“Public divided over vacation rentals” plus 3 more |
- Public divided over vacation rentals
- Council puts an end to vacation rental debate
- LeisureLink Plans Vacation Pricing Report
- Bill Could Make Vacation Rentals Illegal
| Public divided over vacation rentals Posted: 29 Jun 2010 12:36 AM PDT LIHU'E — A bill that would explicitly legalize hundreds of existing transient vacation rentals on agricultural lands is gaining ground. Bill 2364 received a county Planning Commission stamp of approval in April before moving to the Kaua'i County Council where it sailed through a first reading in May and a public hearing Wednesday. The controversial bill has faced major community opposition each time it has been up for discussion. But aside from several opponents voicing concerns, Wednesday's hearing was marked by a significant number of supporters, many of whom were lawyers and real estate managers representing TVR owners. "The clients I've been representing, that's all we've been asking, just a fair opportunity to show that we have been a TVR for the past so many years, even before the original bill was passed, and that is a fair situation for the whole neighborhood," Lihu'e attorney Jonathan Chun said. On March 7, 2008, the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste signed Bill 864, the ordinance mentioned by Chun, which allowed TVR owners to apply for non-conforming use permits, as long as they were operating prior to that date, and had been paying taxes and keeping receipts. That law, however, specifically excluded vacation rentals operating on agriculture-zoned lands. The new bill, proposed by Councilman Tim Bynum, would give ag-land vacation rentals operating prior to March 7, 2008, an opportunity to apply for a non-conforming use permit. Legal issues When former Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura introduced the original bill in March 2007, Chun argued that state law may prohibit counties from denying a landowner the right to use his property in a manner that was previously allowed by the government. He also said landowners could argue that the taking of their property without compensation is unconstitutional under the 5th Amendment. The taking would mean physical property appropriation or depriving someone of all economically beneficial use of a property. When Chun unsuccessfully argued in 2007 on behalf of TVR owners in ag-zoned land, he mentioned several court cases in which the outcome set precedents in favor of landowners. When the previous bill was in the crafting stage, the Kaua'i Alternative Vacation Accommodation Association website warned TVR owners that if there's any evidence of a business advertising, it could result in a search warrant to look for possible illegal activities. "Are you sure we are still residing in the U.S. or maybe in Nazi Germany?" the KAVA website questioned. "The County Council can and will easily find any of our vacation rental properties on the web — they probably know who we are." Bynum has said that the county cannot legally deny use because of zoning violation, nor deny owners an opportunity to become legit if they demonstrate they have complied with the law. Councilman Jay Furfaro has said that council members take an oath to protect the county's wellness. "Part of that is not getting ourselves tied up in a bunch of lawsuits," he said. The bill, both lawmakers said, is an attempt to fix the law rather than circumvent it. Former Councilman Mel Rapozo said during the bill's first reading that an October 2008 opinion from Attorney General Mark Bennett says that counties cannot authorize TVRs on ag land. Bennett has ruled that a TVR or a bed-and-breakfast is not an accessory use, Rapozo said. "If it doesn't apply to the farming activities — and believe me, tourists do not support the farming activities — it's not allowed," he said at a recent meeting, referring to TVRs as an accessory use. Farm, residence or TVR? The Planning Commission recently approved a 12-room "farm dwelling" on ag land in Kilauea's Seacliff Plantation gated community. Under state law, the unit has to be in conjunction with farming activities. In this case, it will be a one-acre turf farm, and half an acre of fruit trees. Representatives for landowners Steven and Diane Dechka said the couple would not be residing there full-time, but had extended family who would use the house often. In the same gated community, there is a vacation rental listed on the Hawai'i Gaga website at $6,000 a week or $1,000 per night. The 3-bedroom/2.5-bathroom property, called Nene Hale, is managed by Princeville Vacations/Coldwell Banker. Support Lihu'e attorney Lorna Nishimitsu said the council would be giving landowners no greater rights than Kapa'a Middle School had when it applied for its permit to operate on ag land. "Many of our churches have to go through the special use permit process because there aren't enough zoned lands that are large enough that allow those unusual and reasonable uses," she said. "These people who are engaged in ag-TVR uses will also have to engage in agricultural activities because the lands are classified agricultural," said Nishimitsu, who also requested that whenever the topography makes it impossible for agriculture, owners may qualify if they're farming on a common element of a Condominium Property Regime subdivision. Councilwoman Lani Kawahara said she was having a hard time understanding the comparison of schools and churches to TVRs. "The fact that rental income is collected from rental of the homes, it's no different than income that is collected from the sale of agriculture products," Nishimitsu said. "This society is driven by economics, the difference is the amount of money." Falko