Partial Win At the Planning Commission

Our plan to defeat Bill 121 is to "Engage in the political process to the fullest extent possible." That means both the legislative process and the upcoming election.

Congratulations to everyone who did that at the Windward Planning Commission. We had hundreds of letters of testimony and provided a 408 page rebuttal detailing our position.

Thursday's planning commission meeting stretched

to a full 8 hours much of which was filled by testimony from our community telling their personal stories.

The commission decided to defer the the issue to their May 2nd meeting where they will take additional testimony on Bills 122 and 123, but before we do that.....

Our next stop is the Leeward Planning Commission on April 18th at 2:00 PM.

Please be sure to:

1. Send your testimony to the Leeward Planning Commission at [email protected]. If you already sent it to the Windward Commission, just change the addressee and send it again. If you haven't written testimony, this tool will help you draft a letter.

2. If you can't make it in person, register to testify via Zoom.

3. RSVP at the link below so we know you are coming. It is important. Show up.

We The People Present!

Want to help?  Contact Joe and help present at the next meeting.

At the Windward Planning Commission meeting both the Planning Department and Heather Kimball were given significant time to make their case.  They were permitted to present slides on the projector and then engaged in a question and answer session with the Planning Commission.

The broader public was forced to make their case in 3 minute increments. 

This creates a one sided narrative where Heather Kimball can gaslight the commission and tell everyone not to believe the words they are reading on the paper in front of them.

To push back on this we are assembling a group of 10 testifiers to give a presentation in 3 minute increments.  We will ask to testify in-order and each member will present a slide.  This will give us the ability to tell our story.

Please help by contacting: Joe Schneckenburger who will be coordinating the effort.

Heather Kimball Melts Down

Our efforts to tell the truth about this bill are apparently getting under Heather Kimball's skin.  Good.  Her efforts to make our businesses illegal, fine us into oblivion and take away our livelihoods has been getting under my skin for nearly two years.

This bill isn't about good law.  This bill is about Heather Kimball winning.

Before you watch this video, remember:

1. The bill allows daily fines of $10,000 for a third offense in addition to 2x the nightly rate.  In addition, platforms can be fined $10,000 per day as well.  That is in the clear text of the bill.

2. The County has performed no studies, conducted no due diligence on this bill.  They have presented two studies ( one from 2018 and the other from 2023 ) that encompass the entire Hawaiian market and conclude that the impact of short term rentals on housing inventory is NEGLIGABLE when compared to the impact of regulation.

3. The people who testified are not children.  They can read the law that Heather put in front of them and have far more experience in this industry than she does.  She treats them as though they are being fooled by a ponzi scheme.

4. Locations Homeowners Are Forbidden To Reside In If Renting Short Term

• Guest House or Ohana - The bill restricts homeowners from living in a guest house or ohana and renting their main house.
• Tiny Home - The bill makes no provisions for the homeowner to live in a tiny home or yurt and rent a fixed structure or another tiny home, yurt, treehouse or other accommodation.
• Secondary Dwelling - The bill prevents homeowners who own adjacent parcels from living in one home and renting the home on the adjacent lot.
• Detached Bedroom - Homeowners will not be permitted to live in a detached bedroom and rent the remainder of the property.

5. Properties Banned from Participation in the Short Term Rental Industry

• Tiny Homes - whether on a wheeled trailer, blocks or a concrete pad, all tiny homes operations become illegal under this bill.  
• Yurts - soft sided structures are not allowed under this bill.
• Tree houses - tree houses, tents, caves, canopies and other unique rentals are not allowed.
• Farm dwellings - auxiliary dwellings on farms are not allowed.
• Adjacent properties - homeowners who own adjacent properties with a home on each property will not be permitted to live in one and rent the other.
• Unpermitted Improvements - any property with unpermitted improvements ( and this makes up a significant portion of Hawaii County’s housing inventory ) will be forbidden to rent short term under this bill.
• Rental Hosts - It will no longer be permitted to have an on-site host who is renting their accommodations long term.  This puts the housing of thousands of families who host rentals for property owners in jeopardy.
• Condos - This bill takes civil disagreements under HOA rules and makes them planning violations.  This means condo owners can lose their livelihoods through dubious or illegal changes to HOA rules.

This bill does the opposite of ensuring that rentals are legal.  It takes legal rentals that are unregulated and operating within the law and makes them illegal.