Is the bed and breakfast debate in Hawaii a beach access issue?
As many of you know, I have mixed feelings about the arguments for and against B&Bs. Some of our friends and BAH supporters own B&Bs in Kailua. But I also know people who have been negatively affected by B&Bs.
Ironically, some of the most vocal opponents of B&Bs are people who live on gated roads. They even claim the influx of B&B tourists are one reason they don’t want anyone using “their” private lanes to get to the beach. They want the City Council to tell others what they can or can’t do with their homes.
Yet those same people don’t want anyone telling THEM what they should do with their “private” roads -- despite the fact they receive public services such as trash pick-up and mail deliveries.
Moreover, some of those mini-hotels that are marketed as B&Bs are on gated roads. Which means tourists who rent them have their own private access to the beach, while residents who live nearby must trek as much as half a mile to find a public right of way.
Personally, I’d like to see B&Bs restricted to owner-occupied homes. Most of the problems I hear involve properties where the owner lives out of state or somewhere else. If the owner is present, at least you know who to complain to. I think owner-occupied B&Bs can fit into residential areas if they are regulated and stay true to the spirit of real mom-and-pop operations.
It’s a thorny issue. I’ve had family visiting from the Mainland, and I wanted to set them up with a B&B in Kailua. However, I have friends who have had trouble finding affordable rentals, in part, because B&Bs are more profitable for property owners. If I had an extra room to rent, I'd want to get top dollar for it too.
Is there a middle ground? I’m all for keeping Kailua residential. But without tourists, I think many of the small businesses in town would suffer or close down. Then we all lose out -- the biz owners and residents who shop or dine at those places.
You can post public comments here, but you must register so we don’t get nasty “anonymous” comments. As we’ve seen in the past, those kind of personal attacks don’t get us anywhere.
1 comment:
Testing, testing... yep, comments section works! I appreciate getting personal emails on the B&B topic, but wish those people would share those feelings here so both sides consider the very real human aspects involved.
Many B&B owners are good neighbors, and some rely on that extra income just to pay their bills.
But I also know what it's like to live next to a rental property that's occupied by rude, loud-mouthed jerks (these were NOT tourists btw, and thankfully the owner eventually sold the house to a nice couple).
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