HuffingtonPost-article

March 28, 2015

Is Kailua Hawaii's Next Waikiki?

By James Cave

Uh oh, it looks like there's a fight brewing in Hawaii.

Kailua, a small, beachside town on the island's windward side, is increasingly becoming popular with tourists, much to the chagrin of many local residents.

Kailua is best known for its gorgeous white sand beaches and quaint charm. President Barack Obama and his family have rented a home there for the past seven Christmases, further publicizing the locale's appeal.

But while there are a few inns and B&B's, there aren't enough to keep up with demand -- so most visitors are illegally renting homes on sites like Airbnb.

Local residents are divided. Some, like local business-owner Steven Parker, welcome the increase in tourism. As he told Pacific Business News, ""There is a lot to share here. When the tourists come here, they are so polite, and this disdain toward them is not fair.” Others, local resident Lisa Marten, think the illegal rentals are hurting the neighborhood. She told KITV, "They're not real neighbors... Those people will not coach little league; they will not volunteer at the library; they will not be your friend.”

While current legislation looks at how to better enforce restrictions on illegal short term rentals, we wanted to see what all the fuss is about.

Let's take a tour of all Kailua has to offer, shall we?

The white-sand beaches are world-class.

Lanikai and Kailua beaches are reef-protected bays and are consistently ranked on top ten lists for the most beautiful beaches worldwide.

With the beaches' white-powder sand, calm, sapphirine water, purple sunrises and cooling trade winds, it's easy to understand why many people have started to covet the Kailua lifestyle.

The Mokes don't hurt either.
Because the bay is protected from a far-flung outer reef, Kailua bay is great for paddle boarding, kite surfing, kayaking, snorkeling and swimming, and three nearby offshore islands -- Moku Nui and Moku Iki (the Mokes) and Flat Island -- make great destination points.

People fall in love with the small-town atmosphere.
With its massive hotels and famed shopping, Waikiki is not only overrun with tourists, its straight up frenetic. Kailua offers a slower island pace that many visitors are looking for.

The area's main allure, according to tourists, is a small-town vibe and town center that gives them a "more authentic" Hawaiian experience.

"Fell in love with this beach the first time in Oahu and have made a point to come over to this sweet quiet town every time since," a visitor from Seattle wrote on Yelp.

It's also home to some of the island's best hikes...
The Lanikai Pillbox hike is a favorite among locals and visitors alike, as it offers incredible views of windward Oahu with Lanikai and Kailua beaches below. It's not strenuous; it's just about a mile to the pillboxes, where hikers can sit and enjoy the view. Many head up for a great view of the sunrise.

...As well as a POTUS-approved shave ice spot.
There's a reason Obama takes his family to get shave ice every time he's in town for the holidays. The shave ice at Island Snow is a popular spot for cooling down after sitting in the sun all day. "I think this place is probably underrated for its shave ice. We stopped because we heard this was Obama's favorite," wrote Brent W. on Yelp. "Obama's no fool."

original article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/28/kailua-hawaii-waikiki-short-term-rentals_n_6882752.html?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067

Civil Beat - article

March 17, 2015

Why the Kailua Neighborhood Board Opposes B&Bs

A recent vote drew national attention to a rare Hawaii effort opposing tourism business. But board members only want the law enforced.

By CHARLES A. PRENTISS

The Kailua Neighborhood Board passed a resolution on March 5 opposing any new permits for short-term tourist rentals in residential neighborhoods. The vote continued a line of action that the board has been engaged in since September 2013, when it formally requested that the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) stop promoting Kailua neighborhoods for visitor accommodations through its marketing materials.

Why? The Kailua Board has consistently argued for the protection of its residential-zoned areas and for increased zoning enforcement. All of Kailua’s neighborhoods are zoned residential, not resort. Resort zoning is provided elsewhere on the island, and communities like Kailua are recognized as areas to provide housing solely for local residents.

Visitor lodging businesses — hotels, motels, transient vacation rentals, and bed & breakfast lodges — are not permitted in residential-only zoning. While there are 65 transient vacation units (TVU’s) and B&Bs in Kailua that are grandfathered in with “non-conforming use” certificates that enable them to operate legally, more than 85 percent of the estimated 500 TVU’s and B&B’s in Kailua are illegal.

Prior to the neighborhood board resolution, the HTA marketing materials made no reference to the fact that the vast majority of TVU’s and B&Bs in Kailua are illegal. More importantly, those materials did not inform vacationers on how to know if their accommodations were legitimate or not.

In addition, the Kailua Neighborhood Board explained to HTA that short-term rentals reduce the rental housing supply for local residents, contribute to escalating rents and housing prices, promote crime and negatively impact safety as well as the social, environmental and cultural residential character of Kailua’s neighborhoods.

Shortly after our vote, an Associated Press article picked up by many mainland news outlets drew broader attention to the resolution. Many outlets ran misleading headlines, such as, “Hawaii Town to State: Stop sending tourists here” and “Kailua Residents Want Tourists to Stay Away.” As expected, the media wants to attract readers and sell ads, so they feel compelled to use sensational, over-the-top headlines. The truth is the Kailua Neighborhood Board never said daytime visitors aren’t welcome. The resolution simply asked the HTA to stop promoting illegal visitor lodging businesses in Kailua’s residential zoned neighborhoods.

Who is to blame? Certainly HTA and their marketing experts are responsible for their blunder. They have always been aware that the vast majority of Kailua’s TVU’s and B&Bs are illegal and that the community opposes them, but they did nothing to inform visitors to stay away from these scofflaw businesses. After the resolution was introduced, HTA should have explained to the media that the resolution represented the community’s objection to the promotion of illegal visitor accommodations in residential-only zoning and informed visitors on how to determine whether their accommodations are legitimate. Instead, HTA ignored the issue of the illegal businesses and said they want to “bring balance” to the Kailua community.

Politicians and city officials should also be held responsible for not publicly explaining the intent of the resolution and emphasizing the fact that all visitor-lodging businesses are non-conforming in residential zoning. They could have easily defused the issue by sympathizing with the neighborhood board’s desire to have zoning laws enforced and assisting HTA in educating visitors on legal lodging choices.

But ultimately, the majority of the blame should be directed at the owners of the illegal TVU’s and B&Bs. These individuals and businesses are breaking the law. It’s time for greater enforcement against these illegal activities so that residents have the enjoyment of their neighborhoods that they deserve.