HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-02 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Kiki GubserTestimony From: Kiki Gubser
To: W PCtesti mono
Subject: SB121Opposition
Date: Tuesday,April 2,2024 1:21:47 PM
am opposed to S13121 as written. As a resident of Hawaii County, registered voter,
lawful operator of a STR and your constituent, I ask that the following be
considered before passing legislation that is inherently flawed,
General Recommendations
• Do an economic impact study to evaluate the first, second and third order
impact of this legislation on our community.
• Do an affordable housing study to evaluate the actual impact of hosted
vacation rentals on housing. Take into account the housing enabled by
hosted vacation rental income.
• Recommend that Hawaii County implement regulations in another way.
Planning is not the way to enforce business rules. Clarify that putting
business regulation in the hands of the Planning Department is inappropriate.
Planning Commission Concerns:
Based on the testimony for Bill 108, the planning commission has concerns about
the following aspects of bills like this one.
Enforceability
Inequity
Private Property Rights
Human Resource Allocation of Planning Department Staff
Transformation of Neighborhoods
Lack of Data
Our Requests of the Planning Commission
1.
We want the planning commission to recommend that they remove the affidavit
requirement.
2.
We want the planning commission to recommend we continue to define short term as
under 30 days.
3.
We want the planning commission to recommend equal treatment of the property
owners who live on site and operators who do not own the property, but live on site
as lessors or caretakers.
4.
We want the planning commission to recommend the removal of restrictions about
where hosts live and where guests stay. As long as the owner is in the same
building, on the same parcel or on an adjacent parcel it is overreach to tell them
where they can and cannot sleep.
5.
We want the planning commission to recommend that Hawaii County provide clarity
for tiny homes, tents, trailers and other alternative accommodations.
6.
We want the planning commission to recommend streamlining the registration
process and eliminating invasive requirements like dimensioned drawings and the
disclosure of private details of their home.
7.
We want the planning commission to recommend removing dangerous signage
requirements and protect operators from the public disclosure of addresses and
ownership.
8.
We want the planning commission to recommend removing intrusive reporting
requirements.
9.
We want the planning commission to recommend language that prevents platforms
from using their market power to exploit hosts and guests. Platforms claim that they
simply connect guests and hosts, but they often dictate host behavior in a way that
gives them control over host operations.
For any platform with more than 10% market share consumer protection
requirements should include:
Accurate Search Results - Search results should provide the best match.
Paid promotion of listings is an abuse of market power and should be
prohibited.
True Reviews - Guests who do not arrive and stay at the property should not
be allowed to review the property.
Accountability and Safety - Disclosure of full guest contact information to
the hosts including the email address, phone number and home address of
the guest.
Off-Platform Communications - Hosts and guests should not be penalized
for communicating directly.
Due Process - Platforms should be required to provide risk-free dispute
resolution before canceling future bookings. A false report of a hidden
camera or an assault should not result in lost bookings for hosts.
Problem Guest Exclusion Tools - Tools that allow hosts to automatically
filter out unwanted guests based on the quality and number of past reviews.
Rapid Booking Discrimination - Hosts who do not provide rapid or "
instant" booking should not be penalized in search results.
Fiddling Protection - Other policies that platforms may develop in the future
that interfere in the host's ability to operate their accommodations free of
platform interference.
10.
We want the planning commission to recommend the removal of any rules or
regulations that already exist in law. Such clauses include quiet hours and parking
requirements.
11.
We want the planning commission to recommend a Severability, Sunset and
Accountability Clause. Hawaii County should disclose how successful
implementation of this law will be measured and sunset this law if those metrics are
not met.
12.
We want the planning commission to include an undue hardship clause. If a
homeowner can demonstrate that this law will put them at risk of losing their housing
they will be exempted from enforcement.
13.
We want the planning commission to include an anti-retaliation language that protects
homeowners who disclose permit violations as part of this legislative and regulatory
process. Information obtained as part of this process will be banned from
consideration in permitting and building enforcement actions.
14.
We want the planning commission to recommend that any fines assessed for
violation of these regulations be assessed only after the final resolution of the host's
due process rights.
15.
We want the planning commission to recommend a fee shifting clause that allows
homeowners who prevail in the appeals process to recover their legal fees and
expenses from Hawaii County.
16.
We want the planning commission to recommend that if the language related to
permitting status and safety is retained, homeowners be allowed to provide a letter
from a licensed general contractor or a licensed architect indicating that the property
has been constructed in a "workmanlike manner" and continue to operate pending
resolution of any planning or building department complaints.
17.
We want the County Council and/or planning commission to provide alternatives for
local families who are getting their house fixed, fumigating, displaced by disaster or
relocating.
1.
We a specific exemption in the definition of "professional services" for activities
commonly hired by guests using homes under the definition of "gathering," such
as personal chefs, personal drivers, yoga instructors, masseuses, or stylists.
These should not be classified under the formal "event" category, as their
occasional presence is typical in residential settings and should be permissible
without special permits. This needs more clarity in the proposed bill because the
current picnics, family dinner, or small birthday party do not include these.
Kiki Gubser