To: Kirk Caldwell, Mayor, City Council, Council Member, City Council, Chair, City Council, Council Member, City Council, Council Member, City Council, Council Member, City Council, Council Member, City Council, Council Member, City Council, ...

Support Permitting and Reasonable Use TVUs on Oahu

Allow for Permitting of Vacation Rentals and Bed and Breakfasts operated by owners in Oahu. Support Resolution 15-72 and 15-86.

Why is this important?

Vacation rentals and Bed and Breakfasts permitting has been such a contentious issue here on Oahu. The current rules are ineffective, unenforceable and archaic. The opponents proposal is to add "tools" for enforcement only. They did not consider the financial impact on Oahu economy as a whole. Similar action in Maui produced disastrous result and ultimately failed.

Unscrupulous individuals, recognizing that state agencies have not been enforcing current law, are not complying with vacation-rental and tax requirements. We cannot attempt to address this problem by punishing those who are compliant with current law by stripping them of their opportunities and freedoms. It doesn’t matter where the property owner resides, the property is in Hawaii and therefore the existing laws of the state that admirably uphold constitutional and trade-agreement provisions must be enforced.

Allowing permitting along with enforcement of reasonable rules address both issues of enforcement and its financing.

Hawaii residents would like their neighborhoods to be places where they can expect enjoyment of their free time. They’d like their communities, and those of their friends and families, to have the services and support that make them good places to live, work, and explore. Owners of legal vacation-rental properties share these values, but we recognize there are some owners who do not. Rather than penalize all, we need to identify and address the owners who do not operate within their social license.

Owners of legal Hawaii vacation rental property contribute to the state’s ability to offer the accommodation choices of any globally significant tourist destination in the competitive tourism marketplace. We would appreciate an end to the special-interest lobby-based bills that arise each year. Such bills harm what Hawaii stands for and threatens its economic future.

Support Resolution 15-72
Support Resolution 15-86