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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-15 Bill 121 Britt Palmars From: Britt Palmars To: LPCtestimony Subject: RESPECTFULLY,IF YOU ONLY READ ONE LETTER,PLEASE READ THIS ONE!!!Opposition to Bill 121 Date: Monday,April 15,2024 3:05:44 PM RESPECTFULLY, IF YOU ONLY READ ONE LETTER, PLEASE READ THIS ONEM Mahalo Respected Members of our Leeward Council for reading my letter. Below is an article that was written last week in the Hawaii Tribune regarding the outcome of the Windward Planning Commission Meeting and chronicles the OVERWHELMING OPPOSITION for this catastrophic Bill 121. Our Hawaii Island Residents have spoken and there is no room for debate, Hawaii County Residents FIERCELY OPPOSE THIS BILL. Bill 121 has been drafted without conducting a single economic impact study or market analysis to determine what the short term or long term effects Bill 121 will be on our Big Island community. Even considering passing a Bill of this Magnitude with such profound ramifications is fiduciary negligence without first completing an unbiased Economic Impact Study to determine the Economic Impacts this proposed Bill will have on our Big Island Community. For a complete understanding of Bills 121, 122 and 123 watch this very informative short 6 minute video explaining in simple and easy to understand language, the video was created by a local Big Island Realtor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMllbd4Xwul Mahalo for taking the time to understand and advise our City Council on what a catastrophic impact Bill 121will be for the residents of our Island. With Gratitude and Aloha, Britt Palmars May be an image of 6 people and people studying I have added context in RED to differentiate my comments from the original newspaper article in BLACK. By MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY Hawaii Tribune-Herald I Sunday, April 7, 2024, 12:05 a.m. Vacation Rentals BILL BLASTED BLASTED: Commissioners get an earful over proposed TAR regulations Fury and recriminations flew between vacation rental owners and county officials over proposed new short-term rental regulations Thursday at a marathon eight-hour meeting of the Windward Planning Commission, residents clashed with County Council Chair Heather Kimball over the controversial Bill 121, which would overhaul the county code concerning short-term vacation rentals. But despite— or perhaps because of—the anger surrounding the measure, the commission made no decision about the measure Thursday, postponing the decision until its May meeting. The bill redefines short-term rentals as "transient accommodation rentals," or TARs, and introduces a slew of conditions and requirements regarding how and where they are allowed to operate. Three classes of TARs are defined in the bill — owner-hosted, operator-hosted, and unhosted —each with their own lists of dos and don'ts. For example, owner-hosted TARs are allowed in a wider range of zoning districts, and nonconforming use certificates can be granted outside of those districts for TARs that operated before this year. Operator-hosted and unhosted TARs have more restrictive conditions, with unhosted TARs not allowed any new nonconforming use permits outside of their permitted zoning districts. Each class of TAR also would be granted different fee schedules: Registering a new owner- hosted TAR initially costs $500, with annual renewal fees of$100, while owner-hosted nonconforming use certificates cost $250 up front and another $250 a year to renew. The other classes cost more to set up, with operator-hosted TAR fees 1.5 times those of owner- hosted units, and unhosted units costing double or more what owner-hosted units cost. Registering a TAR also would require extensive documentation, including site drawings, floor plans, a county real property tax clearance certificate, and a notarized affidavit stating that the TAR meets health and safety (and code) requirements "under penalty of perjury." (The Penalty for Perjury in Hawaii is 5 YEARS IN PRISON AND a $10,000 Fine for this FELONY!) New TARs also would not be permitted in ohana units, detached bedrooms or guesthouses— existing owner-hosted TARs in ohana units could be grandfathered in — and a TAR's host would be required to reside in the home itself, and not a detached unit. (THE COUNTY IS SEEKING TO LEGISLATE WHERE IN OUR PRIVATE RESIDENCES WE ARE ALLOWED TO SLEEP! This is the very definition of government overreach.) Furthermore, the bill sets out a list of rental standards for TARs— listing required quiet hours, maximum gathering sizes, parking