vacation rental regulations passed!

[kalakoa]

seems like a class action suit against the county might be a recourse

What? Force the County to abide by reasonable land-use regulations? Unpossible.

[My 2 cents]

[i]"it becomes null and void when you sell. Although this might be challengeable in court"

Kalakoa, would you mind commenting on this? I'm sure you have more expertise in this area than I do.

[kalakoa]

I haven't read the proposed regulations, but it sounds like the "nonconforming use certificate" is just that: permission which runs with the owner regarding the use of their property. This is different than a "special use permit" which runs with the land and is therefore transferable to future owners.

It's really quite clever: current TVR operators "in good standing" may continue to operate (subject to permit application and payment of fees), but if they sell their property or cease operation, they lose their "use certificate" forever.

Unless, of course, they happen to be located in "the correct zoning", which zoning type does not exist in Puna.

[My 2 cents]

Well that sucks. Opens up more questions though.

Are TVRs currently allowed under the ag designation, or are they currently illegal w/o a SUP?

If they are currently allowed under ag, wouldn't that run with the land?

If they aren't currently allowed under ag w/o a SUP, couldn't the county deny the nonconforming use certificate and shut them down if they don't already have a SUP?

[kimo wires]

I spoke with someone,VR owner< that is at the forefront of this action (opposed to it).
She told me that the the Non Conforming Use Permit ,part of the regulations, has been changed to allow it to run with the property at sale. The final draft hasn't been written.

[kalakoa]

Are TVRs currently allowed under the ag designation, or are they currently illegal w/o a SUP?

Pre-1976 ag lots do not prohibit TVR under State land-use;
County says "bed and breakfast" is a Special Use for A, FA, RA;
County says "rooming/lodging" is not permissible in A, FA, RA.

"Bed and breakfast" must be an incidental use, owner resides on-premises, not more than five bedrooms/ten guests, shall provide paved off-street parking, may only serve breakfast and only to guests. HCC 25-4-7.

As I interpret the rules, almost all TVRs in Puna are already illegal. Notable exceptions being "the ones in downtown Pahoa" (C zoning) and places like Kalani (special permits from State and County) and the occasional "has a real SUP" (thus "has a real investment" because they can sell a functional TVR).

County is obviously interpreting the rules differently such that none of the existing rules need actually be enforced, this way they can frame the problem as "we need more rules" (which rules include -- as per usual -- "register and pay a fee, so we can hire people to collect the fee payments and verify the registration"). They won't collect enough revenue to actually enforce the new rules, that was never the point.

[My 2 cents]

they can frame the problem as "we need more rules"

Or, "we can enforce the rules that we want to enforce as we see fit".

Geez, where do these people come from? (Rhetorical)

[Dinamight]

Today's article in the TH says the draft rules for vacation rentals are almost ready for public viewing.

Does anyone know if this is now in the final draft:
A non-conforming certificate can be carried on with new owners if the property is sold after April 2019, providing the current VR owner applies and pays the $500 registration fee on time?

quote:

---

Originally posted by kimo wires

I spoke with someone,VR owner< that is at the forefront of this action (opposed to it).
She told me that the the Non Conforming Use Permit ,part of the regulations, has been changed to allow it to run with the property at sale. The final draft hasn't been written.

---

[Seeb]

The worst part is that the planing dept. ( aka real estate developers inside man ) get to make, interpret, and enforce the Rules with little or no oversight

[Dinamight]

I understand there will be meetings for owners to discuss the proposals before they become final, however, maybe this is all just window dressing and you are right, Seeb, they can make and enforce rules however they want.

Kimo Wires, you mentioned you knew a VR owner who believes existing and conforming properties can be passed on as VRs to new owners after April 2019? I can't find anything about this in the news articles so far, can anyone shed any more light on this?

Thank you!