A trio of Hawaii County Council bills that would change how transient accommodations and ‘ohana housing units are regulated will go before the Windward Planning Commission on Thursday.
The council referred Bills 121, 122 and 123 to the Windward and Leeward Planning commissions in January after lengthy discussions about how the measures might impact development.
Together, the three bills overhaul the Hawaii County Code as it pertains to permitted uses of residential properties. Bill 121 is the most substantial, establishing a new definition for “transient accommodation rentals” — or TARs — and requires all TARs rented for less than 180 days to be registered with the county.
The bill also makes distinctions between and sets different requirements for owner-hosted TARs, where the property owner lives on-site, and operator-hosted TARs, where somebody who isn’t the owner but works on their behalf lives on-site.
Owner-hosted TARs would be allowed in any zoning district at any time, while new operator-hosted TARs would only be allowed in resort and commercial zones, although existing ones outside of those areas could be grandfathered in.
Unhosted TARs, meanwhile, would only be allowed in resort and commercial zones, with no grandfathering possible.
The bill has been contentious, with current TAR operators concerned about new requirements added by the bill — all TARs must have off-street parking, for example — and warning that it will put many owners out of business.
Meanwhile, Bill 122 removes bed and breakfasts from the county’s list of permitted land uses, and Bill 123 amends the county code’s regulations surrounding ‘ohana units, which it designates “accessory dwelling units” — in particular, accessory dwelling units would not be permitted to be used as TARs.
Thursday’s commission meeting will begin at 9 a.m. The Leeward Planning Commission also is scheduled to discuss the same bills on April 18.
Members of the public will be allowed to submit verbal testimony at the meeting either in person or via Zoom. Information about how to testify can be found at tinyurl.com/yprabxws.