Supporters say new limits are needed to increase the island’s affordable housing stock, while opponents fear negative economic consequences
||| FROM HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT |||
A package of bills expected to be introduced before a Hawaii County Council committee on Tuesday aims to crack down on the number of short-term vacation rentals on the island.
Crafted to address complaints about noise, parking and the loss of character in residential and agricultural areas of the Big Island, the measures also seek to increase the volume of long-term rentals while tamping down rising housing costs.
It’s a debate that has become increasingly urgent statewide amid high cost of living increases, fears that locals are being driven to the mainland by a lack of affordable housing and with thousands of fire survivors from the Aug. 8 Lahaina inferno still stuck in hotel rooms.
“The tragedy of Maui should be a wake-up call for decision makers,” said former Big Island Mayor Harry Kim in a phone interview.
Kim was referring to Maui’s extremely tight housing market, the fact that 14% of the island’s housing stock consists of short-term vacation rentals, and that agencies are struggling to persuade owners of second homes and short-term rentals to house fire victims.
Bills 121, 122 and 123 are sponsored by County Council Chair Heather Kimball and Council Member Ashley Lehualani Kierkiewicz.
In her newsletter to constituents, Kimball said Hawaii island was ill-prepared for the rapid expansion of transient accommodation rentals and online hosting platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo, which emerged in the mid-1990s.
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