HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/3/2022 Item PC, Schmidt
From:Richard Schmidt <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Agenda Public Comment: Hawaii will limit short-term vacation rentals in a big way
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Dear Council Members,
While the city cries "we need housing," it ignores the fact hundreds of housing units have been taken out of the housing
market altogether to rent as nightly lodgings. (Like the house up the street from me, previously a conventional rental to
people who needed a place to live, now a $600 per night airbnb.)
Isn't it time for the council to direct staff to do some meaningful enforcement of our existing ordinance, and if necessary
adopt an ordinance prohibiting whole-house nightly rentals?
Richard Schmidt
Oahu, Hawaii's most populous
island, will now limit Airbnbs and
short-term vacation rentals in a big
way
Silas Valentino, Joshua Bote, SFGATE
April 26, 2022
To
help
prot
ect
your
priva
cy, …
Canoers train on the Ala Wai canal in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu on December 23, 2014.
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images
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Oahu, Hawaii’s third-biggest island, will now place further restrictions on where Airbnb, Vrbo
and other short-term rental properties can be located throughout Honolulu and the island.
In a move that has roiled landlords and other short-term rental operators, Honolulu Mayor
Rick Blangiardi — whose office pushed for the bill’s introduction to the city council — has
signed a bill that would place significant limitations not only on where Airbnbs and Vrbos can
be located, but for the length of short-term rentals in large swaths of the island.
“We could feel the outcry from our communities across the island on what had gone on with
illegal vacation rentals,” Blangiardi said in a press conference Tuesday. “\[This\] is to bring back
our neighborhoods, where people grow up, where families are raised and not have them be
mini-hotels, but be the neighborhoods they were designed to be, a source of great pride for all
of us who have raised families here in Oahu.”
The bill will require rentals in most parts of Oahu to have a minimum stay of 90
days, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Shorter stays, with a minimum of 30 days,
are only allowed in properties located in areas with resort zoning — namely in Koolina,
Kuilima, Makaha and parts of Waikiki.
As reported by Hawaii News Now, the legislation passed through the city council earlier this
month with near-total unanimity — a vote of 8-1. Only one councilmember, Andria Tupola,
voted no. Tupola, whose district lies in the western side of the island, expressed concerns that
past regulation of illegal rental properties has already failed, Hawaii News Now says.
She also expressed concern over a potential conflict of interest after Honolulu’s permitting
department head recused himself from working on this legislation. Honolulu Department of
Planning and Permitting Director Dean Uchida’s wife, Joy Uchida, is employed by a firm that
owns numerous condo-hotel properties in Waikiki and could benefit from this legislation.
To
help
prot
ect
your
priva
cy, …
Honolulu Civil Beat reports that the bill, which would take effect in 180 days, would place
new restrictions on short-term rentals, such as requiring a parking spot for any rooms rented
in residential areas and prohibiting illicit operators from advertising these properties.
Proponents for the legislation have noted that unfettered short-term rentals, especially in the
pandemic, have contributed to skyrocketing rents across Honolulu, where rental website
Zumper says the cost of a one-bedroom is $1,600, and across the island. They also note that
tourists have overrun residential areas, says Civil Beat, where they previously spent a
majority of their time in Waikiki and other neighboring areas. Hotel operators are also in
support of the bill.
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But the debate leading up to Blangiardi's signing has been tense — with short-term rental
hosts and services contesting the bill on grounds that it harms property owners and
privileges hotels. The World Surf League also expressed opposition to the bill, arguing that
the bill could pose a roadblock on all surf events held by the league in Hawaii.
In a letter submitted to the city council and shared with SFGATE, Airbnb expressed concern
that the bill's "implementation would be impermissible by state law" and could make it
harder for "critical use cases" on the platform, such as first responders and disaster workers.
Still, residents remain adamant that the bill could aid in the ongoing housing crisis across
Hawaii.
“Any economic benefits of opening up our residential areas to tourism are far outweighed by
the negative impacts on our neighborhoods and local residents,” resident Thomas Cestare
told Hawaii News Now.
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