HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-15 Bill 121 Gordon & Rhonda Lindquist From: oordon lindouist
To: LPCtestimonv
Subject: Bill 121 OPPOSE
Date: Monday,April 15,2024 4:30:13 PM
Dear Planning commissioners.
My wife and I are Kapuna in our 70's and have lived in Kona for the past 7 years. We have a
small STIR in our home that we have been paying both state and local taxes on for almost the
past three years. We also had our property taxes reassessed and the rate changed going back
three years. This added over $10000 dollars to our impound account causing our mortgage to
increase from $2350.00 per month to over $3100 per month beginning next month. We count
on the income from our STIR to supplement are social security and small pension. We could
not afford to continue to live here in Hawaii without this income.
This bill 121 is poorly thought out and does not take into account several provisions which
would cause many hosted STIR like ours to shut down. Furthermore, the thought that this will
convert STIR into long term rentals does not take into account the economics of such a change.
First monthly rental income of LTR vs STIR would be 50% or less. The property tax bills have
already increased to double what it was. Additionally the landlord tenant laws in the State
favors the tenant. I have owned rental property in another similar state where tenants have all
the rights and landlords very few, leading to expensive and lengthy evictions. I will not do that
again.
Furthermore, the council members introducing this bill 121 have not done an economic
impact study. If this were done properly, I suggest that all current STIR owners, including
hosted and unhosted should be surveyed to see the impact the loss of such units would make
on tax revenue. This has not been done.
You should vote this bill down and insist that any future legislative proposals include an
Economic Impact Study.
Protect our hosts who work hard to provide a viable alternative to the hotels and resorts. Our
guests typically prefer staying in a home vs a hotel room at double or triple the cost. Think
about the cleaning, landscaping, and maintenance jobs that would disappear.
Please Vote NO on this poorly thought out measure
Gordon and Rhonda Lindquist
Kailua-Kona, HI