HAENA, Hawaii -- State officials have ordered 16 owners of houses on state conservation land in Haena to stop renting out their multimillion-dollar homes to vacationers or face $2,000 per day fines.
In a notice to the alleged violators, Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairman Peter Young said the special permits the property owners had secured to build their homes make clear that the houses can't be used for rental or any other commercial purposes.
If the property owners are caught renting to vacationers after June 30, they could be fined up to $2,000 per day, Young said.
The owners come from Hawaii and across the western U.S. Nine are from California, including two based in Beverly Hills.
Gary Stice of Kaneohe is among those who received the letters. He said the March 23 notices may force some owners to sell their property.
Stice said the wording of the application is unclear and seems to only outlaw using the land to build a store or some other type of commercial or industrial space.
"I think it was very unfair that we are being given this very quick notice," he said.
Stice declined to publicly comment on how his home is commercially used, except to say that revenues generated help pay for a high mortgage and property tax bills. The move by the Department of Land and Natural Resources seems almost punitive, he said.
"We are a local family," he said. "We are not from somewhere else."
The notices were posted at the properties on March 27. In addition to the homeowners, Young's letter was also sent to local and state officials, including Mayor Bryan Baptiste and the state Attorney General's Office.
Carl Imparato, president of the Hanalei-Haena Community Association, said the state had expressed an interest in clamping down on illegal vacation rental in the area back in the fall.
Imparato said his group's 100 members want homeowners to follow the law and support strong penalties for any violations. But recipients of the letters may not necessarily be involved in any wrongdoing, he said.
But Hanalei resident Ray Chuan said some violators are blatant.
"Most of the expensive vacation rentals are run by off-island people," he said. "And some have neon lights on them. They are being basically managed by Realtors."
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:45 a.m. -- San Diego's web video news: Today's breaking major business events, economic, and financial announcements from the Daily Transcript/San Diego Source newsroom.
Print
E-Mail
