No place to go
It is imperative that Hawaii County and the LUC appeal the recent Circuit Court decision that would allow short-term vacation rentals (STVRs) on agricultural land.
Hawaii Island needs to continue to diversify its economy and expand its agricultural viability rather than allow the social impacts of transient accommodations to erode the fabric and quality of life for the last few places any one can go on this island to avoid tourism. The nuisance (noise, traffic, safety, speeding) STVRs on ag will create for not only viable agricultural operations (pesticide spraying, farm equipment, etc), but an already taxed police department, will be staggering. How long before ag operations will have to cease all together to appease out of state investors gobbling up what little land is left to build party mansions for the glory of a few bucks?
If people want to have STVRs then buy houses and properties where they are already permitted. Why subject those who specifically sought out ag land to avoid the negative impacts of tourism to those impacts?
And what of the resorts? And the people they employ? How long before the infusion of STVRs on ag land (currently 1,500 waiting) have an impact on the viability of our resort zones and the many local people they employ? Resort zones are for tourism. Ag land is for producing the products to take care of all those tourists. Don’t sell us out.
Cindy Tuttle
Kailua-Kona
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Court ruling is devastating
to those living in ag district
If the Land Use Commission is unsuccessful in appealing the Circuit Court’s ruling on STVRs on agricultural land then West Hawaii will be overrun with vacation rentals! We live on ag land and have been fighting for over a year to get Hawaii County to do the right thing and enforce the zoning codes.
Unfortunately, it has been slow going and the noise and traffic from this rental has been frustrating and is destroying our dream of living here for the rest of our lives. The recent court ruling is devastating for those of us who live on ag land next to these vacation rentals. There will be no more aloha for neighborhoods around STVRs. For those of us who live here full-time the only option will be to leave this island. I’m sure another investor will buy our home instantly and turn it into another STVR.
The folks banking on the court ruling standing is not the local farmer, it is the out-of-state investors and part-time residents, like the ones who all have STVRs in the development next to us which is on ag land!
Thomas Fisher
Kailua-Kona
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Good for nothing
“War! huh, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!”… Do you remember that song from decades ago? It still remains true till today and that is a fact.
“War” was written and first sung by Edwin Starr, and later on resung by The Temptations during the Vietnam War era, where some of my classmates never returned home from … aloha no Bobby.
Aloha no Uvalde, Texas, where weapons of war came to you and to your teachers and your children that will never return home.
Everett P. Franco
Paauilo
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What a brilliant idea
I enjoyed Phyllis Hanson’s letter about one door. To add to that, what if the shooter waits until the guard needs a bathroom break or just kills the one guard and then enters the building? Everyone else would be trapped with no outlet. And heaven forbid there is a fire trapping everyone in. Go out the windows, you say? Well, I guess a gunman could also enter that way. Gee, what a brilliant idea Ted Cruz had.
Cindy Whitehawk
South Kona
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