Leeward planning commission defers West Hawaii vacation rental bill

The Hawaii County Leeward Planning Commission unanimously deferred Bill 147 on Tuesday after a crowded hearing that drew more than a dozen testifiers, most of them opposed to the vacation-rental overhaul. Commission Chair Dean Au wanted more time to process the measure, and other members still needed to decide where they stood and what amendments they could support.

Bill 147 would remake the county’s short-term rental rules across West Hawaii and beyond. It would split hosted bed-and-breakfast-style operations from unhosted STVRs, expand the zoning map where certain rentals could operate without a permit, and redefine a short-term rental as any stay of less than 180 consecutive days, a major change from the current 30-day standard. The proposal also would set registration fees, create a new enforcement fund, and authorize penalties that could reach $10,000 for repeat violations.

The County Council’s Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development forwarded it in April. The Hawaii County Planning Department requires the Windward and Leeward commissions to transmit their recommendations by August 8, 2026, and the Windward Planning Commission deferred it on June 5. Bill 147 is a comprehensive revision meant to address implementation, enforcement and land-use compatibility problems tied to transient vacation rentals, and a county study in the materials found that enhanced registration compliance, operational standards and targeted enforcement may work better than broad bans.

Property owners and managers with unhosted rentals in North Kona, South Kona and Captain Cook, as well as in resort, residential and mixed-use neighborhoods, could fall under the new framework. Hawaii Mid and Short-Term Rental Alliance opposes the bill as written and argues it would create uncertainty for operators who have relied on the county’s existing system for years. Opponents point to Ordinance 18-114, under which operators renting for more than 30 days were told they could continue without a Nonconforming Use Certificate, and the 180-day definition could unsettle those already lawful uses.

A county economic study found that more than 70% of surveyed residents were unlikely to support unhosted short-term rentals in their community, and the bill’s enforcement fund would be financed by fees, fines and other money collected through STVR regulation. Expedia Group also submitted testimony.