and signage requirements, and more, with (DAILY) fines for violations ranging from $2,500 for a first offense to $10,000 for a third. $10,000 for Parking Violation? $10,000 for a Quiet Hour Complaint? $10,000 for having guests visit? $10,000 for not having the right size sign? $10,000 "and more"? THESE PROPOSED FINES ARE EXCESSIVE AND DISPROPORTIONATE and PUNITIVE. For Perspective: Each listed crime below carries a ONE TIME $10,000 Fine in the state of Hawaii for a CONVICTED FELONY CRIMINAL who is INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. In Bill 121, your are guilty until proven innocent. Felonies in the State of Hawaii that Carry the SAME $10,000 Fine as a Parking Violation in Bill 121: CONSPIRIMY TO COMMIT SECOND DEGREE MURDER. Hawaii Revised Statute 706-660 SEX TRAFFICKING. Hawaii Revised Statute 712-1209 SOLICITATION OF A MINOR FOR PROSTITUTION. Hawaii Revised Statute 712-1209.1 BURGLARY Hawaii Revised Statute 708-811 SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A PERSON WHO IS LESS THAN 14 YEARS OLD. Hawaii Revised Statute 707-732 SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A PERSON WHO IS MENTALLY INCAPACITATED Hawaii Revised Statute 707-732(d) NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE. Hawaii Revised Statute 707-703 ARSON Hawaii Revised Statute 708-8253 Kimball went on to say that, while the county needs to protect property rights, it also needs to properly regulate commercial enterprises within residential and agricultural zones. She added that consumers have the right to stay in lodgings that are confirmed to be safe. All this and more has led to the measure becoming deeply concerning for vacation rental owners, who came out in droves Thursday to warn that passing the bill would cause them to lose their businesses and their homes, the measure is unconstitutional, at least and a naked effort by hotel industry lobbyists to crush competition at worst. Many echoed Mallicoat's criticisms of the bill, while others raised concerns about their own livelihoods. "The county should not dictate to private property owners which parts of their home they may occupy or rent, or how many visitors they may allow," said Christi Mallicoat, president of Hawaii Island Realtors. She added the measure seems to exist in lieu of actual enforcement of Bill 108, a 2018 measure that similarly established regulations for how short- term vacation rentals operate. Pahoa TAR owner Connie Goff said the money she receives from renting out a portion of her home for parts of the year is what allows her to own a home in Hawaii at all. The additional fees imposed by the bill, on top of the potential for enormous (daily) financial penalties for any violations, are "exorbitant," she said, and will only price more and more people out of the state. Another TAR owner, Audrey Wong, pleaded tearfully for the commission to vote against the bill. "I'm a single mom," Wong said. "Please don't take away my means of how I pay for education for my child, pay for my medical issues, and my retirement plan. Living in Hawaii is expensive. ... It is impossible to pay my mortgage with just one job. With Bill 121, I'd likely have to sell my home ... and the sales price would maybe not cover the mortgage." Despite there being four other items on the agenda unrelated to the bill, the first hour of the meeting was almost exclusively dedicated to testimony AGAINST the measure, with only a scant few voices in support of it—although at least two of those appeared to be doing so sarcastically. "I think it is great that the transient accommodation owners must register like sex offenders and post their scarlet letter for neighbors and inspectors to see," said Joe Schneckenburger of Kailua-Kona to laughter from attendees. "But really, the next-door house rented to long-term neighbors is much worse. Once last year, the vacation rental baby was crying for over 10 minutes— kind of annoying — but the regular, long-term tenants have wild parties that go on at all hours. They play loud music much of the time. They need to register also. "I think that everyone should have to register, and everyone should have to be back to their house within three hours of my phone call," Schneckenburger said, in reference to a provision in the bill requiring that a representative for an unhosted rental be physically present at their TAR within three hours of receiving a call from a renter. "So what if she's in Honolulu for a medical appointment? She can just tell her doctor she needs to run and sprint to the airport and be back here whenever I demand ... which can be whenever I'm