It is not politics versus principle. It is politics as usual. I would love to read a logic-filled discussion of the issues that impact Kaua‘i. Instead, what we receive are personal attacks, over-dramatizations and poorly correlated cause and effects. You
It is not politics versus principle. It is politics as usual.
I would love to read a logic-filled discussion of the issues that impact Kaua‘i. Instead, what we receive are personal attacks, over-dramatizations and poorly correlated cause and effects.
You couldn’t pay me to be a public servant on Kaua‘i. The vilification, presumption of motives and outright slander that fills the opinion pages is not productive. Politicians are greedy. Developers are greedy. Anyone that a particular person disagrees with is greedy. The politics of hate and personal attack is generously practiced in this section of the newspaper.
The disservice that is done is to paint issues as only black and white; evil and good. Amusingly, they are often counter-intuitive.
First, the commission and the Mayor are all freely elected by a majority of the island voters. There is very little turnover so generally speaking I would assume the majority of the island voters like the direction they are going in. I can’t vote so don’t blame me.
To correct the recent article, the mayor answers to the majority of the voters — but not the shrill minority radicals who never run for office themselves despite their sole possession of the truth.
An appointed position is in fact less accountable to the public and that is precisely why there are appointed positions. Do you think the whole process with Chief Lum was not politically charged? Making a position an appointment can make it more political, not less. This is exactly the reasoning behind civil service positions and political appointments at the federal level.
I see other contradictions and ironies.
One relates to the relationship between development and traffic. Ironically, the more congested the roads are, the more negative the impact is on sprawling development and tourism. If you make new roads, the opportunity for more development is expanded. Many communities place caps on growth and require developers to pay an impact fee for the additional traffic their developments produce. Kaua‘i practices this, but maybe it can be improved upon.
Unless one has proof, it is irresponsible to assume that a politician is taking bribes or financially benefiting from the interests that developers and corporations have in conducting business on the island.
All developers are evil and greedy. Are the developers of affordable housing greedy too? So there is good congestion and bad congestion? Personal attacks are not promoting a sound policy of public and private partnership in a long-term plan for responding to the needs of the island.
Vacation rentals are a business and business should not be conducted in neighborhoods. One can apply for an occupational license to operate a business from a home. It is not against the law to operate a business from a home. It is reasonable for a community to restrict the length of rentals in residential areas. To be fair, it should be consistent in all areas. The designated visitor areas address bed and breakfast establishments and transient accommodations that are presumed to be multifamily situations. Unless I am reading it wrong, it didn’t address single family homes.
Vacation rentals destroy neighborhoods. Absentee ownership probably has a negative impact on neighborhoods. Whether someone is a tenant for a week, month or year, there is still someone in the home and the properties are not boarded up waiting for a visit from the owner. Closed-up homes attract crime. Would you rather invite criminals to the neighborhood?
Vacation rentals rob the community of affordable housing. The problem with long-term rental is that the home can not be enjoyed by the owner. I wouldn’t rent my house out on a long-term basis because I would never get to stay in my own home. It is hard on a home to sit empty and closed up. Beachfront homes are expensive regardless of the part of the country they happen to be in. Kaua‘i is no different. These homes are never going to be affordable to average wage earners.
Vacation rentals escalate the price of real estate past the point of affordability. What escalates prices is scarcity of supply compared to the demand for the product. Curtailing development on the island will make the existing supply of homes a premium commodity. As the demand continues to increase every year, the price will rise regardless of vacation rentals. It is reasonable for a community to limit growth. Rarely, is affordability a by-product of that control unless one applies socialistic measures.
I would admit that many properties were bought based on an assumption of rental income to cover the payments. That demand would cause an increase in prices. It also causes a saturation of the rental markets causing low occupancy and decreasing rental income. There are natural market pressures that make that an unprofitable arrangement. When that is the case, the homes come back on the market and the price drops. Ask anyone of those greedy Realtors and they will tell you that demand is already soft and prices are dropping without additional regulations.
Vacation rentals provide low-paying jobs. I think most of the people involved in residential support and maintenance businesses are self-employed. One doesn’t find big companies doing this work. The owner’s wages are based on their abilities, work ethic and a demand for their skills. The people who champion this argument against vacation rentals are actually playing into the hands of those big greedy corporations that do pay wages for the same job. The big non-Kaua‘i based companies will control the market when all of the independent vacation rentals are put out of business. The rich greedy haole absentee owners aren’t hurt near as much as the local on-island entrepreneurs.
The fact is that Kaua‘i shares a fate with certain communities that draw the attention of a small group of financially successful people. Kaua‘i is investment grade and a pleasure to visit. A local work force will never be able to compete against the buying power of 1% of the country’s wealthiest people. Complaining about this will not solve it. We need to be creative and committed to the local population that makes this such a dear island. Alienating these successful people doesn’t seem near as productive as partnering with them to reinforce the ideals that attracted these people to Kaua‘i to begin with.
I could continue with other issues, but the real point of this is to get others talking WITH each other and not have the discourse dominated by the same tired voices. Personal attacks, vilification and class warfare will not be productive. I implore everyone to be willing to learn from a different, but valid, perspective presented in a sincere and constructive way. If the answers were as easy as some see it, the problems would have been solved by now — if it weren’t for those greedy politicians.
• Dwight Holloway is a part-time resident of Kilauea and Winter Park, Florida.
