REVISED VACATION RENTAL BILL BACK UP
COUNCIL PLANNING COMMITTEE TAKES UP PROPOSAL TUESDAY AT WEST HAWAII CIVIC CENTER
HILO — Kamehameha
Schools is seeking a new operator
to harvest a portion of
10,000 acres of forest on the
Hamakua Coast and will issue
a request for proposal today.
The new operator will harvest
3,000 acres of eucalyptus
in Hilo, Paauilo makai
SEE RENTALS PAGE 4A vacation rentals. LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY
and near the rim of Waipio
Valley, the educational and
charitable trust said in a news
release.
“We chose these areas
because we want to
On April 24 in council chambers at the West Hawaii
Civic Center, Planning Committee Chair Karen
Eoff leads public testimony on Bill 108 relating to
immediately transition
those locations for other
uses, such as community
education programs and
HILO —The fifth version of a bill
regulating short-term vacation rentals
will be considered by the County
Council Planning Committee on
Tuesday, taking into account recommendations
from the Leeward and
Windward planning commissions
and the Planning Department.
The new version of Bill 108 will
increase the one-time registration
fee to $500, allow so-called “condo
hotels” in disallowed zones, ban
vacation rentals in farm dwellings
and exempt rentals in allowed districts
from having to notify neighbors
about their operation.
The measure is an attempt to prohibit
unhosted short-term rentals in
residential and agricultural zones,
while allowing them in hotel and
resort zones as well as commercial
districts. Existing rentals in disallowed
areas would be grandfathered
in after obtaining a nonconforming
use certificate.
“We are trying to find opportunities
that strike the right balance,
address the larger concerns without
being overly restrictive,” Deputy
Planning Director Daryn Arai said
Friday.
All vacation rentals will be
required to register with the county,
showing that transient accommodations
taxes, general excise taxes
and property taxes are paid in full.
Short-term vacation rentals may be
established only within a dwelling
that has been issued final approvals
by the Building Division for
building, electrical, and plumbing
permits, under the revised bill.
The nonconforming use certificate,
which must be renewed annually
with a $250 fee, will be granted
by the planning director after
receiving evidence that the vacation
rental was in operation prior to the
bill becoming law. The certificate
can be denied if the applicant hasn’t
secured building permits, is delinquent
in taxes or there is evidence
of non-responsive management,
such as violation notices, police
complaints or verified neighbor
complaints.
Bill 108 applies only to unhosted,
short-term or vacation rentals
where the owner does not live on
site. Hosted rentals, such as bed and
breakfasts and home-sharing units,
Locally owned since 1979
Laros
INDEX Annie’s Mailbox . . . . . .16B Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . .18B Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17B Nation & World . . . . . . . . .3A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1B
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INSIDE
STILL ON
STRIKE
Hotel strike
could last into
2019, with
unknown effects
BIZ, 5A
▼
THE
RESULTS
ARE IN
Full tally of
Ironman
Championship
2018 finishers
SPORTS, 1B
▼
HI 87 LO 74 WEATHER, PAGE 4A
VOL. 50, NO. 288 26 PAGES
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
One finished finisher
Valerie Lindeborg, from Laguna Niguel, California, is carried to the medical tent after crossing the Ironman finish
line with 9 minutes to spare before the 17-hour cutoff Sunday morning in Kailua-Kona. Lindeborg clocked a time
of 16:51:05 and was the last to cross as announcer Mike Reilly and the crowd cheered her on. TOM HASSLINGER / WEST
HAWAII TODAY
Eucalyptus harvesters wanted
KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS SEEKS NEW OPERATOR TO REAP 3,000 ACRES
BY STEPHANIE SALMONS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
SEE HARVEST PAGE 6A
Half-century
of advocacy
KONA-KOHALA CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE GALA TO
CELEBRATE 50 YEARS
BY CAMERON MICULKA
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com
KAILUA-KONA — Fifty years in, the
Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce
isn’t slowing down.
Since its incorporation in 1968, the
Chamber has consistently pushed to
promote local businesses, particularly
as the region’s economy has become
increasingly focused on tourism and
away from agriculture.
In its early years,
said executive director
Wendy Laros, the
Chamber’s priorities
included a better airport
for Kona as well
as doubling cruise ship
arrivals — from one a
year to two.
Today, the Ellison
Onizuka Kona International Airport
at Keahole welcomes visitors from
throughout the world and several cruise
ships arrive in Kailua Bay every month.
And later this month, the Kona-
Kohala Chamber of Commerce will celebrate
its five decades of advocacy at
a gala at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott
Resort and Spa.
The event is scheduled for Saturday,
Oct. 27, with a cocktail hour starting at
5 p.m. and dinner and dancing to follow
from 6-10 p.m.
Reservations are required by Tuesday
and Laros said they are close to being
sold out.
“We are really excited to celebrate
being in existence for 50 years,” Laros
said Friday.
Celebrating the Chamber is also about
celebrating the people who have led and
contributed to the Chamber’s success,
Laros said, and “to honor those people
SEE GALA PAGE 4A
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