The purpose of Bill 22 is to amend the Land Use Ordinance (LUO) relating to Transient Vacation Rentals (TVR).
The amendments would:
- Require advertisements for vacation rentals (Transient Vacation Units and Bed and Breakfasts) to include certain information that would facilitate the city’s efforts to enhance the regulations of vacation rental operations and improve enforcement measures targeting illegal vacation rentals in residential and other districts;
- Allow exceptions to the conditions of approval for the renewal of the Nonconforming Use Certificates (NUC) where good cause is established;
- Revise the renewal procedures to allow processing of the renewal application and issuance of the renewal certificate at any time after the renewal notice is issued;
- Revise the NUC renewal cycle from a two-year cycle to a one-year cycle to minimize the impact of the Department of Planning and Permitting not being notified of a change of ownership;
- Require the NUC applicant to identify an on-island agent if the certificate holder (applicant) does not reside on Oahu.
The deadline for final Council action on Bill 22 was June 3, so Chair Ikaika Anderson recommended a 120-day extension of the deadline to allow for ongoing discussion. Opponents of the bill pointed out that it would put TVR properties at risk for theft if criminals knew that the properties were occupied by tourists and remained vacant. Also by amending the definition of TVR – removing the “for compensation” language – the property would become a transient vacation unit just by letting a friend, house-sitter or even family member stay at the home. Supporters of the bill agree that the DPP needs additional tools to enforce the ordinance.
