The Hawaii County Council is working to simplify its new short-term rental laws.

In revising the STR regulations for the island of Hawaii through Act 121, the Council made a number of changes to respond to concerns raised by homeowners, local officials and other stakeholders.

Seven amendments to the bill were tabled this week, and four of them were implemented during a Council committee meeting in July.

Two of the widely accepted amendments would eliminate some of the requirements for registering STRs (also known as transient accommodation rentals) with the county.

One change would eliminate the need to submit a floor plan as part of the registration process, and another would result in rental properties no longer complying with current building codes.

“I think this would help to significantly simplify the registration process for landlords of temporary accommodations,” said Council Member Ashley Kierkiewicz, who introduced the changes.

But there were other changes that some council members found complicated or too far-reaching. For example, one proposal would have allowed one type of short-term rental to temporarily function as another.

“Wow, that’s where the mud gets muddier. As much as I wish there were parameters and more solidification and more certainty and more support for the people of our county with regards to TARs, I feel like I can’t keep up at this point. I have people who are experts in the field who can’t keep up with it,” Council Member Rebecca Villegas said at Tuesday’s meeting.

She referred generally to the number of amendments, but also responded to a specific proposal on “owner-hosted” STRs.

Bill 121 would establish categories for STRs based on whether a rental unit is located on the same property where the homeowner lives. Homeowners must live and be present on the same property as their “owner-hosted” unit, which would then be subject to cheaper registration fees and more flexibility in zoning.

However, one of the proposed changes states that “owner-hosted” STRs may be rented for up to one month while the owners are away from home.

“We create a policy for, quite frankly, the smallest details of what people are doing when they’re doing short-term vacation rentals… For the county government to intervene so deeply in people’s daily lives seems very Big Brother to me,” Villegas said.

Villegas said her district, which includes the South Kona area, has the highest percentage of STRs on the island.

“If we offer them lower costs and recognize owner-hosted accommodations (STRs) in some way, these people can’t just rent short-term when they’re on vacation,” said City Councilor Jennifer Kagiwada.

Council President Heather Kimball, who introduced the amendment, withdrew it after concerns from other council members.

One of the amendments Kierkiewicz’s plan would allow STRs in certain areas in each zoning district. Kierkiewicz said these “visitor destination areas” would have a high concentration of STRs and wanted to open them up to tourism without allowing more resorts or hotels.

This amendment was adopted by a narrow majority of 5 to 4 after concerns were raised that it did not reflect the spirit of the measure.

Other changes passed included allowing STRs that were not required to register with the county under current law to be grandfathered into the new law. This included setting limits on the number of tenants per bedroom in an STR and updating certain definitions.

The new STR law would give the county better oversight of the island’s growing rental industry and its regulation.

According to a 2023 report by the University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization, there are about 6,800 active STRs on the island.