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VOL. 50, NO. 63 30 PAGES
VACATION RENTALS ARE IMPACTING HAWAII FOR BETTER OR WORSE
AS REGULATORS TRY TO CATCH UP, RESIDENTS TRY TO ADAPT
This single-family home, a future vacation rental with attached ohana unit, towers over its neighbors in the Leleiwi ocean-front
community near Hilo. PHOTOS BY NANCY COOK LAUER/WEST HAWAII TODAY
County bill
to regulate
The pending Bill 108
would require existing
transient vacation
rentals outside of the
Vacation District, the
General Commercial
District or Resort
Nodes to apply for a
nonconforming use
certificate in order to be
grandfathered in. Those
in the allowed districts
would be required
to register with the
county, but they don’t
have to apply to the
Planning Department
for the special permit.
The county bill is
on hold until after the
Board of Ethics rules
on whether North
Kona Councilwoman
Karen Eoff, one of
the co-sponsors, has
a conflict of interest
because she owns a
vacation condo in the
Vacation District along
Alii Drive. The board
next meets March 19.
HILO — It’s a sunny day in the
oceanfront community of Leleiwi,
and Terry and Jayne Oliver of
Butte, Montana, are strolling the
lawn of their vacation rental.
The couple, here for 10 days, use
the tidy white house as their base
as they travel the island, exploring
its many attractions. They prefer
vacation rentals to hotels, they said,
because it’s a nicer atmosphere, it’s
more relaxing and it includes amenities
such as a kitchen.
“It’s more like a home,” Jayne
said.
Just around the block, Native
Hawaiian homeowners live
along narrow, leafy Nene Street,
which backs up to Keaukaha
Homestead, a Department of
Hawaiian Home Lands neighborhood.
Here, friendly residents
talk story with a reporter, but
they don’t want their names used.
Are they bothered by all the
newcomers and vacationers in
their neighborhood?
An older man working on
his yard pantomimes blinders,
such as would be put on a horse.
What’s the point, he asks.
“For us to talk about these
things makes no sense,” the man
said. “They coming, they coming,
they coming and they’re not
gonna stop.”
Longtime residents of Leleiwi,
an 80-home community between
Carlsmith and Richardson ocean
parks about 5 miles from Hilo
town, worry about gentrification
of their laid-back little corner
of paradise. Almost a quarter of
the homes have been converted
to, or are being used as, vacation
rentals, estimates Stefan
Buchta, a member of the Leleiwi
Community Association.
Across the island, the Puako
community is experiencing a
similar influx of vacation rentals.
These are probably different from
vacation rentals in other areas,
said James Fritz, who rents out
his home sometimes and lives in
it other times.
The upscale community of
largely part-time residents,
where vacation rentals can go
for $2,000 and up nightly, aren’t
as likely to notice an influx of
newcomers as would residents of
long-established neighborhoods,
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
“They coming, they
coming, they coming and
they’re not gonna stop.”
LELEIWI RESIDENT ON LIVING NEXT
TO A SHORT-TERM RENTAL
“This is one of the nicest
places on Earth to visit.
To rent it to one family
is not a good use of
oceanfront property.”
RENTAL PROPERTY OWNER
Koa Kealoha, across from Richardson Ocean Park, offers a
freshly cut coconut to Cindy Soto, who is visiting from Los
Angeles. SEE RENTALS PAGE 7A
YOUR VOICE
Kona resident
details what
it’s like living
next to a
vacation rental
Page 6A
‘Mini-hotel’
draws
complaints
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
HILO — Neighbors
of a large vacation rental
under construction in the
oceanfront community
of Leleiwi are appealing
county Planning
Department approval of
a special management
area permit.
The six-bedroom,
five-bath residence,
including a
3,434-square-foot main
floor area and another
2,244 square feet in
accessory areas, is broken
into a single-family
SEE PUSHBACK PAGE 5A
link
link