Follow-up meetings among stakeholders involved in the issue of vacation-rental units in residential areas have been scheduled, with the next being today, Saturday, May 21, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Lihu‘e Civic Center Mo‘ikeha Building where the
Follow-up meetings among stakeholders involved in the issue of vacation-rental units in residential areas have been scheduled, with the next being today, Saturday, May 21, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Lihu‘e Civic Center Mo‘ikeha Building where the Planning Commission normally meets.
The final meeting is Monday, May 23, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu‘e.
The meetings, according to county officials, are “solution-seeking,” with all community input heard.
Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste, and leaders in the county Planning Department and Helber, Hastert & Fee, Planners, Inc., host the meetings. Members of the Helber firm, of Honolulu, are the county consultants on the vacation-rentals inquiry.
The purpose of the meetings is to take the complex and important issue of vacation rentals and put it through an open, inclusive, facilitated process, where learning and open-mindedness are as important as self-expression and advocacy, according to county officials.
The process emphasizes respect for different viewpoints, and encourages participants to work together to determine what is best for Kaua‘i, county organizers said.
The process involves three facilitated stake-holder discussions, the first of which has already taken place. The stakeholders, from a variety of interests, include County Councilmember JoAnn A. Yukimura, have committed themselves to participate in all three discussions.
The ongoing discussions over the next several days will be to attempt to build a common information base, identify the impacts of vacation rentals on the community, and formulate recommendations in a report to the County Council and the Planning Department that will help to design a fair and effective law regulating vacation rentals, county leaders said.
Today’s meeting will begin with reflections about the first meeting, and then focus on issues identified during the first meeting, which include finding a balance, community well being, affordable housing, enforcement, and a multi-faceted approach to potential solutions.
Participants in today’s session will also seek to prioritize the issues, identify possible solutions, and levels of agreement regarding the solutions. Public input on the impacts will be solicited at the meetings.
The third and final meeting, Monday, will be to identify specific strategies to address the issues raised by the occurrence of vacation rentals in single-family homes in residential neighborhoods. Public input on the solutions and recommendations will be solicited at the meeting.
Citizens are encouraged to attend the meetings and share comments, or may view tapes of the meetings on Ho‘ike Kaua‘i Community Television, Inc. (channel 53 on Oceanic Time Warner Cable) to learn more about the issues.
Written comments may be submitted at any meeting, or may be sent to the facilitators at the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Hawaii State Judiciary, 417 S. King Street, Room 207, Honolulu, HI 96813, or e-mailed to Elizabeth R. Kent@courts.state.hi.us.
