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Saturday, September 12, 2009

Vacation Rentals on Ag Land?

I apologize for the late post but I have been on airplanes and in airports since yesterday at noon. Flight delays on Oahu and in San Francisco made my trip to Minnesota a living hell. It took 26 hours from the time I left Kauai until I could check into my hotel. Oh well.....

On Wednesday, the Planning Committee of the Council will hear Bill 2298. This bill would allow vacation rentals on ag lands located on Kauai. As many of you know, I am totally against this for one reason. It is prohibited by State law. Why the Council continues to entertain this bill is beyond me. Please contact your Councilmembers and ask them to kill this bill. We are at crossroads right now, and this bill could really destroy the Kauai as we know it. This bill cannot pass.

Take a look around. Planning Department trying to allow unregistered vacation rentals outside of the VDA. Unlawful structures being permitted. Shoreline certifications being waived in the interest of rich landowners. Council considering legalizing an illegal activity. TVRs on ag land are illegal. Why are we doing these things? Why are we not fighting for the PEOPLE OF KAUAI? Why so much effort to assist the transplants at the expense of our LOCAL PEOPLE? Let's try to help the local people for once. You know, the guy that wants to build an extension but gets hammered along the way? The guy that wants to build a family room for a homeless family member but gets denied right out of the chute. What about the local residents that have been told, for decades, that vacation rentals are illegal on ag land so they never rented out their homes as vacation rentals. THEY FOLLOWED THE LAW and now are being punished because they were law abiding citizens. The transplants that disregarded the laws are now allowed to continue the illegal operations. Come on County, WAKE UP!!!

I'm sorry for the tone but this issue drives me crazy. If Kauai wants vacation rentals on ag land, then we need to lobby our State legislators to change the State law. We are entering very dangerous waters when the County is trying to undermine State law (like they are trying to do with the shoreline protection waiver bill as well) to satisfy special interests. This is just WRONG! Let's stop this now. Thank you.

13 comments:

  1. I agree with Mel, as everyone should. Currently, Transient Vacation Rentals are illegal on Ag land and if operators and the council want to change the law, it should be done properly, through the state legislature and not the county trying to manipulate things for political purposes. The entire TVR process has been a total failure, and this proposed bill is only adding to the mess.

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  2. i agree with both of you. i\anyone who believes in law & order would agree too. i repeat my stand once again, why have laws if laws are not enforced or someone somehow finds a way to circumvent it. tvrs on ag land the last time i checked is illegal. people who believe this need to speak out loud and clear or one day, we'll wake up and find our rights have been hi jacked.

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  3. It is simply puzzling. Maybe the white envelopes are surfacing again?????

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  4. Not sure if you know this but the shoreline bill is on for Wednesday as well. How's that? The Council will be discussing TWO illegal bills on one day. I wonder if they will be accomplices to the crime. We'll have to wait and see.

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  5. A resort from end to end, the only use for local people is to serve and clean. We will never have farmland if this bill passes. Shame

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  6. Resorts belong in the visitor destination areas of Kauai. Agricultural land is no place for resorts. Plain and simple.

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  7. Did you see today's Garden Island article? That is a pure joke.

    “ 'I beg you humbly' to let us keep renting while you figure which are good and which are bad ag lands, said part-time Kaua‘i resident Gigi Gaston, who owns a three-acre lot on Larsen’s Beach Road."

    "She said it was her 'life’s dream to retire' on Kaua‘i and she is “not a wealthy person,” but avocado, tangerine and mango trees on the property were found dead when she returned from visiting an ailing family member in California, and such farming simply does not pay the bills."

    " 'Right now, non-enforcement is a good thing' for my clients, Dan Hempey said, arguing that people had invested their life savings with the belief that renting the property could help pay the mortgage."

    Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Please don't come here for sympathy. This is an insult to the local people of Kauai.

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  8. If the definition for AG land is limited to fruit trees, then I guess we have AG land since we are growing Avocado, mango, plums and papaya on our lot. We could sell the fruits. Would that allow us to have a different real property tax schedule even tho' we're in a residential area? Come on...this is getting rediculous. Local families are having difficult times too, but we don't expect the County to waive Rules & Regs because of our financial diffulties, or should we?

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  9. Amen 8:57 AM. Well said and so true. They bought ag lands to make money, not to farm. They plant a few trees to get the tax breaks, then build mansions to rent out to help pay for their retirement homes. WRONG!!!

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  10. We have lived continuously here on Kauai since 1977 and bought our AG Land in 1981. We took an old non producing sugarcane field and turned it into a viable organic fruit producing farm and landscape nursery. For nearly 30 years we have worked to be good stewards to our land while producing and selling literally tons of food. Farming is an extremely hard way to make a living, but we love the lifestyle. Our guest house occupies less than 1% of our farm. Family and Friends enjoy staying there when they visit. Renting it occasionally modestly supplements our income, especially in times like these. Are we wealthy, greedy mainland transplants or are we struggling locals? Life is not always BLACK or WHITE. Please don't oversimplify the issue by creating villains and victims. Life is more complex than that and nobody deserves to be pigeon-holed.

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  11. having a bed and breakfast or a small tvr along with your real farm is one thing. Changing the law without any limits is another

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  12. annon 6:01 is correct on many fronts. the complexities of these issue are huge; land use, property rights, government regulation and enforcement, equitable tax structure and incentives for desired outcomes. our local government(both state and county are so dysfunctional) is challenged and overwhlemed to effectively deal them. polarization is not an effective way to confront and change. creative solutions are needed to create significant changes that benefit kauai.

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  13. Interesting!

    Everyone loves going to a vacation. It is a good activity or bonding with family and friends. It is very to check on the things you need to bring. Start with the most useful like clothes, toiletries and stuff you need. Select a vacation bag that is comfortable for your belongings and also comfortable for you to bring.

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