Partners director Shawn Smith, who is a Chamber of Commerce board member, said it doesn't make a difference who is in the house next to you. "It's unfair to say that people visiting are the ones who are making all the noise. I live next door to a family that's making noise all the time, and they live here full-time," Smith said. "I hate to throw that emotional side in any kind of deliberation." Smith said the TVR business is an important "survival tool" for families who live on the Mainland part-time, and also live here and rent their properties. "Let the people that have been contributing to the island on so many different areas of the economic side of it continue," Sean Smith said. "They do it the right way, they fill out all the paperwork, they do it legally, they should be allowed to continue." Lihu'e attorney Dan Hempey said his client, KAVA, asked him to show its support for the bill. "We believe it's fair and it's the right public policy, and it would also make county law consistent with state law," Hempey said. "We think it's good policy, because it promotes farming." Hempey said TVR owners would need employees to work the farm. A ratio between vacation rental income versus farming income would have to be set, so the Planning Commission could make an informed decision, disqualifying TVRs disguised as farms. "I think we've got to trust our bureaucrats to look at it and make a decision whether this is a scam application or a real application," Hempey said. Chad Deal said he supports the bill because it allows for regulation and treats everyone fairly. He said TVRs on farms give an opportunity to experience the island in a different way. He gave his daughter's experience last Christmas in Italy as an example. She stayed in a farm there, along with 60 other tourists, and was put in charge of baking operations. Guy Croydon, who is also a member of the Kaua'i Fire Commission, said he agrees that the due process the Planning Commission used to approve TVRs was rather subjective. "There was no clear guidance," he said, explaining that many local families were disapproved because their structure was not in local compliance. "I don't believe any other businesses get shut down because they have a structure violation, without being cited ... and allowed to fix the violation," he said. Only a limited number of TVRs in business would qualify, and the new bill would not open it up for new TVRs to apply, Croydon said. "We have enough land here on this island to do diversified agriculture, and probably support most of the state. But the big problem is that large tracts of land are being held by corporations from the Mainland and who knows where else," Croydon said. If the county wants to promote agriculture, it should support bills to leverage those landowners to allow their land to be farmed by those willing to do it, he said. "I think we need to look forward. I think this bill does look forward at how to deal with what we have," said Mary Paterson, who owns Custom Care Company, specialized in providing VIP services for visitors staying in vacation rentals. The England-born entrepreneur, who's been on the island for 23 years, said the bill should be approved. "The strangest thing is that a lot of these places got a license to do business, from the state, have been paying their taxes to the state and the county all these years, and all of a sudden it's 'oh, you've been doing this illegally,'" she said. "I don't quite understand it." Many TVRs sit on smaller CPR lands, and cannot farm because of land limitations, Paterson said. "They should be given the opportunity to apply for a special use permit," she said, adding that the council should even take into consideration rezoning some of the smaller CPR lands that don't have enough room for farming. Opposition Many community members also testified against the bill. The opposition was the same, if not stronger than the support. Resident George Volker said he lives with his family in a CPR property zoned as ag land. He built a 2-bedroom home and planned to supplement his income with farming. Two of his neighbor, who share the CPR, have been conducting illegal TVR businesses for years, he said. One of these neighbors doesn't even have a certificate of occupancy issued for the main home and a guest unit, according to Volker. He said he has seen many parties there, bands playing, and film crews. When he approached his neighbors he was called a "bad neighbor" and asked if he was drunk. A complaint filed with the Planning Department has apparently not resulted in any action, since both vacation rentals continue to operate, Volker said. "Transient vacation rentals do not belong on ag land," he said. Resident Anne Punohu, in tears, said if she had a piece of land to farm she would be able to support her family much better, but instead she has to work at department stores and in the tourism industry. "The land on the beachside is very fertile if you know how to farm, and if you know what to farm," Punohu said. Farmer Lani Sykos said when he used to live in Hana, Maui he single-handedly cleared five acres of land with a chainsaw to create a successful farm. As a taxpayer, Sykos said he understands TVR owners need to pay hotel or commercial zoning property taxes to engage in commercial tourist activities, instead of paying taxes for ag lands. Kapa'a resident Ken Taylor said he does not farm, but is against the bill. "We should move forward," he said. Barbara Robeson, speaking on behalf of Protect our Neighborhood 'Ohana, asked the county to do an audit before considering the bill to solve some problems before compounding the existing ones. North Shore resident Caren Diamond also suggested an audit to see