90 days to comply
LIHUE — The county may soon have the authority to place liens on illegal transient vacation rentals.
Bill No. 2746, which was passed Wednesday on second and final reading at the County Council meeting, grants the Planning Commission and its director more authority to combat illegal TVRs, and goes as far as creating a “Planning Enforcement Account.”
The bill also gives the department the ability to foreclose on properties with a lien placed on them. The new addition of the authority to place a lien on properties and the creation of the account will combine with the existing measure within the bill to place a $10,000 fine per day on owners of any TVR illegally operating once given notice to rectify the violation.
Councilmember Luke Evslin proposed an amendment to the bill, granting homeowners 90 days to come into compliance with any levied fines or violations instead of the 30 days originally granted within the first reading of the bill.
“The proposed amendment would just do two things,” Evslin said. “It would have the county attorney sign off on any liens and it just extends the 30 days period to 90 days just to give the homeowner more time to comply with any potential fine. A $10,000 fine is a lot to come up with in 30 days. Extend that time period.”
Planning Director Ka‘aina Hull did not object to the amendment, approved by the full council.
“The fact of the matter is that the 90-day level as I testified last week to you folks, once we get into the lien, we’ll have been going for several months,” Hull said.
“In some scenarios like the example I used before you folks concerning the North Shore reserve property, we could be in the process for over a year before we actually start exercising this measure of last resort from that authority.”
Michael Holme gave public testimony on the bill, along with three other community members in opposition, offering some criticism of the fine measure and new ability to place liens on a property.
“This is the problem when you have a Planning Department headed up by attorneys or people who wanted to be attorneys, or went to law school,” Holme said.
“They want to approach it with fines and they want to approach it with fees, litigation, prosecution, felonies. This is what is being billed up to the community. There are 1,500 letters that have already gone out. When your Planning Department is attacking your population, even if it is only 5 to 10% of them, they’re not functioning as a Planning Department, and nobody wants to approach them even when they get a letter saying that they got a fine.”
Councilmember Felicia Cowden stated she sees the bill as something that can potentially do damage to the community.
“As a councilmember, this is the worst bill that has been before us, for me,” Cowden said of bill No. 2746.
“I will definitely be voting not. This is too strong and in the wrong hands five years down the road from now it could be very, very profound and damaging.”
The bill ultimately passed with a 6-1 vote in favor, with Cowden voting no.
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Ryan Collins, county reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or rcollins@thegardenisland.com.
Time to STOP CRYING and PAY UP CHEATERS.
$10,000 isnt enough, double it for all the CHEATERS who knew they were breaking the laws.
Send Cowden on her way out next election.
Michael Holme is absolutely right. The Planning Commission reigns by terror and intimidation. Certainly, habitual scoff-laws must be dealt with, but everyone is in fear of the planning commission, to the point where they’d rather try to do things “under the table” rather than try to deal with the planning commission and permits.
If the commission spent half the effort is does on prosecution, instead to help make the permit process more friendly and fast, there wouldn’t be half the problems we have. Certainly there are illegal TVRs, but there are also many TVRs that are in violation of technicalities that could be easily remedied it the process were more accessible.
Enforcement of this provision is long, long overdue. The County is, unfortunately, complicit in the problem in the first place, by uneven and inconsistent past enforcement, or by long ignoring violations for some and not for others (in short by operating as Kauai does in so many areas). Ms. Cowden is right in seeing unforeseen consequences of this bill. One is the added expense of enforcement, unlikely to be fully compensated by fines, many of which will be challenged in drawn out and expensive legal battles. Another is the effect on long-promoted tourism in an age when people seek a less expensive and more “real” island vacation. They want authenticity and simplicity they can’t get in huge resorts. It One big problem moving forward is the current “shut the door” policies of trying to become a legitimate TVR. I’ve long felt that the County (any government) should keep out of my home. What I do there is nobody’s business. Sure, tax certain uses (isn’t that what this about?). And, yes, enforce parking and noise and safety/health issues that affect neighbors unreasonably. Laws for enforcement of individual violators are largely in place without blanket prohibitions. In addition, bottom line, in conjunction with this new law, there needs to be a level playing field for individual property owners to share in TVR income. As usual, not an easy issue to adjudicate and, yes, it will have huge unforeseen effects on Kauai moving forward.
Yay! Fine these people! They are ruining the quiet island. We have neighbors, right now, putting up a “shed” that we know is going to be an illegal rental. I hope they get popped!
This bill is a travesty and unconstitutional assault on private property rights more akin to fascism than a free society. It has no place in a supposedly free country. Of course, what else to expect from a bunch of historically and economically ignorant politicians and lawyer-types. Shame on all of them.
Good on Cowden for resisting this blatant tyrannical bill.
This will lead to terrible unintended consequences.
RG DeSoto
I am still very confused why in the 21st century, with everyone having a smartphone, that we the public cannot vote on issues like this using an electronic device. We leave to 7 people voted via a popularity contest to manage our lives.
There should be no TVR’s operating in residential areas. If you believe you have a right to do whatever you want on your property, then where does it stop. Can I open a dump next door to you because I own the property?
SoYouKnow,
Take a look around. There are any number of residential properties that indeed look like a dump, with rubbish stacked to the eaves. (I can show you several in Kekaha). The County does nothing about this, and neighbors must deal with the rats and other vermin living in that filth. Vacation rentals, on the other hand, are generally well maintained and made inviting for their guests who hopefully will enjoy visiting with friendly neighbors…
Bill 2746, now an ordinance, is about every County Zoning Ordinance violation big or small. There is nothing in this enforcement ordinance that limits the application to vacation rentals. How hard to punish violations or which type of violations become the target is up to the discretion of the planning department into the future. Sometimes, vindictive complaints are filed between citizens who are simply angry with each other. There is potential for unintended consequences. Think about that.