11-01-2017, 11:07 PM
You read that right! A realtor friend called the Mayor’s office today, November 1, 2017, and received the following information from Roy Takemoto, who told her he is working on draft legislation relating to BnB’s with Kona Councilmembers Dru Kanuha and Karen Eoff. The legislation is not seeking to ban vacation rentals (his words, but actually not true if you look at the details.) Mr. Takemoto said that currently they don’t even have a first draft but this is what they are discussing:
Objective: Two-fold, to minimize the impact of BnB’s on neighborhoods while incentivising and increasing long-term affordable and middle class rentals for local residents.
Defining what “Transient Accommodations” are and how it is applied: On Maui and Oahu it is housing anyone for less than 180 days.
Regulating “hosted” rentals and/or “unhosted” rentals:
“Hosted” rentals are those where the property owner/operator lives and resides on the same land/parcel the BnB is located.
“Unhosted” would be those in which the property owner/operator lives somewhere other than the parcel that the BnB is located.
So far they are looking at leaving the “hosted” rentals alone and only applying regulations to the “unhosted.”
Any current “unhosted” rentals that are in good standing as of a cut off date, (which is not set yet), would be grandfathered in, and allowed to continue operating. Good standing, so far, is defined as having paid their transient accommodation taxes and general excise taxes. Those in good standing would be allowed to get a non-conforming certificate and continue operating.
Any new unhosted rentals would have to be in a permitted district.
Where do they permit unhosted rentals? This is the million dollar question that he says the Council will have a lot of say in. So far the administration is looking at permitting it only where hotels permitted, which is in resort, commercial zoning areas, or where the General Plan has a “designated resort node.”
He explained that along with this BnB regulation there are other strategies they are working on:
1. He also explained how the Ohana Unit option for homeowners is too strict, and they want to make them more accessible for residents to rent out.
2. He said that building standards are too strict.
3. They want to “fix” the affordable rental tax class and create a much larger tax credit to make it worth having long term rentals, and changing the requirements so the credit is more accessible to those with 2nd homes.
Objective: Two-fold, to minimize the impact of BnB’s on neighborhoods while incentivising and increasing long-term affordable and middle class rentals for local residents.
Defining what “Transient Accommodations” are and how it is applied: On Maui and Oahu it is housing anyone for less than 180 days.
Regulating “hosted” rentals and/or “unhosted” rentals:
“Hosted” rentals are those where the property owner/operator lives and resides on the same land/parcel the BnB is located.
“Unhosted” would be those in which the property owner/operator lives somewhere other than the parcel that the BnB is located.
So far they are looking at leaving the “hosted” rentals alone and only applying regulations to the “unhosted.”
Any current “unhosted” rentals that are in good standing as of a cut off date, (which is not set yet), would be grandfathered in, and allowed to continue operating. Good standing, so far, is defined as having paid their transient accommodation taxes and general excise taxes. Those in good standing would be allowed to get a non-conforming certificate and continue operating.
Any new unhosted rentals would have to be in a permitted district.
Where do they permit unhosted rentals? This is the million dollar question that he says the Council will have a lot of say in. So far the administration is looking at permitting it only where hotels permitted, which is in resort, commercial zoning areas, or where the General Plan has a “designated resort node.”
He explained that along with this BnB regulation there are other strategies they are working on:
1. He also explained how the Ohana Unit option for homeowners is too strict, and they want to make them more accessible for residents to rent out.
2. He said that building standards are too strict.
3. They want to “fix” the affordable rental tax class and create a much larger tax credit to make it worth having long term rentals, and changing the requirements so the credit is more accessible to those with 2nd homes.