The Hawaii County Leeward Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to defer consideration of a bill seeking to overhaul vacation rental rules during a meeting attended by more than a dozen testifiers, the majority of whom spoke in opposition.

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The Hawaii County Leeward Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to defer consideration of a bill seeking to overhaul vacation rental rules during a meeting attended by more than a dozen testifiers, the majority of whom spoke in opposition.

Commission Chair Dean Au justified the deferral, saying he wants “more time to process,” with other members stating they still need to “figure it out,” “think this through” and consider “what types of amendments (they’re) willing to support.”

Bill 147 would redefine hosted and unhosted short-term rentals, establish working standards and punitive fines, and expand the list of zoning areas where hosted rentals are allowed to operate without a permit. It would lengthen the rental period considered “short-term” to stays less than 180 consecutive days — as opposed to 30 days under current rules — and set occupancy limits, reduce “quiet hours,” and restrict the types of activities allowed on rental properties.

Under the proposed legislation, all short-term rentals would be divided into two groups: bed and breakfasts and STVRs.

B&Bs are defined as hosted rentals where someones lives on the same property as the rental unit during guest stays. Conversely, STVRs are defined as unhosted rentals with no on-site presence by a “host” — specified in the bill as someone “reachable,” whether it be an owner, family member, property manager or tenant.

Registration fees would be set at $250 for new B&Bs with a $100 annual renewal, and $500 for new STVRs with a $250 annual renewal.

Whichever group a particular property falls into determines where it’s allowed to operate and what rules it must follow. STVRs would be mostly limited to resort areas, but with two notable exceptions: properties zoned Multi-Family Residential and Neighborhood Commercial.

B&Bs, on the other hand, would be permitted in a large swath of zoning categories, including residential, commercial and many agricultural areas without the need for a special use permit, except for lots zoned State Land Use Agricultural.

The measure also calls for the creation of an enforcement fund, levying fines ranging from $5,500 for first violations to $10,000 for third violations and beyond. If county enforcers find an unregistered property listed as bookable anywhere online — including on popular sites like Airbnb and VRBO — they could consider that sufficient evidence of illegal operation, with owners then having to prove they’re in compliance.

The bill was forwarded to the planning director and planning commissions by a unanimous vote in-favor by the County Council’s Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development on April 7. The Windward Planning Commission voted unanimously to defer the bill on June 5.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the commission’s Kailua-Kona chambers bustled with ranks of opposition testifiers speaking in-person and over Zoom about how different aspects of the bill would cause them harm. A small handful of testifiers also spoke in support of the bill’s efforts to rein in what they characterized as an out-of-control STVR industry.

Kailua-Kona resident Noella Callejo spoke in opposition of the bill, claiming its rules are not targeted enough.

“Before imposing broad restrictions, the county should clearly identify the problem it’s trying to solve and tailor the solutions accordingly,” Callejo said.

In her opinion, she said, the trouble with STVRs mostly stems from wealthy nonresidents treating Hawaii Island properties as investments or seldom-used getaways, not from working-class residents trying to supplement their income.

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“I think most of the problems that we see are currently driven by people who can afford to buy a second home or a vacation home, and the rest of the time it’s a profitable investment vehicle for them,” she said.

The proposed crackdown, she contended, should focus on tax dodgers and disruptive neighbors while largely exempting local hosts who follow the rules and are simply trying to make ends meet.

“We should address tax noncompliance and irresponsible operators,” she said. “However, I respectfully ask that the county not treat tax-paying local families who actually live on their properties, host responsibly and contribute to this community as though we are the problem.”

Restricting small-scale, family-owned rentals while leaving large hotels and condominium complexes alone, she said, is an inequitable rule enforcement that does little to mitigate the most problematic side-effects of the STVR industry.

“If they’re responsibly using existing space on their property where they live, (and if) they meet their obligations and contribute to this community, why should that be restricted while large corporate hotel interests and all these offshore conglomerates on the coast continue to profit from Hawaii at scale?” she asked.

Kailua, Oahu, resident Melissa Chandler spoke in opposition of the bill allowing STVRs to expand further into neighborhoods, claiming that this would exacerbate the island’s spiraling cost of living crisis.

“These short-term vacation rentals have moved into residential areas and turned communities into tourist resorts — into tourist towns,” Chandler said. “The bigger picture is that it has caused a housing crisis, because it has pushed (up) property taxes on everybody that has lived there for generations … and jacked up their property taxes so high that they cannot afford to stay, and that’s not fair.”

She warned that these problems will continue to grow until off-islanders are barred from operating STVRs altogether.

‘This has got to stop,” she said. “Nonresidents being able to make these short-term vacation rentals and using up our natural resources and causing the housing crisis has got to stop.”

Kailua-Kona resident Kahanu Akiona described STVRs’ detrimental effect on her family’s historic home.

“I’ve seen the face of my childhood neighborhood change over the decades,” Akiona said. “It was once a very tight-knit rural community, and now every few days a strange foreigner wanders into my mother’s yard, just going right up into her property helping themselves to mangoes.”

She spoke in support of the bill’s crackdown on short-term rentals operating on state agricultural land, and criticized the grievances aired by other testifiers who’ve demanded that their “farmstays” be allowed to continue operating without a special use permit — something Bill 147 would require.

“Their bottom line is being threatened,” she said about prior testifiers. “Now, I understand our income is how we make our little worlds go ’round, but to me what is a deeper concern is our sense of community. I do appreciate the farms, the working farms, that allow visitors to come and vacation, but glamorizing our agricultural lands I don’t believe is the proper way to supplement income. Aina deserves more respect than that.”

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The commission will consider the bill again during its July 16 meeting.

Email Stefan Verbano at [email protected]