Report Title:

Bed and Breakfast Homes and Transient Vacation Units.

Description:

Provides that bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units are permitted residential uses and allows regulation of these facilities.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

850

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

Relating to bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The local bed and breakfast home and transient vacation unit industry are an asset to the tourism industry and the local economy. The industry serves as a viable means for homeowners to supplement their income, making Hawaii a more affordable place to live. Visitors to the islands are hosted by local ohana, allowing them to experience quality personal service in a unique home-away-from-home setting. The bed and breakfast home and transient vacation unit industry also represents a substantial untapped source of tax revenue. Presently, many bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units are not sanctioned by the counties and, consequently, a substantial number are not reporting and paying any general excise tax or transient accommodations tax as required by law.

By requiring counties to sanction bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units in exchange for requiring owners and managers of such bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units to pay the general excise tax and the transient accommodations tax, this Act will provide legitimacy to bed and breakfast home and transient vacation unit owners and managers and provide the State and its counties with additional revenue.

The purpose of this Act is to provide that bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units are permitted residential uses of property and allow for the regulation of these facilities.

SECTION 2. Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§46- Bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units; permitted use in residential areas. (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be a permitted use in residentially designated zones, including but not limited to zones for single-family dwellings. The counties shall issue permits for bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units that will attach to the real property upon which the bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit is operated and will run with the land; provided that:

(1) The facility is owned or managed by a bona fide resident of the state of Hawaii;

(2) The owner of the facility:

(A) Acquires and maintains a general excise tax license under chapter 237;

(B) A transient accommodation tax registration number issued in accordance with chapter 237D; and

(C) Remains current in the payment of the general excise and transient accommodation taxes.

(b) The following requirements shall apply to bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units:

(1) Off-street parking shall be provided by bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units of a size and in such location that there is no substantial adverse impact on adjacent properties or the surrounding neighborhood; provided that:

(A) For each bed and breakfast home bedroom there shall be at least one off-street parking space and at least one off-street parking space shall also be provided for the permanent occupant of the home; and

(B) For transient vacation units, at least one off-street parking space shall be provided for each two bedrooms for use by guests occupying the unit and at least one off-street parking space shall also be provided for any other occupant, if any, of the premises upon which the unit is located;

(2) The owner or manager of a bed and breakfast home unit or transient vacation unit shall reside on a full-time basis in the dwelling in which the unit is located and continue to so reside during the entire term of any permit issued under this section;

(3) Every bed and breakfast home and transient vacation unit shall be established and maintained, as nearly as possible, in conformity with the design and architecture of the original structure, adjoining properties, and the character and integrity of the neighborhood in general, and shall be maintained in a good state of repair at all times; and

(4) No person may renovate or build onto a bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit in such a way as to increase the number of bedrooms during the term of a permit issued under this section.

(c) Any county may by ordinance deny or limit an exemption from the payment of real property taxes on the portion of any real property used as a bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit.

(d) For the purposes of this section:

"Bed and breakfast home" means a detached single-family dwelling unit occupied by the owner or manager of the home in which overnight accommodations are provided to guests for compensation for periods of less than thirty days and that includes a kitchen and living areas shared by the permanent occupants of the home, no more than six bedrooms, and one bathroom for every two bedrooms. "Bed and breakfast home" is not a hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort, rooming house, boardinghouse, lodging or tenement house, condominium apartment, cooperative apartment, or time share unit.

"Bona fide resident of the State of Hawaii" means a person who resides in the state, or occupies a home with intent to reside in the state.

"Kitchenette" means a small, compact kitchen area that includes any two of the following: an oven, a refrigerator, or sink, but not all three.

"Resides in the state" includes but is not limited to:

(1) Occupancy of a home in the state for more than two hundred seventy days in a calendar year;

(2) Registering to vote in the state;

(3) Being stationed in the state under military orders of the United States;

(4) Filing of an income tax return as a resident of the state with a reported address within the state;

(5) Maintaining a full-time office at a fixed and permanent location and address; and

(6) Maintaining a published telephone number.

"Transient vacation unit" means a unit in which overnight accommodations are provided to guests for compensation for periods of less than thirty days and that is attached to a main residence with a separate entrance or is a separate, free-standing facility that contains no more than six bedrooms, at least one kitchen or kitchenette, one bathroom for every two bedrooms, and is located on the same property as a residence. "Transient vacation unit" is not a hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort, rooming house, boardinghouse, lodging or tenement house, condominium, condominium apartment, cooperative apartment, or time share."

SECTION 3. Chapter 445, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§445- Fee. (a) The annual fee for a license to keep a bed and breakfast home or a transient vacation unit shall be established by each county and may include the costs of administering the requirements of this chapter and any ordinances or administrative rules enacted or adopted by the county hereunder, including but not limited to the costs of licensing, inspection, and enforcement.

(b) The fee shall be collected by the county in which the bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit is located."

SECTION 4. Section 445-90, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Bed and breakfast home" means a detached single-family dwelling unit occupied by the owner or manager of the home in which overnight accommodations are provided to guests for compensation for periods of less than thirty days and that includes:

(1) A kitchen and living areas shared by the permanent occupants of the home;

(2) No more than six bedrooms; and

(3) One bathroom for every two bedrooms.

