Column: Illegal-rentals law here, thanks to many

Reading and listening to the complainers about the city’s new enforcement against short-term rentals, one might assume that they were only recently made illegal. Most have been illegal for 30 years in residential zoning.

The photo of the signing of Bill 89 with hotel management and labor only in the picture was unfortunate and ill-planned. The image that the hotel industry was the major reason that Honolulu adopted more effective enforcement is false. Residents from all over Oahu started the effort in earnest in 2003-2005 when City Councilmember Barbara Marshall introduced a permitting resolution. When Marshall’s resolution failed in the city Planning Commission but was introduced back into the City Council in 2008, a two-year battle took place, and the permitting bill finally died in 2010.

The hotel owners and managers were nowhere to be seen, but not because they were unaware. We begged them to get involved back then. Hotel labor became actively involved during that period and did a great job of making their case, largely because the illegal rentals were driving up rents and hotel workers were being priced out of rental housing

It was hundreds of neighbors, 20-plus neighborhood boards and community associations, homeless advocates, and housing advocates over many years that stopped the repeated attempts by some Councilmembers to make the same mistake dozens of other cities across the world made — which was adopting short-term rental permitting schemes that were defective, unenforceable and nearly impossible to repeal when found not to work.

Honolulu did not fall into that trap because of those efforts. The hotels had little to do with that until the last two years. Then they did make a difference and for that we are very grateful. If all the heroes had been at the signing of Bill 89, it would have been standing room only. But all were not invited.

The hotel owners and labor were right to get into the fray. Their business and jobs were being undercut by unfair underground competition that does not pay resort property taxes, provide workers with benefits, pay decent wages, pay FICA, pay for security, pay for trash collection, and on and on. They run their underground lodging businesses at the expense of their neighbors and the taxpayers.

Passing Bill 89 was a tough decision for the Council and mayor, given the thousands of illegal operators, the money and resources of their hosting platforms, the connectedness of their supporters, the power of their lobby, and their sheer number testifying and lobbying.

The Council heard all the evidence multiple times and took the right step to get a handle on this invasion of our residential neighborhoods. Bill 89 is a good bill and was the necessary compromise between enforcement and permitting. Let’s give it a chance to work.

Mahalo nui loa to all the heroes — you know who you are.

Larry Bartley is executive director of Save Oahu’s Neighborhoods.