Hawaii County's push to simplify its patchwork of vacation rental rules hit another delay this week, as the council's planning committee ran out of time before voting on Bill 147 for the second meeting in a row. The measure, meant to untangle how the county regulates hosted and unhosted short-term rentals on the Big Island, will now wait until October 6 for its next hearing.
The Hawaii County Council Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development deferred action on Bill 147 after the meeting ran over time, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. It marks the second consecutive deferral for the bill, which was also put off at the committee's September 1 meeting. Bill 147 was introduced by Councilwoman Heather Kimball, who represents Hamakua and has described it as a housekeeping measure meant to align county code with existing state law.
What Bill 147 Would Actually Change
As written, Bill 147 would remove the use-permit requirement for rentals that meet certain operational standards and expand the zoning districts where short-term vacation rentals are allowed. It also defines short-term rentals as stays of 180 days or less and would establish new management standards, punitive fines, and a dedicated enforcement fund. Kimball has said the bill is designed to coordinate county code with state law covering agriculture, state land use, agricultural lands, planning department practices, and the real property tax treatment of transient vacation rentals.
Planning Director Jeff Darrow told the committee the bill would simplify regulation both for rental operators and for his department. Per Darrow, hosted rentals in residential zoning districts could number in the thousands, and all of them currently require a use permit under existing rules.
A Fight Over Terminology Slows the Process
Much of the committee's time went to disagreements over language rather than policy substance. Bill 147 currently uses the term bed and breakfast for hosted vacation rentals and short-term vacation rental for units without an on-site host, wording that has drawn confusion and concern from both council members and the public. Kimball proposed switching the terms to hosted and unhosted rentals instead, an idea that Hilo Councilwoman Jennifer Kagiwada said she supported.
Kimball said she was willing to draft a formal amendment changing the terminology, and she also floated additional amendments to the bill. Those additional changes have not yet been discussed by the committee, leaving several open threads for the next meeting.
How Bill 147 Fits Into a Larger Overhaul
The council previously passed Bill 47, enacted as Ordinance 25-50, which created a mandatory registration system charging annual fees of $250 for hosted rentals and $500 for unhosted rentals, according to Big Island Now. That ordinance took effect in 2025, with owners supposed to register by December 2025; September 1 marked the beginning of a fee-waiver or grace period, while a compliance portal from Deckard Technologies was still being developed.
The county has been working to improve oversight. Hawaii County first regulated vacation rentals back in November 2018 through Bill 108, according to the Hawaii County Planning Department.
The Broader Regulatory Context
The county's effort to rewrite these rules comes as officials consider how short-term rentals should be regulated.
Bill 147 also proposes a dedicated STVR Enforcement Fund under Chapter 2 of the county code, which would direct all registration fees and non-compliance fines toward planning department enforcement costs.
A Different Approach Than Maui County
Hawaii County's strategy stands in contrast to its neighbor across the channel. While the Big Island is working to register and streamline both hosted and unhosted rentals, Maui County has taken a more aggressive route, enacting legislation to phase out roughly 7,000 apartment-zoned short-term rentals by 2029 and convert them into long-term housing for residents, according to Avalara. Hoodline has previously reported on Maui's parallel housing push, including the Kehalani apartment groundbreaking in Wailuku tied to that county's own phase-out bill.
For now, Hawaii County's approach remains registration and reclassification rather than elimination, with the fate of Bill 147's terminology and remaining amendments left for the planning committee to sort out at its next meeting on October 6.
