economic impact study, then I think one should be done for
housing, factoring in the job market on the east side.
Thank you,
Amanda Spaur
No permanent address
Comm. No.lbq• VS
Ref. To: P�PG
Ref. DateOCT 1 5 2018.