Councilman Djou:
With regards to your proposed so called Vacation Rental Licensing Commission (Resolution 08-256) to regulate vacation rental businesses in our residential neighborhoods, which is detailed here in your editorial "Solutions to Enforce Vacation Rental Laws" - let's do a reality check.
With the Honolulu City Council's and Mayor Hannemann's approval, The Department of Planning & Permiting should easily have the money to hire additional enforcement personnel right now - a great number of enforcement agents.
Here's how they can be funded with no expense whatsoever to Oahu's tax payers:
The renewal fee for a legal NCU Bed & Breakfast and Vacation Rental permit is presently $400 per renewal period (two years).
If there are approximately 100 legal B&Bs (more or less), plus approximately 1,000 legal Vacation rental houses (more or less) the fees from the licenses alone amounts to approximately $440,000. Way more than necessary to hire several additional officers to enforce the present laws.
Indeed, where is the $440,000 permit renewal fees which are definitely being collected by the DPP presently going?
Certainly Bill 8, the pending enforcement bill that you and your council colleagues have been conveniently ignoring, would give the DPP the teeth they requested and need to aid their efforts.
If you are truly serious about finding a solution to the mini-hotel problems in our residentially zoned neighborhoods, immediately push for the passage of BILL 8.
Immediately drop the proposal for an additional layer of impotent governmental bureaucracy your Resolution 08-256 would create.
Your proposal is just another ploy to cram these mini-hotels into residentially zoned neighborhoods, against the will of the overwhelming majority of residents who have been testifying against legalizing these commercial enterprises in the bedroom communities of Oahu's permanent residents.
Stann W. Reiziss, Ph.D. is a resident of Kailua, Hawaii, who can be reached at mailto:reiziss@hawaiiantel.net
HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials to mailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com
