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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-09 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Robert Golden From: Robert Golden To: LPCtestimony Subject: Testimony against Bill 121 Date: Tuesday,April 9,2024 9:10:08 AM Testimony against Bill 121 Robert Golden 13-872 Malama Street Pahoa, HI 96778 'A'ohe hang nui ke alu 'ia. No task is too big when done together by all. My partner and I have lived in Leilani Estates since August 2013. We operate two AirBnbs, one hosted and one unhosted on our adjoining property. As AirBnB superhosts, our mission is to provide our guests, mostly tourists from mainland USA and around the world with a lived experience of Aloha. The Island of Hawaii is our home and we, like other AirBnB hosts, love the communities in which we live and want our County government to support us in our efforts as we support them in promoting thriving communities on this island. As hosts, we provide opportunities for tourists to use local services at the same time educate tourists how to experience Hawaiian culture and places in a most respectful, pono manner. And since opening our hosted rental in 2014 and our unhosted rental in 2016, our business has served as a source of tax revenue for the County. As hosts, this is our Kuleana. We take words like Aloha, Kuleana, and Ohana seriously. These are lived ideas, not cliches. And we would like to be treated with the same respect by our County government. Reading Bill 121 left us wondering whether the County views short-term vacation rentals hosts as Ohana. We are not disputing the need to regulate this industry, but there are aspects of the bill that we believe are overreaching: • If the owner of the property chooses to live in the guest house and uses the main house as a rental, why is that disallowed? Shouldn't a property owner be able to make that decision? • Why can't a host who owns a farm, use a farm dwelling for a hosted rental. Why is the County curtailing the landowner from creating another income stream? • Most tourists who choose short-term vacation rentals are seeking an unconventional, non-hotel, indigenous experience that is close to the land. Yet, such places would necessitate a nonconfirming use certificate secured prior to Jan 1, 2024. New nonconfirming use certificates are prohibited unless the Director of Planning sees the need. Given the loss of hundreds of vacation rental in Puna due to the lava flow, is the Director of Planning going to make such an accommodation? :tructure The fee structure has been doubled from the past. Is this fee similar to and in proportion to the fee structure of other industries and services that the County regulates? Furthermore, what sensitivity exists to current hosts in lava zone 1 and 2 who have lost their insurance? • Why are site drawings necessary if permitted structures are already documented in terms of their footprint and layout on county tax records. The other specifications that are requested could be added to those maps and submitted to the county. • Why add the phrase "under penalty of perjury" to the requirement of a notarized affidavit. Where's the trust? • Quiet hours in Hawaii begins at 10pm. And yet for short-term vacation rentals, quiet time begins at 8pm. Where's the equity? • Signage for street address must include registration number. Why? Is this overreach? We hope this opportunity to revise the short-term vacation rental code will be conducted in a manner that acknowledges the role that hosts play in creating a thriving, sustainable, economy and at the same time supporting the distinctive Hawaiian values of Aloha, Kuleana and Ohana. Thousands of visitors come to Hawaii to experience these qualities and to enrich their way of life. As my Hawaiian kumus, Aunty Mahealani and Uncle Harry Jim, often told me, Hawaii has a sacred purpose to spread Aloha around the world. Let us work together so both the County and hosts experience each other as partners in this endeavor. 'A'ohe hang nui ke alu 'ia. No task is too big when done together by all. Robert Golden Executive Director Logo Puna Rising T: (917)447-3700 E: raolden46namail.com PunaRisina com I ° The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party,without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion,so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.