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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-04 Testimony Guthie de Bruyn� u Hello and thank you for your time. My name is Guthrie de Bruyn and I oppose Bill 121. I am shocked that even with the overwhelming opposition to this bill during the last hearing, it has still moved closer to passing. I can only imagine what promises are being made behind closed doors. Many families and individuals will lose their homes with the fallout of this bill. My little family and I live off grid with no chance of having our space become a long term rental. There are no power lines out to our area, no county water, no buses, and no mail service. This is not enticing for long term renters. Besides this, our Ohana was built with the sole intention of short term renters. It was not designed for long term tenants. I feel that the co-authors of this bill have no idea the impact it will have on the residents of Hawaii. Our small, family business survived the lava, a pandemic, inflation, and so much more- it is devastating that we are now faced with the possibility of shutting down completely due to a bill written by the very people elected to represent our interests. I think it is dangerous and telling that the co-authors of this bill have not been able to answer simple questions from the very beginning, when the answers to these questions are consequential for so many. They should have known how this bill would affect communities before they wrote their very first draft, but certainly by this point- it still seems they do not. They claim these hearings are to gain input from the public, but again and again, the only amendments we see seem harsher and farther from what the majority of residents are echoing. How 121 has even reached this point of the process with so many unanswered issues and loose ends is beyond me- and honestly, makes me lose faith in this system of law making. I think we should all be very cautious when they use terms like "grandfathered in" to gain our passive cooperation, when we all know that many of us will be shut down for good and possibly lose our homes or face massive fines. They just keep pushing and pushing based on unvalidated claims and theoretical outcomes. I feel for all of the families and individuals facing this ill written bill. I am sorry for the stress, time and energy lost from going against people who do not seem to care about our futures, or the damage they will cause. We deserve better from our council members. Shame on anyone who passes this bill and shame on the co-authors for not doing the proper research, or listening when community feedback showed the errors in their thinking. I truly wish they would look at the "consider it" website and survey they put together, claiming they desired the community's input and feedback. It does not seem that any of it was considered at any time in this process. To everyone listening, please make sure to vote this year for new council members if they support this bill. Also, please be aware that council members are trying to extend their terms from 2 years to 4 years through Bill 143. Every resident should be alarmed by this. Thank you.