• Vacation rentals Vacation rentals By Barbara Elmore At the meeting held in Hanalei on Tuesday night, Sept. 7, a vast majority of those present were real estate agents and owners of vacation rentals on the North Shore. Only about
• Vacation rentals
Vacation rentals
By Barbara Elmore
At the meeting held in Hanalei on Tuesday night, Sept. 7, a vast majority of those present were real estate agents and owners of vacation rentals on the North Shore. Only about 5 or 6 people there had no financial interest whatsoever in vacation rentals.
It was a sad experience listening to those mercenaries. They sat there and blithely justified in their own minds what they are doing, with not one acknowledgment of the damage they are doing to this beautiful island.
This encroachment, even entrenchment, of the vacation rental business into every corner of Kaua‘i is well on its way to changing the entire character of the island and the residential neighborhoods where (somewhat akin to prostitutes) they ply their trade.
I heard much talk about the “good” they are doing for the island, one person even having the audacity to speak with pride of providing much-needed jobs (cleaning rooms) for local residents!
They talked about how they are “providing” something special for their clients, and how valuable their “service” is to Kaua‘i!
They talked about how badly people outside Hawai‘i want vacation rentals, as if wanting something makes it a good thing and supplying that want is a public service! They talked a lot about the customers from outside Hawai‘i that they “cater to,” with not one mention of how they might best “cater” to the local culture! They admitted that there are at least 500 “vacation rental managers” on Kaua‘i, and I believe they meant professional managers, not including individuals who “manage” their own units in their own homes!
Several of those present claimed there were “no problems” with vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods, and that “no regulations are needed.”
The man sitting next to me actually said, “I was forced into having a vacation rental!”
Some people said “Everyone has a right to do whatever they want with their property,” and many others nodded in agreement.
Just for the edification of those delusional mercenaries with their twisted thinking, I would like to tell them that a “residential neighborhood” is a place where families live year-round, 365 days a year, in their own homes, not a place zoned for residences but used for visitor-related businesses.
What good are zoning laws if everyone ignores them?
People who come to Kaua‘i come with either one of two attitudes: (1) “This is a beautiful place. How can I fit in, unobtrusively, and live this kind of lifestyle?” or (2) “This is a beautiful place. I could make a killing here! How can I transport my Mainland lifestyle here? And how can I get all those “undesirable people” out of sight and off my beach?”
With not one note of regret about what they are doing to the Hawaiian culture and traditions. They are well on their way to changing the entire character of the island and the residential neighborhoods where they practice their vacation rental businesses. Barbara Elmore is a resident of Lihu‘e
