Kailua resident: Your illegal vacation rental backed bill will allow approximately 1,300 B&B hotel rooms in the Kailua/Windward area. This is a massive number of visitor accommodation rooms for a primarily residential-zone community. In fact, it's the equivalent of having The Royal Hawaiian hotel, the Kahala Resort and Turtle Bay Resort located in the Kailua/Windward area. How do you justify allowing this ill-conceived Bill 7 to make such a massive change to a community's land-use without having the required rezoning "due process" that would include community input?

City Councilman Ikaika Anderson: This bill does not allow for "rezoning." Rather, it allows for a limited number of owner-occupied B&Bs.

There are currently commercial uses that are permitted in residential areas — attorneys, CPAs, kumu hula and 'ukulele instructors are some the occupations currently allowed right now.

It must also be pointed out that folks WILL be able to voice their concerns directly to the Department of Planning and Permitting, which is the city department that will have final say as to whether or not a permit will be issued — this is where community input will come in.

Pete: We know that B&Bs have been in our Lanikai neighborhood since the 1930s and folks that are new to our neighborhood are fearful that a 10-story resort will be built in Lanikai park. How can we be assured that won't happen?

Councilman Anderson: Lanikai's height restriction does not allow for a 10-story structure. The Lanikai park would have to be rezoned for such an endeavor.

Jeff: Have there been any professional surveys commissioned to find out if O'ahu residents are in favor of B&Bs? If so, what were the results?

Councilman Anderson: Yes, there were two professional polls taken by the Honolulu City Council that included questions on short-term rentals.

One was in 2004 (done by the Honolulu firm Ward Research) and the other in 2006 (done by Honolulu firm Q-Mark). The 2004 poll showed that roughly 70 percent of respondents favored owner-occupied B&Bs and stand-alone transient vacation units, while about 25 percent opposed; roughly 5 percent of respondents were indifferent. The 2006 numbers reflected very similar results.

Nahele: How does an owner handle a neighbor's complaint?

Councilman Anderson: I believe you're asking how a B&B owner would address a neighbor complaint. The bill requires that the owner take corrective action on all complaints — failure to do so results in an initial $1,000 fine that accrues daily until the violation is corrected.

Second violations result in a $3,000 fine, and third and all subsequent violations result in a $5,000 fine. It is not possible to negotiate with the city to reduce the monetary amount of the fines.

It is strongly encouraged that B&B owners work with their neighbors to address complaints; failure to do so results in the very-hefty fines mentioned above being levied against the owner.

Dick H.: I'm in favor of B&Bs but don't think 12 people should be able to rent one B&B. What's the limit being proposed?

Councilman Anderson: We don't believe that 12 people should be able to rent one B&B either, and thus our office lowered that number to six (a max of three bedrooms with no more than two guests in each).

Jane M.: Can homeowners have more than one B&B on their property, and where will their visitors park?

Councilman Anderson: Bill 7 allows for one conditional-use-permit (CUP) minor on one zoning lot. You could have two legal dwellings on one lot, but you are limited to a max of three bedrooms for B&B purposes — and you have to show DPP a floor plan outlining which bedrooms are to be rented as B&Bs. The bill also requires B&B owners to provide off-street parking for all guests.

Jim Gebhard: Bill 7, as amended, limits investigations by DPP to official complaints issued by the state Department of Health or the Honolulu Police Department against B&B operators. This precludes affected neighbors or even visitors in the B&B from registering violations. This will result in making it almost impossible for citizens (neighbors or visitors) to register complaints with DPP as currently exists. This seems totally unfair to neighbors and visitors.

Councilman Anderson: A police report will suffice as a registered complaint — and since it's illegal to file a false police report, this will hopefully discourage people from filing meritless complaints. This provision was put into the law to discourage people from filing complaints against someone without an actual violation occurring so as to prevent DPP from spinning its wheels, so to speak.

Susy: Thanks for coming on the Hot Seat. How will it be decided who will get a license if more people want them than the number allowed for your area?

Councilman Anderson: Once either the county or Council district cap is reached, a waiting list is established and the DPP director places all subsequent applications on a wait-list that is processed in the order the application was received.

Don M.: As a Windward resident, I'm glad you support rail, Ikaika. Our island community needs it and we desperately need the jobs from rail construction now. What's your take on Gov. Linda Lingle's recent statements on the rail EIS?

Councilman Anderson: I said during the campaign that I'd honor the voters' decision on rail. I believe Gov. Lingle should indeed carefully review the EIS, but that she should not intentionally hold up the process. Scrutiny is fine, and it's welcomed. But the process should move as quickly as possible.

Virginia: The Neighborhood Security Watch program is a great crime prevention tool and is greatly supported by the police. B&Bs bring many strangers into our neighborhoods and make it impossible to identify who belongs here and who might be casing the neighborhood for criminal purposes.

Councilman Anderson: The bill doesn't compromise the Neighborhood Security Watch program. B&B owners are required under Bill 7 to keep a registry of guests, and this registry must be provided to both the police department and DPP upon request.

Neil: I understand that B&B operations in Hawai'i are taxable for the general excise tax and transient accommodation tax for a total of approximately 11.4 percent of gross rent. Is this true, and if so, how is it enforced and how much tax will be generated if the bill passes?

Councilman Anderson: Yes, B&Bs are required (under state law, not county ordinance) to pay GET and TAT. This is enforced strictly by the state of Hawai'i and not the counties. However, Bill 7 does require that these licenses be furnished to the city prior to the city issuing a B&B permit.

I cannot say how much money will be generated if the bill passes because we have no way to tell if the total cap will even be reached.

Paul: Could you please explain what the main driver is for yourself and (Councilman Rod) Tam in pushing this bill through to appease a small group of "business" owners, at the expense of a majority of residents who provide the "work force" that underpins Hawai'i's ability to be a resort destination? If policemen, teachers, nurses, doctors, etc. have housing stock removed from the market, where will they live?

Councilman Anderson: The main driver is to reach a workable compromise on this issue — period. We are not removing "housing stock" from the market. We are offering owner occupants another tool to hold on to their primary residence. Right now they're limited to renting rooms in their homes to only long-term tenants, and the city has no right to tell a homeowner that she must rent bedrooms in her primary residence to long-term or short-term residents — that's their decision to make as a homeowner occupant.

Honolulu Sumi: Mr. Anderson, did your campaign accept donations from supporters of B&B hotels? If you did take any donations, this is a conflict of interest and you should abstain from voting on Bill 7. Will you do the right thing and excuse yourself from the vote?

Councilman Anderson: By law, every American citizen has the right to financially support any candidate for public office of their choosing.

Furthermore, campaign contributions for all elected officials is public information. I'm not for sale — never have been, never will be. My door is open to any constituent from my district, regardless of if they contributed to my campaign or if they supported me. In fact, I've met in my office here at Honolulu Hale and in the community with many people who openly campaigned against me.

My job is to meet with and represent all of District 3 — and I take that job very seriously. I don't vote for or against legislation and meet or not meet with people based on campaign contributions or support.