HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-02 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Matt Ward & Christel Smith Testimony From: Matt Ward
To: WPCtestimonv
Subject: Urgent Concerns Regarding Bill 121
Date: Tuesday,April 2,2024 1:16:26 PM
Chairman Dennis Lin
Windward Planning Commission
County of Hawaii
25 Aupuni St.
Unit 1502
Hilo, HI 96720
Aloha Chairman Lin,
We have been following the development of Bill 121, and it has raised significant concerns for
both us and the community. At a time when increasing housing supply is of utmost
importance, Bill 121 proposes stringent regulations and additional bureaucratic hurdles to the
already complex issue of housing. Our community has learned the hard way that excessive
regulation hurts housing supply. Bill 121 suggests imposing even more regulations and
barriers on people looking to expand housing options by further restricting what we can do
with our properties. This is worrisome, especially since it's already incredibly challenging for
members of our community to engage in construction due to high costs. Those who take the
risk to build and subsequently struggle financially are at risk of losing everything they've
invested.
The housing crisis is a massive problem, and Bill 121's approach runs counter to what we truly
need: your support for growth, rather than additional regulations and restrictions. Bill 121
introduces more restrictions, red tape, and even attempts to regulate who can share a room. It
limits the ability to rent for periods ranging from 30 to 180 days, which doesn't accommodate
people who require flexibility in renting for work-related travel or other unforeseen
circumstances. We need open housing markets to address the shortage of housing units in our
community, and imposing limitations on how our housing can be used will only discourage
new construction and development. In contrast to Bill 121, we urge you to support efforts to
reduce restrictions and encourage housing growth within our community.
Many communities have demonstrated that reducing barriers is essential to creating new
housing opportunities. The current Bill 121 lacks any economic analysis. By introducing more
restrictions, this bill will ultimately leading to economic stagnation. Each new restriction
dissuades people from committing to construction projects. Our community, including myself,
lacks confidence in building because we never know when our rights to rent our homes will be
threatened by new restrictive housing bills.
Using our case as an example, we bought our property in 2021. We developed our farm on
five acres under the current regulations, which allowed us the flexibility to rent when
necessary and provided a sufficient budget to construct a detached bedroom for an Operator.
Our plan included not only the benefits of new jobs on an active coffee farm but also an
affordable bedroom to help manage the farm. Based on the maximum number of rooms we
can build under the existing regulations; our design included a ratio of 4-1 bedrooms to
affordable bedrooms since our intention was to subsidize the room for the Operator. This ratio
significantly exceeds the number of affordable rooms typically found in most"affordable
developments," which often have ratios of 10-1 or 12-1 retail units to affordable rooms.
Unfortunately, construction plans came to a halt as Bill 121 developed, as it would impose
additional restrictions in an already costly housing market. Consequently, we have been forced
to postpone all our plans and can only use the property solely for agriculture, without any
housing, until we can have confidence that the regulatory landscape has stabilized in favor of
more moderate restrictions.
We are not alone in this situation, as we are aware of others facing similar dilemmas,
questioning whether they can afford to build due to excessive regulation and restrictions.
Therefore, we earnestly request you to further investigate the economic impact of Bill 121.
Proponents of Bill 121 have provided no compelling evidence to support their claims, there
has been no comprehensive studies, and the downstream impacts of the bill will hurt our
housing situation, not help it. We are not speculative investors. We are hard working members
of the community trying to support housing, agriculture, and Bill 121 is effectively taking
away our rights to make ends meet.
We value and appreciate your time, leadership, and support for our community during these
challenging times.
Aloha nui loa,
Matt Ward& Christel Smith
74-4783 Waiha Loop
Kailua Kona, HI 96740