Plan would hurt legal B&Bs, TVUs

As a legal bed-and-breakfast operator since 1989, here are my thoughts about Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s short-term rental proposal (“Vacation rental proposal draws mixed reviews,” Star-Advertiser, May 7).

Ours is a small unit that is rented to B&B guests about 50 percent of the time. We have complied with all the rules over the years, including paying the current 14.96 percent total general excise tax and transient accommodations taxes, and paying license fees plus ordinary federal and state income tax on any profit.

Most guests enjoy the peace and quiet of being away from Waikiki. No big profit over the years but we have enjoyed the experience. I believe the proposed property tax increase for B&B and transient rental properties would be a hurdle that most existing B&B and transient rental operators could not overcome, and they would close down. A unique experience for visitors to Oahu would go away.

This would not be good for the visitor industry. One positive: At least some of the existing B&B and transient rental units would be converted to long-term rentals.

Ron Miller

Waimanalo

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Fire sprinklers: Bait and switch?

The Marco Polo fire that claimed four lives occurred on July 14, 2017. Ordinance 18-14 was enacted on May 3, following 10 months of City Council committee meetings, public hearings, robust oral testimonies and hundreds of pages of written testimony.

Ordinance 18-14 exempts older residential high-rises from mandatory fire sprinkler retrofits, provided that the building passes a safety evaluation and the majority of owners vote to “opt out.”

Almost two months after the ordinance was signed, the Honolulu Fire Department published a safety evaluation user’s guide that now imposes more onerous requirements than those considered during the legislative process.

The user’s guide is loaded with new conditions and novel interpretations that will result in no building ever being able to pass the safety evaluation.

In my building, a fire sprinkler system retrofit will cost almost $30,000 per apartment.

Guy Pasco

McCully-Moiliili

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Restore America’s values this year

During this election season, it’s appropriate to suggest a campaign message for the national Democratic Party. I suggest, “Restore America’s Values.”

Restore respect for diversity, truth and civility. Championing the values that have made this country the envy of the world would go far to redress the regrettable recent regression of those values.

Lunsford Phillips

Kailua

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Put restrictions on land ownership

The problem of affordable housing has become a desperate situation. I believe that it needs a desperate solution.

We should outlaw non-residential ownership of land in the state of Hawaii. Recently, a friend of mine went looking for a new home; nine out of 10 of the places she looked at were owned by a mainland owner or corporation. How is that possible?

Natives are not able to own property due to the outrageous prices being created by this devouring of our lucrative aina. This needs to end now. We need to save Hawaii for the next generation, or there will be no next generation here to save Hawaii.

More than 40 years ago, my parents bought their house for $40,000. Today it is valued at almost $600,000. How is that possible? It is a 40-plus-year-old home that needs every repair known to man. This price gauging of our land should be illegal. Native people need to join together and force a change in government. This is our land. We are the only people who should share in its ownership.

Deborah Stokes

Waianae

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LED street lights a bright eyesore

I look out at our Manoa Valley hillsides at night and think how ugly they will look after the “orange glow” lights are replaced by bright-white eyesore LEDs.

We have black-out drapes on a window to keep out the street light near us. Will we need white-out drapes?

My eye doctor told me a non-reflective coating on my eyeglasses would help reduce the terrible glare from the super- bright automobile head lights.

Bicycles have flashing LEDs that hurt my eyes, too. Are they to attract my attention so I can blindly hit them?

I guess we have to add LED street lights to Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s legacy. Look at them as part of his Hong Kong-ization of Honolulu.

James Arcate

Manoa

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Waianae welcomes political sign-wavers

While sign-waving for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Carroll at several different locations on Oahu, I made a subjective assessment based on honks, waves and returned shaka signs. Even though many responders may have been Democrats or even non-voters, by far the friendliest people on the island are those living on the Waianae Coast.

And the highest percentage of those folks who appreciated our standing out in the sun at Honokai Hale on a hot and humid day were the drivers and passengers of vans, pickup trucks, buses and semis. I might just do this again in two years — if I can stay hydrated.

Frank Genadio

Kapolei