LIHU‘E — State lawmakers are working on two controversial bills that would open the doors for counties to legalize transient vacation rentals on agricultural land. House Bill 2317 and Senate Bill 2341 propose lifting a prohibition in the Hawai‘i Revised
LIHU‘E — State lawmakers are working on two controversial bills that would open the doors for counties to legalize transient vacation rentals on agricultural land.
House Bill 2317 and Senate Bill 2341 propose lifting a prohibition in the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes against overnight accommodations on agricultural lands. Both bills have made substantial progress at the Legislature and are heading to review by a third committee.
HB 2317 survived a second reading on Thursday and is scheduled to be heard today by the House Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee, of which Rep. Derek Kawakami, D-14th District, is a member.
HB 2317 amends the law to allow “overnight accommodations” as an accessory facility connected with farming operations.
SB 2341 permits short term rentals of no more than 30 days on agricultural lands, and it encompasses all lands classified under designated Important Agricultural Lands, including A, B, C, D and E categories.
“By allowing transient vacation rentals (on agricultural lands), this bill would urbanize agricultural land, which is contrary to the mandate of the state constitution,” Kaua‘i County Council Chair Jay Furfaro said in written testimony opposing SB 2341.
It would also undermine efforts from the state and Kaua‘i to preserve agricultural lands and promote agriculture, he wrote.
The Senate bill also deletes a provision that allows permitted uses “provided that agricultural tourism activities shall not be permissible in the absence of a bona fide farming operation.”
Sen. Ron Kouchi, D-Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, voted for the bill in the Senate Agricultural Committee. But he said his vote, with reservations, only came after an amendment clarified that counties will be able to set their own rules.
“I’m not sure that the other counties will see the value of ag land that we do on Kaua‘i. Hopefully they will,” Kouchi said, adding that Kaua‘i has a “good ordinance” in place that protects agricultural land. Even if the Senate bill passes, current county law would prohibit vacation rentals on Kaua‘i’s ag lands, he said.
SB 2341, after clearing two readings, has been referred to the Senate Tourism Committee, of which Kouchi is vice chair.
Furfaro stated in his testimony that Kaua‘i County recently passed an ordinance “that prohibits any further development of transient vacation rentals outside designated visitor areas.”
The law that Furfaro is referring to is Ordinance 904, passed by the council in July 2010, which allows owners of vacation rentals on Kaua‘i’s agricultural lands to apply for grandfathering permits as long as they were operating prior to March 7, 2008, and met other criteria.
Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-15th District, said a Maui delegation is supporting the bill, and if passed, will bring a “pretty big change” by allowing overnight accommodations.
But Tokioka also said if the bill passes it would not supersede anything that Kaua‘i County is doing right now, because the county has the right to enact its own rules.
Maui County Councilman Don Couch sent testimony, as an individual, regarding both bills and supporting their passage.
“Agricultural tourism is a growing industry worldwide,” Couch states. “An increasing number of travelers prefer to stay overnight and experience their destination outside of a hotel or resort setting. Providing this type of accommodations attracts guests who might not otherwise visit the Valley Isle.”
At least three other Kaua‘i County Council members, as individuals, sent testimony in opposition to the Senate bill.
Councilman KipuKai Kuali‘i said such developments in agricultural districts would hike land prices, making it too expensive for “real farmers.”
Councilman Mel Rapozo said the measure would be contrary to the state constitution’s Article XI, Section 3, which states Hawai‘i “shall” conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture and assure suitable agricultural lands are available. The section also states the Legislature “shall provide standards and criteria to accomplish the foregoing.”
If resort development is allowed on agricultural lands, it would provide standards and criteria to decrease the viability of diversified agriculture and ensure that lands would be used to “cultivate tourism” rather than agriculture, he said.
“In the County of Kaua‘i, we have experienced a proliferation of huge transient vacation rentals that are, in fact, ‘mini-resorts’ on agriculturally districted and zoned land,” said Rapozo, who is also president of the Hawai‘i State Association of Counties.
He added that allowing TVRs on agricultural lands amounts to spot zoning and urbanization of agricultural districts and lands.
Kuali‘i said that allowing mixed uses on agricultural lands would lead to conflicts between farmers and operators of resorts and TVRs.
He, too, was concerned with a measure that he said would be against the state constitution.
Council Vice Chair JoAnn Yukimura also sent written testimony to the Senate Agricultural Committee “strongly” opposing SB 2341.
“The vision is a tantalizing one: a productive farm with side income from a bed and breakfast,” Yukimura said. “But it is an illusion.”
To allow competing higher priced non-agricultural uses of agricultural lands is to eliminate agricultural lands for farming, she said.
“Wealthy people see Kaua‘i’s agricultural land as a beautiful place in which to live,” Yukimura said. “Real farmers cannot compete against this.”
Years ago, she said, the elimination of golf courses from the list of permitted uses on agricultural lands was based on an awareness that a golf course is not an inherent agricultural use, and that its higher value takes land away from farming.
“Vacation rentals are the new golf courses,” Yukimura said.
