HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-06-27 Nancy Pisicchio Testimony
From: Nancy Pisicchio
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Bill 147 Testimony Nancy Pisicchio
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2026 11:19:43 AM
Attachments: 2026-05-14 KCDP AC Testimony - Bill 147 - Planning Commission.pdf
Nancy Pisicchio
74-5576 Pawai Place, Suite J, Box 695
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
June 25, 2026
Dean Au, Chair
and Members of the Leeward Planning Commission
County of Hawaiʻi
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3
Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720
Email: LPCtestimony@hawaiicounty.gov
Dear Chair Dean Au and Members of the Commission:
SUBJECT: Bill 147, Relating to Transient Accommodations
I support the testimony provided by the Kona Community Development Plan Action
Committee. (See attached).
Regarding the Action Committee’s recommendation that Bill 147 be amended to remove
unhosted vacation rentals as an allowable use in the Neighborhood Commercial (CN) districts, please note that STVRs are currently not permitted within Neighborhood
Commercial (CN) districts under HCC Section 25-4-16 (1) (A). I do not think it is in the best
interests of the County to further expand STVRs into additional Districts, as is being
recommended in Bill 147.
Regarding the Action Committee’s recommendation to amend Bill 147 to remove unhosted
vacation rentals as an allowable use in the Multiple-Family Residential (RM) districts, I
suggest the following amendment. Establishing a future date after which STVRs would be an
unpermitted use for new buildings or projects within the RM district would avoid requiring
existing STVR users in RM districts to apply for a nonconforming use certificate.
Finally, I suggest that consideration of STVRs as a permitted use within the CDH, Downtown Hilo Commercial District, be deferred until the future South Hilo Community Development
Plan is adopted.
Proposed amendments to Bill 147:
a) An STVR is permitted in the following zoning oning districts:
1) [RM,] V, CG, [CN,] CV, [and CDH];
2) Any residential district, other than RM, that is wholly situated within any of the
following:
A) A Resort or Resort Node area, as designated in the General Plan; or
B) An area designated as Open in the General Plan that is adjacent to an area
identified in subparagraph( A) and that is located along the shoreline; and
3) A project district, where consistent with the uses allowed in the underling zoning
district.
b) An STVR is not permitted in a multiple-family dwelling, unless the dwelling is defined and
governed as a condominium property regime under the Hawaii Revised Statutes, chapter 514B.
c) In any district or area not identified in subsection( a), an STVR may operate with a
nonconforming use certificate issued pursuant to Ordinance No. 18- 114.
d) An STVR will no longer be a permitted use in the RM District in new multi-family dwellings
located in RM buildings or projects permitted after December 31, 2026.
Respectively yours,
Nancy Pisicchio
County of Hawai‘i
KONA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo,96720
(808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742
www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov planning@hawaiicounty
C. Kimo Alameda, Ph.D.
John Pelletier, Chair
Raymond Kirchner
Vacant
Shane Palacat-Nelsen
Charles Young
Nancy Pisicchio, Vice Chair
Charla Thompson
Vacant
Roselyn Molina
May 14, 2026
Dean Au, Chair
and Members of the Leeward Planning Commission
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3
Email: LPCtestimony@hawaiicounty.gov
Dear Chair Dean Au and Members of the Leeward Planning Commission:
SUBJECT: Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee – Testimony
Regarding Bill 147, Relating to Transient Accommodations
The Kona Community Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee offers the following
comments on Bill 147, which was introduced at the April 7, 2026, meeting of the County
Council Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Economic Development. While the
Action Committee has additional concerns and intends to provide further testimony as the bill
progresses, the Committee recommends that Bill 147 be amended to remove unhosted
vacation rentals – referred to in the bill as short-term vacation rentals (STVRs) – as an
allowable use in Multiple-Family Residential (RM) and Neighborhood Commercial (CN)
districts.
The County’s 2025 economic impact study on vacation rentals found that Kona is the largest
short-term rental
supply. This concentration means that the impacts of STVR proliferation are disproportionately
borne by the Kona community.
Section 4.5.2 of the Kona CDP emphasizes that “affordable housing within the urban core is
essential to maintain and enhance an economical and viably diverse community,” and warns
that “without intervention, the market will deliver affordably priced homes further and further
away from employment job centers, resulting in long commutes for the workforce.” RM and CN
districts, which are designed to serve resident populations and are largely located within the
Kona Urban Area, are intended to preserve housing to meet these goals, not to be converted
to transient visitor use.
Dean Au, Chair
and Members of the Leeward Planning Commission
May 14, 2026
Page 2
www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov planning@hawaiicounty
Permitting STVRs in RM and CN districts is also inconsistent with Transportation Strategy 6 of
the Kona CDP, which states that “affordable housing located near major employment centers
would serve to decrease the number of people who fill the roadways commuting long distances
to work every day.” As resident-serving districts situated within the Kona Urban Area, RM and
CN zones are positioned to provide housing in close proximity to jobs, and diverting them to
short-term rental use undermines this objective.
For these reasons, the Kona CDP Action Committee recommends amending Draft Bill 147 to
remove STVRs as a permitted use within the RM and CN Districts. We believe these changes
would better align the Zoning Code with the adopted goals of the Kona CDP, including
increasing the availability of workforce housing, reducing transportation impacts, and
supporting a sustainable, resident-serving urban core.
Mahalo for your consideration.
,
John Pelletier, Chair
Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee
JH
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