"Bed and breakfast home" is not a hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort, rooming house, boardinghouse, lodging or tenement house, condominium apartment, cooperative apartment, or time share unit.

"Transient vacation unit" means a unit in which overnight accommodations are provided to guests for compensation for periods of less than thirty days and that is attached to a main residence with a separate entrance or is a separate, free-standing facility that contains no more than six bedrooms, at least one kitchen or kitchenette, one bathroom for every two bedrooms, and is located on the same property as a residence. "Transient vacation unit" is not a hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort, rooming house, boardinghouse, lodging or tenement house, condominium, condominium apartment, cooperative apartment, or time share."

SECTION 5. Section 445-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§445-15 Control by ordinance. Each council has the power by ordinance:

(1) To require, or eliminate the requirement for, the licensing of auctions under part II of this chapter, bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units under part III of this chapter, secondhand dealers under part VII of this chapter, and scrap dealers under part X of this chapter;

(2) To impose annual license fees;

(3) To increase, decrease, or waive effective upon the expiration of any existing license, the annual fee for a license issued under this chapter, or to exempt wholly or partially, the payment by any religious, charitable, or educational organization or institution of any license fee imposed in this chapter or any ordinance enacted hereunder with respect to any business which is not regularly engaged in or carried on by such organization or institution; [and]

(4) To adopt rules not inconsistent with law concerning the conduct of the business of all persons licensed under this chapter, as deemed necessary for the public health, safety, or welfare[.]; and

(5) To establish civil fines for violations of any permitting requirements established by this chapter or any county ordinance or administrative rule enacted or adopted hereunder, which civil fines may be imposed without requests to correct or cease the violation. Any such fine may be administratively imposed after an opportunity for a hearing under chapter 91, but such a proceeding shall not be a prerequisite for any civil fine ordered by any court."

SECTION 6. Chapter 445, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the title of part III, to read as follows:

"PART III. LODGING OR TENEMENT HOUSES, HOTELS, [AND] BOARDINGHOUSES, BED AND BREAKFAST HOMES, AND TRANSIENT VACATION UNITS"

SECTION 7. Section 445-94, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) No person shall operate a lodging or tenement house, group home, group residence, group living arrangement, hotel, or boardinghouse, until the person secures a clearance from the appropriate county agency responsible for ensuring compliance with county building and zoning codes setting forth that an agent of the agency has examined the building or buildings, proposed to be used for such purposes, with a description sufficient to identify and locate the same; and that the same are in compliance with the building and zoning codes. No initial license shall be issued for a bed and breakfast home or a transient vacation unit until the applicant secures the clearance described in this subsection and presents the clearance to the treasurer."

SECTION 8. Section 445-95, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§445-95 Conditions for conditional operation. The owner or operator of a lodging or tenement house, group home, group residence, group living arrangement, hotel, [or] boardinghouse, bed and breakfast home, or transient vacation unit shall:

(1) Not permit noisy or disorderly conduct in the building or buildings;

(2) Not allow any person engaging in acts of prostitution to reside therein or resort thereto;

(3) Not allow intoxicating liquor or other intoxicating substance to be furnished or sold therein, except as authorized by law;

(4) Keep the building or buildings and premises in good sanitary condition, in accordance with law and with the orders of the agent of the department of health;

(5) At all times allow the police and agents of the state department of health and agents of the appropriate county agencies responsible for compliance with the county's building and zoning codes access for purposes of inspection to enforce or administer this chapter and other applicable laws or rules;

(6) Not allow any gaming;

(7) If a lodging or tenement house, group home, group residence, group living arrangement, [or] boardinghouse, bed and breakfast home, or transient vacation unit, keep records identifying its tenants, lodgers, or boarders; and

(8) Not deliver or purport to deliver health care services or treatment unless it is licensed, certified, or contracted for by the State or other governmental agencies to do so."

SECTION 9. Section 445-96, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§445-96 Penalty. (a) Any person who violates or fails to observe any of the requirements or conditions of this chapter shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 per day for each violation.

(b) Any person who intentionally or knowingly obstructs or interferes with the progress of any authorized inspection pursuant to this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c) Any person who keeps a bed and breakfast home or a transient vacation unit without a license shall be fined in accordance with provisions established by each county by ordinance or, in the absence of such provisions, not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 per day.

(d) Any person holding a license under this chapter who violates or fails to observe any of the requirements of this chapter or of the license, or of any county ordinance or administrative rule enacted or adopted under this chapter, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 per day of violation for each violation."

SECTION 10. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 11. This Act shall take effect on June 30, 2005; provided that no person required to secure a permit under the authority of this Act shall be penalized for having owned, managed, or operated a bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit, as defined herein, prior to the effective date of this Act; provided further that such person applies for a permit under the authority of this Act within ninety days after the effective date of this Act, or such greater time as any county may allow to process the initial applications under this Act.

INTRODUCED BY:

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