annoyed at her or want to toy with her." So went the first hour of the meeting. After briefly discussing the other items on the agenda, the commission's discussion of Bill 121 itself began with a presentation by county planner Tracie-Lee Camero and Kimball, the latter of whom attempted to dispel what she called misinformation about the bill. "The very first thing about this bill is that if you are a resident of this county, you can start a transient accommodation on your property at any time, so long as you're doing it legally," Kimball said, beginning a strident speech to the commission. "So, if you hear folks saying that they will not be able to have a TAR on their property, they are being fed misinformation." "I want to speak to the fines," Kimball continued. $10,000 a day. No! Again, another piece of misinformation you're being presented with. "The fines are very reasonable, they are progressive, and we adjusted them based on our conversations with some of the folks behind me today," she said, referring to the public attendees of the meeting, many of whom grumbled throughout Kimball's presentation. (A recent study showed that More than one half of Americans can't raise $400 for an emergency and a $10,000 fine is an existential economic catastrophe) While Kimball said the DAILY fines of up to $10,000 outlined in the bill are specifically for hosting platforms such as AirBnb and not for TAR owners, the bill does allow for $10,000 (DAILY) fines to owners for a third violation. "You've been giving a lot of red herrings today," Kimball said. "'If you wanna solve housing, you just need to work on infrastructure.' 'If you wanna solve housing, you just gotta build more housing.' (Kimball is right, BUILDING MORE HOUSING - IS THE SOLUTION. Bill 121 is not capable of solving the housing crisis.) Well, yes! We gotta do all the things! But one of the things we also need to do is keep housing from slipping into other uses that are not providing homes for our residents, and we need to keep the market in check." (PLEASE take the time to watch this short 6 minute video that very clearly explains how deeply flawed Ms. Kimball's reasoning for this bill are. The numbers just do not add up. This video was created by a local Big Island Realtor explaining how iit is impossible for local residents to affordably purchase these STVR properties, as Ms. Kimball misguidedly believes. It also breaks down Bill 121 in very unbiased and easily understandable way) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMllbd4Xwul Kimball, practically shouting at that point, presented data from the City and County of Honolulu showing that even though ONLY 2.5% OF THE HOUSING IS USED FOR TRANSIENT ACCOMODATIONS overall housing prices have increased by 5%. Through this, she said, it is clear that allowing the free proliferation of short-term rentals creates an inflationary pressure on the housing market that drives up prices and forces lower-income residents out of state. According to Kimball's data: 97.5% of ALL HOUSING IS AVAILABLE for Hawaii Residents. (The conclusions drawn in this bill reveal a negligent lack of qualifications and proper credentialing by the author of this Bill 121, however good her intentions may be. Bill 121 has been drafted without conducting a single economic impact study or market analysis to determine what the short term or long term effects will be on our Big Island community.) "Nothing she says can be taken at any kind of—she says whatever she needs to say to do what she needs to do," said Mark Sidmore. Volcano resident Brian Daniels accused the measure of being a short-sighted lobbying effort by the hotel industry, but predicted that it will only reduce the number of visitors to the Big Island overall once it forces TARs to close and would-be tourists decide hotel rooms are too expensive.West Hawaii TAR owner Martina Wing called the bill "gaslighting," saying she initially believed in the good intentions of Kimball and the County Council as it was being drafted, but could only watch as they moved the bill forward despite outcry from residents. Kimball said. "And I want to ask folks, if you've got an issue with these fees: Do you plan on actually violating the law?" (it is essential to understand "that violating the law" according to Bill 121 is: a car parked in the wrong spot, or laughing too loud in a jacuzzi at 8:30 pm, or having a guest not declare their 3 year old child in the reservation occupancy, or having a sign 2" too tall, - these are not VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW, these are humans living life IN FEAR of a government fining