HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-15 Bill 121 B Northrop & R Blue From: Barry Northrop
To: LPCtestimony
Subject: Bill 121 Planning Commission testimony
Date: Monday,April 15,2024 11:23:06 AM
Dear Leeward Planning Commission,
TARmageddon? TARzilla? TARgate?No matter what pejorative it deserves, Bill 121 is an
intrusive and abusive proposal. Hawaii deserves better.
For years, Hawaii county has vilified homeowners who rent vacation space to island visitors.
Fair and reasonable regulation always makes sense but Bill 121 is an onerous overreach that
imposes stifling control over island residents.
While these comments are aimed toward owner-hosted accommodations, Bill 121 overshoots
in all categories including hosted and unhosted. It force fits all vacation rentals into an
improperly configured box. This Bill reads like a manifesto written by the hotel industry for a
law that suffocates competition: more hurdles,more complexity,more fees,more fines,more
restrictions.
Concerns purportedly addressed by Bill 121 center around unwelcome behavior(noise,
congestion) and unaffordable real estate but its approach is ill-suited. There are already laws
that address quiet enjoyment of residential property. If they are lacking,rewrite those.
Expensive real estate? The main contributors are limited land area(we're on an island),
restrictive zoning, heavy regulation, poor infrastructure, low income, and high interest rates.
Owner hosted vacation rentals have zero impact on levels of residential housing stock because
the owners live there! Where is the rigorous economic impact study to accompany and support
this Bill? It rests largely on inflammatory innuendo rooted in biased anecdotal hearsay. Bear in
mind that this email merely scratches the surface of the many troubling issues embedded in
Bill 121.
As a reminder,the General Plan strives to position Hawaii Island for economic progress
while preserving the environment and strengthening community foundations. The county's
General Plan 2045 draft sets a goal for a healthy visitor industry: "A high quality of life for
residents is maintained while a regenerative visitor industry thrives through attracting people
seeking authentic, connected experiences (p. 164)." What better way to achieve regenerative,
authentic, connected experiences than by encouraging residents to open their homes to
travelers? Instead, Bill 121 practically criminalizes these efforts. $10,000 fines? It is shocking
that bail and fines for genuine criminal mayhem are often less.
Please do a reset and dial down the rapacious barriers imposed by Bill 121. Owner-hosted
accommodations can be managed by Zoning Code Chapter 25 using the Planning
Department's Home Occupation Declaration. This long standing, currently available process
suffices and is eminently appropriate.
Sincerely,
Barry Northrop and Ruth Blue
Naalehu