HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-05-14 KCDP AC Testimony - Bill 147 - Planning CommissionCounty 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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