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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-01 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Derinda Thatcher Testimony From: derinda derindathatcher.com To: W PCtesti mono Cc: derinda derindathatcher.com Subject: Testimony Bill 121 Windward Planning Commission Date: Monday,April 1, 2024 9:03:56 PM Testimony TAR Windward Planning commission meeting Thank you for your consideration of this testimony. #1 A) I'd like to address the definition of Short Term Rental in Bill 121 Section 1. The current Bill 108 calls a short term rental as 30 days or less. 30 days or less. I agree is an appropriate definition of short term rental. I will add here,that the county has not policed or thoroughly assessed Bill 108 and yet they believe it warrants change before the impact has even been fully assessed of Bill 108. Many of the condos on the mauka side of Alii Dr., have rules in place prohibiting rentals of less than 30 days in their documents and it appropriately controls the complex in the manner it was intended, I believe Bill 108 if monitored and appropriately assessed will do the same as it stands,without the changes proposed by Bill 121. Changing the terminology to 180 days or less as a definition of short term, is erroneous and damaging to our economy, damaging to our work force needs, eliminates temporary housing for many residents in emergency situations, and is unreasonable. How often is a vacation typically more than 30 days? True examples:A grandmother coming from the mainland to assist her daughter in the care of a new born grandchild, once the mother has to go back to work. She agrees to come for a minimum of 3 months possibly more. She does not want to impact the new little family by sleeping on their sofa,they need their own space to adjust to their new family situation. Grandma needs a rental for a few months, cannot afford to stay in a hotel. Does not want to stay in the hub bub of the bustling town. :Hawaiian Tel installing fiber optic DLS in our communities,their workers need a place for 3 months during this upgrade for our community. : contractor from Hilo needs temporary housing for himself and his workers on a Kona job for a few months. : a Physical Therapist moves to the island and needs temporary housing until he can purchase permanent housing. Once he purchases he will need to rent out a portion of his home to make ends meet and subsidize the high cost of living. This puts an undue burden on him, restricting his rights to rent and make a decent living. The majority of rentals longer than 30 days are notvacationers but often our own residents! B)The unreasonable fees, registrations, parking requirements,floor plan &drafting requirements if there is a change in definition to 180 days. It will place an undo financial burden on many property owners and infringe on their personal property rights. C) a Honolulu judge has already ruled that a 180 day is unjust and inappropriate to be considered short term and rules that 30 days is an appropriate amount of time to consider transient. L21 The county is unfairly placing the burden of creating more housing on existing home owners. There is no evidence that limiting vacation rentals adds housing affordable or otherwise to the inventory. This seems a bit backward when zoning changes such as including duplex, 4 plex housing for example, could go a long wayto creating more affordable housing. Addressing existing antiquated infrastructure and onerous building codes should be a focus, that is being ignored. Our county council is against development and that alone creates a housing shortage . So instead of being_pro development of more affordable housing_options, county council choses to burden existing home owners. This is just wrong and short sited, affecting many who are retired or on fixed income. There is an unintended economic consequence that will also impact a micro economy such as cleaners, landscapers and service providers. One cleaner I Know, has more than 70% of her family's income is from cleaning rentals the county wants to re-classify. L31 Section 25-4-16.1 1 should be able to live in and utilize any portion of my home or property for my personal use. Bill 121 is trying to dictate which portions of my property I may live in and which I may rent. I believe this is a direct violation of my constitutional rights and private property rights. This is bad business! #4 Section 25-4-16.7 Called Registration by the countywhen truly it is not just a registration because it can be denied, it is an application process. Section 25-4-16.17 3-D The proposal requires license and signage visible from the street of subject property identifying the transient vacation rental. I believe this poses a security risk. My husband is an invalid and now in a care home. So, not only am I faced with expensive medical bills and since I now live alone, this type of signage I believe puts me at a greater risk for residential crime. This is bad Business! #6 Section 25-4-16.25 If the 180 day definition is adopted, many owners on fixed income and retired, depending on additional income to supplement the high cost of living in Hawaii will lose their owner occupant residential tax exemption! This is unacceptable and Bad Business for the residents of Hawaii. In closing, we have much greater challenges ahead for our county and State. To name a few: 1)There is not enough Senior housing and no Senior co-housing or other plan for senior living or nursing home facilities. Baby boomers are in their 60's &70's!!the time is now to focus on providing for these age groups. 2)There are huge Cesspool/Septic issues looming with major deadlines starting in 2035 that need absolute focus to make a feasible and doable plan for the residents of Hawaii Island. This will create a negative economic impact on all property owners with cesspools and the county does not yet have a plan. More sewage treatment plants need to be created if the 55,000 cesspools on our island are to be converted to septic systems, which need regular pumping, and that sewage needs to go somewhere to be processed. 3) In West Hawaii our main North South connector(I<ual<ini Hwy) is clogged throughout the day and needs expansion. The county as not even begun to claim the land it needs to widen roadways, or solve the issues plaguing the building of the Alii Bypass to alleviate traffic, etc. Leave Bill 108 alone and focus on more important issues that affect the Health,Welfare,Wellbeing and lively hood of our residents! Respectfully Submitted, Derinda Thatcher Hawaii Island Resident since 1989. OLolca, Dewt td4 Derinda Thatcher, Direct: 808 960-3433 Home: 75-5816 Neke PL Kailua Kona