what has already happened with the proliferation of TVRs. "How can you give them more to do until you do that?" she asked council members. "To anyone who's saying 'we've been legal all along,' where is the use permit?" she said. "There's a procedure available, I don't see why this council acts as if their hands are tied." Bill 2364 will be revisited July 7, when it goes before the council's Planning Committee. Go to www.kauai.gov, www.hawaiigaga.com, www.wethepeopleofkauai.com and www.customcarecompany.com for more information. • Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Council puts an end to vacation rental debate Posted: 29 Jun 2010 03:14 PM PDT Terms of Service - hidesertstar.com ----------------------------- PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE. Privacy Notice The following guidelines apply for information collected from visitors to the Hi-Desert Star web site: The Hi-Desert Star is committed to protecting your privacy. We believe you have a right to know what information we collect about you when you visit our web site, and how that information is used and safeguarded. Your Personal Information We collect personally identifiable information (name, e-mail address, etc.) and/or demographic data (ZIP code, gender, etc.) that you submit when you: Register for our services Complete a survey Enter a contest, promotion, or sweepstakes Order a subscription to our newspaper Place a classified ad Send us an e-mail Submit reader opinions We do not give or sell any personally identifiable information to advertisers or other outside parties. We may use this information to process and maintain your account, reply to your specific questions and requests, verify submitted editorial information (ie: wedding and birth announcements,) inform you of special offers from us, and compile aggregate demographic statistics about our users. The Hi-Desert Star is not responsible for the policies or actions of third parties that may collect any information you disclose in the Opinions, Guest Book, Classifieds, Community Calendar, or other public forums on this site. Our partners and other Internet sites and services that may be accessible through the Hi-Desert Star have separate data and privacy practices. These sites include, but are not limited to, TownNews.com and dotPhoto.com. Please contact those sites directly if you have questions about their privacy policies. Children's Privacy The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) stipulates that Web site operators cannot knowingly collect personal information from children under age 13 without verifiable parental permission. While we offer information on our site that is appropriate for, available to, and useful to children, we do not seek children's participation in services that require registration. You must be 18 years or older to participate in the following services: Register for our services Complete a survey (unless otherwise noted) Enter a contest, promotion, or sweepstakes Order a subscription to our newspaper Place a classified ad Submit reader opinions Cookies and IP Addresses We use cookies (small text files transferred from our Web site to your hard drive) to recognize repeat users, track content preferences and traffic patterns. Cookies do not damage files or give anyone access to your personally identifiable information. They simply provide us with information about how visitors are using Hi-Desert Star to help us improve and enhance the site. We may share aggregate site usage statistics and demographic information with third parties, but this information does not contain any personally identifiable information. We do not use IP addresses to track use traffic patterns and content preference. How to contact us If you have any questions or comments regarding our privacy policy, please contact Jay Thomas at jthomas@hidesertstar.com Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| LeisureLink Plans Vacation Pricing Report Posted: 29 Jun 2010 10:50 AM PDT Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Bill Could Make Vacation Rentals Illegal Posted: 29 Jun 2010 01:11 PM PDT The bill was originally written to prevent building owners from illegally converting apartments into hotel rooms, but the wording throws a blanket over short-term renters as well. The bill would ban renting out an apartment for shorter than 30 days, except in situations where no money is exchanged or a temporary visitor is caring for pets or plants. Bill supporter State Senator Liz Krueger said the bill is meant to target seedy landlords, not average residents trying make some cash from a short-term rental. She told the Times, "The city is not going to knock on doors." Still, those who offer rentals or take advantage of such offers are upset that they may soon be forced to pay New York hotel prices to stay in the city. Brian Chesky, co-founder of vacation rental website Airbnb.com, said, "This legislation is being painted as slumlords who convert apartments to illegal hotels. But as far as I can tell, this will affect thousands of families, young professionals and elderly people." And Sean O'Neill of Budget Travel writes, "If you can save $150 a night on your visit to New York City, who is harmed? Who is really being hurt here by short-term sublets?...It encourages ordinarily law-abiding people, like me, to break the law because the law is so inane." The bill passed the state Senate in a 32-28 vote last week, but has yet to be voted on by the Assembly. Protesters have created an online petition, blaming the bill on "Big Hotel" lobbyists. At press time 18 people had signed up. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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