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Myth #1 “Illegal vacation rentals
aren’t really ‘illegal’; they just don’t
have
a permit.”
Any
B&B without an NUC is operating outside of the
law. So is any TVU without an NUC (or
Resort or Resort-
Mixed-Use zoning). That makes them
illegal. Just like an
unlicensed doctor or unlicensed driver.
Myth
#2 “The new legislation will regulate
illegal B&Bs.”
The
best regulation against B&Bs is the zoning law that
already keeps them out of residential
areas; however, it
was difficult for Department of Planning
and Permitting
(DPP) inspectors to catch illegal
operators “in the act.”
The DPP is now using “preponderance of
evidence” to
cite offenders. Furthermore,
operators who won’t qualify
under 05-187
will probably continue to operate illegally
anyway. So legalization
is not the answer.
Enforcement is.
Myth
#3 “Neighbors could vote on B&B
applicants: That’s a fair compromise.”
The
voting process proposed in 05-187 is flawed and
full of loopholes. It will not require a
public hearing or
verification that all of the required
neighbors are polled.
It won’t restrict other TVRs – legal or
not – from voting.
It will give the same vote to a neighbor
500 feet away as it
does to a next-door neighbor, and
unfairly allows multiple
owners of one property one vote each.
The only real way to stop an application
will be to
mount an organized campaign to get more
than 50% of
neighbors to file protests in opposition
– a daunting, if
not impossible, task.
Also,
what are the conditions for
granting a license?
What is the fee? What happens if an
owner sells? Or if there
are new neighbors? Nobody knows. And how
many B&Bs
will be allowed on a block? In a square
mile? There are
no proposed density limits.
Myth #4 “Without
more short-term vacation
rentals, visitors won’t have
alternatives
to Waikiki and local folks won’t
have places to put up visiting family
and
friends.”
In
addition to the many TVUs in resort areas, there are
about 1,000 licensed TVUs and about 60
B&Bs in residential
areas of O‘ahu. That’s plenty of legal
alternatives to
Waikiki hotels. There are other options
as well, such as
hotels in downtown Honolulu, Kahala,
Ko‘Olina, the airport
area, and Turtle Bay.
Waikiki
was once a residential
beach-side town until
it developed to meet the demands of the
tourist industry.
Then most of it was rezoned as a resort
area. Since TVRs
are the forerunners of hotel
development, that could happen
anywhere else as well. Do we want our
neighborhoods
to be resort towns? No. Are we obliged
to house every
visitor? No.
Myth
#5 “Vacation rentals are good for
the economy and increase property values.”
Only
in the short-run. Because they inflate the price of
real estate, they have disastrous
long-term consequences.
As property values escalate, workers are
pushed out of
their own towns, and homes soon become
out of reach of
our keiki. No pre-1990 business in a
residential district
can say it opened to cater to business
from TVRs since they
have been prohibited for the last 15
years. Bottom line:
Tourists will still visit our
communities on a day-trip basis
and spend their money.
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SONHawai`i
Save Oahu's Neighborhoods
P.O. Box 88131 - Honolulu, HI 96830
E-mail: sonhawaii@hawaii.rr.com
www.sonhawaii.org
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Myth #6 “Folks need to rent out a room
or two if that helps make ends meet.”
First,
people who say they depend on their illegal TVR
business for livelihood or mortgage
payments should have
considered that - and legal alternatives
- before they bought
the house. Speculative purchases of
homes - with the intention of
illegally cashing in on neighborhood
tranquility - should
not be rewarded with
legalization. Second, O‘ahu has a
housing shortage. Those with extra
rooms should extend aloha
to local residents as tenants. And
third, some B&B and
TVU operators are business hui or
out-of-state investors whose
profits leave the neighborhood
and/or the state.
Myth #7 “People should be able to do
whatever they want
with their property.”
Zoning
laws exist to ensure that we all have the same
right to “the quiet peace and enjoyment”
of our homes.
That is why businesses in residential
areas aren’t allowed
unless they are a “home occupation.”
Customers can stop
by, but no current definition of home
occupation allows
them to actually inhabit the domicile.
If TVRs are permitted,
then why not shave-ice stands, kayak
rentals, auto-repair
shops, or dog kennels? The proposed
Resolution 05-187
sets a dangerous precedent.
Myth #8 “Long-term rentals cause as
many problems as the vacation ones.”
One
usually knows a neighbor and can work on resolving
a problem over time. In a vacation
rental, clients have no
commitment to the community. By the time
a neighbor can
complain to a landlord or rental agent
about the number of
people, noise, cars or parking problems,
the “guests” may
already have checked out and new ones
checked in.
Myth #9 “Only a few people oppose
more B&Bs.”
A
2002 state study found that more than half of the
residents polled did not believe that
short-term vacation
rentals would be good for the island. In
addition, most of
O’ahu’s 500+ condominium associations
already forbid
short-term rentals because they know
that the mix of residents and
transients doesn’t work. And
testimony – both
written and verbal – against Resolution
05-187 was about
2 to 1. People opposed to B&Bs and
TVUs come from all
walks of life: kupuna on Social
Security, who have seen
their property tax double because of
speculation; a mother
worried about her children playing in
the front yard when
they don’t know their neighbors; a real
estate agent who
sees local clients priced out of the
market.
Myth #10 “I’m not in a beach area like
Makaha, Waimanalo, or the North Shore,
so TVRs
don’t affect me.”
They
already impact you by taking housing off the market
and driving up rental prices
island-wide. And once vacation
rentals reach critical mass in coastal
areas, those neighborhoods will
lose their residential character -
the very quality which
attracted the tourists. They, in
turn, will seek out the next
“new and undiscovered” towns.
Kapahulu, Kahala and Aina
Haina are possibilities. So are
Nuuanu, Manoa and your
neighborhood.
Mahalo for your kokua in helping preserve the residential island wayof
life on O‘ahu. You can help Save O‘ahu’s Neighborhoods. Contact
the Mayor, your City Council representative, the DPP, and the Planning
Commission. Tell them to oppose allowing any more short-term
rentals in residential neighborhoods and to get busy enforcing the
illegals. And add your name, voice and support to ours as we work
together to preserve the residential way - the island way - of life.
For a printable PDF form and list of officials you can contact, please
click on this link: Save
Oahu's Neighborhoods
“E Malama i ka
Nohona Kaiaulu o O‘ahu.”
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