The Hawaiʻi County Council has passed a measure requiring short-term rental owners to register their units with the county.
Bill 47 is a partial revival of a set of measures that failed last year that would have overhauled zoning and operational laws on “transient vacation rentals” in the County of Hawaiʻi. It moved out of its final council hearing last week.
Council members Ashley Kierkiewicz and Heather Kimball co-introduced the bill, and have led the council’s efforts on changing the island’s rules on vacation rentals.
“It was abundantly clear that we needed to take a step back and get a fuller picture of all of the vacation rentals that are operating here on Hawaiʻi Island. So this registration process very much complements the study that will be delivered to us,” Kierkiewicz said at a council hearing last week.
Some testifiers wanted to hold off on last year’s measure and even Bill 47 until an economic impact study on the island’s vacation rentals is published.
However, all but one council member voted to pass the measure.
Kimball said the bill wouldn’t make any zoning or operational changes to short-term rentals on the island. The council still plans on making zoning and operational changes, but will use the study and have additional discussions on proposed changes first.
Council member Rebecca Villegas expressed concern that the bill would “put the cart before the horse” because it would establish rules on short-term rentals that aren’t even defined in the county’s zoning code. In turn, it could possibly influence legislation down the road and prematurely allow more short-term rental units in areas where they aren’t allowed, she said.
But Villegas ended up voting in favor of the bill’s passage after Kimball said that “ registering does not make legal anything that is currently illegal per county or state law.”
The bill has been sent to Mayor Kimo Alameda to be signed into law.
