...FLOOD WATCH FOR MAUI COUNTY THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...
...FLOOD WATCH FOR OAHU STARTING SATURDAY MORNING...
...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY
AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.
* WHERE...Oahu.
* WHEN...From Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Flood prone roads and other low lying areas may be
closed due to elevated runoff and overflowing streams. Urban areas
may receive more significant flooding and property damage due to
rapid runoff.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
- A developing surface trough will act as a focus for cloud and
shower development over Oahu starting on Saturday. The bulk
of the rainfall is expected to fall over windward slopes and
coasts, but some heavy showers could spread to leeward areas,
where stream flow could also become elevated.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action
should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.
&&
The City and County of Honolulu will again ramp up efforts to eliminate Oahu's illegal short term vacation rentals.
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Once again, the City and County of Honolulu plans to step up efforts to crack down on illegal short term vacation rentals.
For years, city officials have said they were going to enforce laws against illegal short term rentals.
"We're going to be able to address problems that have never been addressed before, allowing legal rentals to operate and helping to crack down on illegal ones," said former Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell back in 2020.
But current searches on sites like Airbnb still reveal dozens of illegal listings - located outside of resort zones that don't have one of the nearly 800 island-wide exemptions.
"It is frustrating knowing our office is licensed and insured, and someone else just posts something and collects money," said Terry Gross.
He is a property manager with Novation Realty, that only works with legal short term rental properties.
"We manage about 60 short-term rental properties and a few long term rentals, all in Waikiki, all in zoned buildings," added Gross.
He says illegal short term rentals can hurt legitimate businesses
"Because they are not paying the TAT rate, the owners have the ability to drop the price," stated Gross.
He added that they also hurt the community, which could benefits from the additional taxes.
So why hasn't the city gone after these listings?
"It takes time to go thru each website, find the ads and crosscheck against where it is located: We don't have a dedicated staff to do enforcement," said Dean Uchida, the Director of the Dept. of Planning and Permitting.
Rather than searching out violators, the city instead responds to complaints. But even that comes with additional challenges.
"They get complaints and try to investigate, but because they are located in secure condos, sometimes our people cannot get into the buildings," added Uchida.
Over the past four months, there were 111 short term rental violations issued...but only 5 this month.
Uchida expects that number to go up again in October, when a new law takes effect.
"We're in the process of setting up 5 new positions, they will be dedicated to short term rental enforcement," said Uchida.
Investigators will also be able to more easily spot illegal rental.
"We will use 3rd party software that will sweep websites for us and give us notice of illegal advertisements going on," stated Uchida.
Until then, the city expects to see more illegal short term rentals.
"People are trying to make as much money as they can before the law takes effect. But come October, we will be ready to hit the ground running with more effective enforcement," added Uchida.
Two years ago, the city was supposed to start getting listing data from sites like Expedia and Airbnb, to help them identify illegal rentals...but Uchida tells KITV4, the city is still negotiating with those companies for that information.
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