them $10,000 a DAY if they make a mistake) Kimball concluded by saying that the fees outlined by the bill are necessary to subsidize the county's ability to enforce the standards established by Bill 108, (which governs STVR's and TARs) (The unconstitutional practice of enforcing fines exclusively to finance regulatory agencies is a direct conflict of interest that violates the basic principles of justice and equity our laws and country are founded. The US and Hawaiian Constitution requires impartiality in governing our communities, and incentivizing the county to prioritize revenue generation over the protection of individual and property rights and liberties is illegal on many counts) None of this seemed to particularly endear Kimball to the attendees. "There's still due process — if somebody gets a complaint, the (planning) director determines it's a violation, they get a fee, they have the appeals board, they have the Third Circuit Court—due process still exists," (This is the exact opposite of DUE PROCESS which is: INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, NOT GUILTY UNTIL YOU CAN PROVE TO THE COUNTY THAT IS INCENTIVIZED TO FINE AS OFTEN AND HIGH AS POSSIBLE TO FUND THEIR DEPARTMENT) Following Kimball's presentation, the commission reopened the floor to public testimony, which resumed more venomously than before. Joshua Montgomery, president of the Ohana Aina Association, Big Island's vacation rental association, said passing the bill would be "malfeasance." "They need to go back and redraft this at least," Montgomery later told the Tribune-Herald. "It's malfeasance to do this now." For their part, the commissioners were divided on the matter. Commissioner Matthias Kusch, himself a TAR owner, said the new regulations are "not that bad" and told critics "don't be afraid of change," which was echoed by fellow commissioner Chantel Perrin.On the other hand, Commission chair Dennis Lin and vice chair Louis Daniele were critical of the bill, with Daniele calling it "overreach" and saying it overcomplicates an issue that should be simple. He said he had a hard time understanding the bill, and expected members of the public will only be even more confused. "I'm just thinking about people like my grandmother," Lin said. "Can she write all this, draw her own site plan and her own floor plan, get her own (general excise) tax clearance, and go submit it to the Planning Department? I don't think so. And those are the kind of people we're looking at here who have the (TARs)." Lin and Daniele echoed several testifiers in urging that an economic impact study be conducted to determine the bill's potential long-term financial effects. (Bill 121 has been drafted without conducting a single economic impact study or market analysis to determine what the short term or long term effects will be on our Big Island community. With a Bill of this Magnitude and with such profound ramifications, Bill 121 CANNOT MOVE FORWARD without an unbiased Economic Impact Study performed. Hawaii County owes it to our Hawaiian Ohana to fulfill their oaths and fiduciary duties to the residents of Hawaii to thoroughly investigate and collect and develop ACCURATE data, before even contemplating enacting policies of this profound significance that will impact and absolutely destroy the livelihoods of thousands of Hawaii County Residents.) The commission then began discussing a line-by-line breakdown of recommended amendments by the Planning Department, but ultimately adjourned midway through that process at the meeting's eight-hour mark. Because it ran out of time, the commission did not address the related bills, 122 and 123, which also were postponed until May's meeting. When the commission eventually makes a decision about any of those bills, they will return to the County Council for further deliberation; the Leeward Planning Commission will go through the same process on April 18. Wing later told the Tribune-Herald that despite the tone of the meeting, she had some optimism the bill will be rejected."It's just too much of a gut-punch for the residents," Wing said. "There's 7,000 families that rely on this. This is paying for my cancer treatment. This is my retirement." Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky&hawaiitribune-herald.com Registering a TAR also would require extensive documentation, including site drawings, floor plans, a county real property tax clearance certificate, and a notarized affidavit stating that the TAR meets health and safety (and code) requirements "under penalty of perjury." (The Penalty for Perjury in Hawaii is 5 YEARS IN PRISON AND a $10,000 Fine for this FELONY!) The Hawaii County Building Code is comprised of: HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF TECHNICAL BUILDING CODES WRITTEN OVER a 30 YEAR TIMEFRAME and includes: 3 SEPARATE and DISTINCT VOLUMES 37 CHAPTERS and 14 SUPPLEMENTS, with ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS RELEASED BI-ANNUALLY EVERY FEBRUARY AND AUGUST We are requiring our Auntie's to notarize an affidavit that she is clearly unqualified to determine, that she is in compliance with all 37 chapters, and 3 Volumes and 14 supplements and pray that she remembered to read the most recent update last February, or she will be convicted of a 3rd Degree FELONY and, Spend 5 Years in JAIL. And the only good thing about this for Auntie, is that it is only a one time fine of$10,000 instead of the $10,000 PER DAY FINE that this Bill 121 is proposing! Furthermore, the bill sets out a list of rental standards for TARs— listing required quiet hours, maximum gathering sizes, parking and signage requirements, and more, with (DAILY) fines for violations ranging from $2,500 for a first offense to $10,000 for a third. The DAILY FINE for Parking in the wrong parking stall is $10,000 PER DAY. The DAILY FINE for having the improper sign size is $10,000 PER DAY The DAILY FINE for guests playing Monopoly too loud after 8p is $10,000 PER DAY. The DAILY FINE for a guest not declaring his 4 year old child in the booking is $10,000 PER DAY. The DAILY FINE for a sign being hung on the wrong door in the home is $10,000 PER DAY Please, take a minute and internalize this. Could you or your Mom, your sister, your niece or your Uncle be able to pay a $10,000 DAILY fine because one of your guests accidentally parked in the incorrect parking spot? These are the fines proposed in this very one sided HIGHLY PUNITIVE Bill 121. This bill is subjecting your friends and your neighbors to these Unprecedented TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS PER DAY FINES. For the heinous crime of your guest having too much fun at 8:15 at night on the vacation they have saved up for their entire lives. These penalties not only do not fit the crime, they are also completely illegal under our United States Constitution 8th Amendment Constitutionally Protects all US Citizens from "Excessive Fines", and the Hawaii State Constitution, Article I, Section 12 protects all Hawaiian Citizens from Excessive Fines. This Bill is exactly why our forefathers wrote these amendments - to protect us from overreaching governments that want to FINE you TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS EVERY DAY/ $300,000 PER MONTH - PER FINE! Can you imagine receiving a $300,000 fine for your 30 day guest parking in the wrong parking spot. THESE ARE NOT EVEN CRIMES, THIS IS LIVING LIFE IN FEAR OF A PUNITIVE GOVERNMENT. Bill 121 seeks to fine STVR Owners OVER AND OVER for minor regulations such as parking violations, noise ordinances, improper signage, exceeding occupancy counts, having an unregistered guest, etc. for the stated purpose to fund the county enforcement against STVR's. Kimball, practically shouting at that point, presented data from the City and County of Honolulu showing that even though ONLY 2.5% OF THE HOUSING IS USED FOR TRANSIENT ACCOMODATIONS overall housing prices have increased by 5%. Through this, she said, it is clear that allowing the free proliferation of short-term rentals creates an inflationary pressure on the housing market that drives up prices and forces lower-income residents out of state. According to Kimball's data: 97.5% of ALL HOUSING IS AVAILABLE for Hawaii Residents. (The conclusions drawn in this bill reveal a negligent lack of qualifications and proper credentialing by the author of this Bill 121, despite their good intentions, Bill 121 CANNOT MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT AN UNBIASED IMPACT STUDY ON THE CATASTROPHIC )That Bill 121 has been drafted without conducting a single economic impact study or market analysis to determine what the short term or long term effects will be on our community? With a Bill of this Magnitude and importance, it is alarming that Bill 121 has gotten this far without utilizing the resources of the Hawaii County Department Research and Development. The county owes it to our Hawaiian Ohana to fulfill their oaths and fiduciary duties to the residents of Hawaii to thoroughly investigate and collect and develop ACCURATE data, before even contemplating enacting policies of this profound significance that will impact and absolutely destroy the livelihoods of thousands of Hawaii County Residents.