Howzit.
North Shore residents are mad as heck and not going to take it anymore. Inundated with folks buying homes then flipping them into short term rentals has choked streets with traffic and turned one-time friendly neighborhoods into zombie zones where two-week vacationers from Albuquerque greet one-week vacationers from Cincinnati with shakas and “how-zits.”
So mad as heck, in fact, that a bill is being introduced to the Honolulu City Council that would seek to kill the short term rental situation with taxes.
According to Honolulu Civil Beat:
Under Bill 41, which has already passed a first reading at the Honolulu City Council, short-term rentals would be taxed at higher rates than residential homes, among numerous other changes to the city’s land use law.
Properties where the owner lives on site would be taxed at the bed-and-breakfast rate.
Transient vacation rentals, investment properties for owners who live off-site, would be taxed at the same rate as hotels and resorts – almost four times the lowest residential rate.
Seemingly wonderful except caught in the net would be longterm, and legendary, residents like Mark Foo’s widow SharLyn who has run Backpackers for decades, a hostel that allows migrant surfers to follow seasonal swells and sleep cheap.
“They keep saying they’re going to leave the existing, legal NUCs (or non-conforming use) alone,” Foo told Civil Beat, “But what they’re really trying to do is put everybody out.”
Her taxes would soar from $27,000 a year to over $90,000 coupled with many fees.
The residents and long-time hostel/bed and breakfast owner-operators are trying to find a solution wherein they are not hit with a sledgehammer while, also, ridding the fabled 7-plus mile miracle of illegal rentals.
Any ideas?
Will the mainland-dwelling North Shore income property owners fight back?
More as the story develops.
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Ski towns and beach towns as well as cities large and small have an affordable housing crisis. Not so new of a problem but now it has ramped up exponentially and politicians REFUSE to solve the problem. Simply put it takes a tri-party effort of politicians, investors and local governments to build affordable(30%below market rate or lower) housing. the tax breaks benefit those taking the financial risk to build the properties and own them until the LURA expires or is pushed out into perpetuity. The rich folks who don’t value community are pissed now as locals who work in the community are leaving, never to come back until the problem is solved.
TIME TO KICK POLITICIANS OUT OF OFFICE AND TAX THE SHIT OUT OF THOSE WHO DON’T INVEST IN THEIR CHOSEN COMMUNTIES.
It’s surfing in 2021, if your not rich your not welcome.
The best solution will be too return ALL the island to those with original Hawaiian blood and than allow everyone else to rent or buy off them! If they choose not to rent or sell everyone can go back where they came from, win – win.
Thanking you for your hate mail in advance .
See my post above.
Fucking airbnb is a cancer that needs to be excised,
Kama’aina card, and a free bowl of chili at Zippys for each 10 k in extra taxes
If I have my Kama’aina card does that mean I can get authentic Mexican nachos from Cholos for 12 bucks or less?
Si! Muy authentico!
That photo of Jamie Mitchell is creeping me out.
I’m no applied linguist with a master’s degree but I do know lazy journalism when I see it. SharLyn Foo is Foo man’s sister, not widow. And Foo was an adult transplant katonk from Florida.
Mark Foo was born in Singapore on February 5, 1958, The family relocated to Hawaii when Foo was 10. He spent his early childhood surfing the South Shore of O’ahu, and continued surfing throughout his teenage years. His family moved several times during his adolescence but ultimately returned to Hawaii just before Foo finished high school.
Lame
Again, all you fuckstains who have surf schools, surf camps,…this on YOU! You invited the barnstormers to the beach to get your 30 pieces of silver. Now you will pay!
It’s not just the north shore having these issues. I think its anywhere that is desirable to visit. My place of residence included. Investors and big business coming in and swooping anything that hits the market. All cash and over asking. Leaving the little guys fighting for scraps. Most of the homes sitting empty 50% of the time. Home prices go through the roof. Rents follow if you can find something. You are appalled by the price of any shack you look at. Heck…u were appalled two years ago when it was 30% cheaper. Where does it end? I don’t know but it can’t be too good for the 99%.
Yep, it’s nuts where I am. A block of land was bought for $2 mill, a house built on it that cost $2 mill, and sold for $8 mill. That happened in 12 months. Not far from that, another place sold for $7.5 mill. Makes it hard for a postie to afford rent…
This is my community, too. Sucks. Fully priced out. Can’t even rent. Hoping for a recession, tbh, so there are foreclosures to buy. Only way my income bracket and lower can ever hope to buy a home in my community ever again.
I think a simple Havaeee test could sort this out. Homeowners must pronounce Hawaii. If a firm V and much aeeee is present they should be deemed exempt from these well intentioned regulations.
Allow case-by-case exemptions.
With how rampant corruption is here not sure how well that would play out.
My old man surfer from 60’s had me at 19 the same year his old man was murdered. A sister came couple years later. That dude ground it out 30 plus years for a publicly traded company that in last ten years of carrer cut all benefits and retirement by allowing the sale agents to own their book of business. He met me between fishing trips and we stayed at ‘GMAC’ mom’s place for his first trip over. He got smoked at every spot he surfed, finally borrowed an old Bradshaw sitting out back from Malia and paddled him out to “pinballs” on a rising swell. No one out! He finally snagged a gem. The guy went home sold his McMansion, been back every year after that. Both my parents still together now live in HI.
Ah Pinballs. My NS love. Didn’t bother with too many spots up there due to hassle. but that spot blew my mind on more than one occasion.
I stayed at BackPackers. Walking in to the home office with all of Mark’s boards and Eddie invites on the wall–humbling. Sport of Kings…
Since it’s Oahu residents who are impacted by the problems short-term rentals cause, why not make this a ballot measure and let residents vote on it?
Turtle Bay is now at $700-ish a night so is it any surprise that there is a demand for short term rentals?