Column: Illegal vacation rentals violate law, displace local folks

I read with disappointment and a bit of incredulity Margaret Aurand’s commentary (“Allow vacation rental hosts to survive,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, June 30). I, too, am in my 70s and somehow, I see the world and the future of our communities in Hawaii very differently.

I have lived in Hawaii since 1986, when my husband came here with the U.S. Air Force to complete his last tour of duty and then to find a job. We were able to buy a home and become a part of a community of persons committed to making it a special place.

I joined the Kalaheo High School PTSA, the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle (serving as president), the United Methodist Church and other local organizations. Eventually, we were able to purchase another property most people would have torn down. As we could, we renovated and repaired to make it a home for another family to enjoy.

Over the years, we have provided long-term rental housing to young couples just starting out their lives together, construction workers with families whose kids attend our local schools, military families, local business owners and others who are a part of our community. My son also has made the decision to support the long-term housing market by renting to local teachers, nurses, University of Hawaii professors and others.

Recently, he put his rental on the market and had never seen such a heartbreaking response.Within minutes, he was inundated with dozens of desperate families, many of whom had been displaced because the owners of their rental homes had decided to sell — many to mainland investors. These folks were displaced, forced to rent at significantly higher rates in short-term accommodations meant for tourists and clearly struggling to find a way to shelter their families.

I am also a Realtor, so I have been actively involved over the decades helping families who wish to live in Hawaii find homes. The market has not become kinder to these families. Many of my children’s friends cannot afford to return to Hawaii, even though they are double-income earners. The market has simply priced them out. And this market is clearly driven by those who are making choices that we as a community have soundly rejected through our zoning laws.

The fact that thousands of owners are making the choice to rent their investment properties in residentially-zoned areas to nonresidents does not mean the conduct should be accepted — these short-term rentals contravene our zoning laws, and many cases, directly violate them.

Is violating a zoning law designed to protect our community much different from breaking other laws that keep us safe? Is it because those violating the zoning laws are subject to a different system of justice? Maybe so. But taking out a loan to invest in an activity that violates the law is not so very different from stealing a purse to make ends meet. Both are wrong.

Short-term rental owners often tout their great reviews from tourists whom they have accommodated, and who loved being a part of a community for the few days they were here. But who is tallying the reviews of the local families who would rent those properties as their home? Who is listening to this chorus of people whose lives are being stressed by not having the means to fulfill a basic need … shelter?

Well, at the rate we are going, this chorus of teachers, lawyers, medical professionals and others are headed to the mainland … or worse, the streets.