Question: Regarding the vacation rentals, we rent out our place for 30 days or more (legal), but where we advertise online they break it down to a nightly rate for the convenience of the customers — so they can comparison- shop before booking. Is this new law going to cause trouble for people like us even though we are doing nothing wrong?
Answer: Yes, potentially. The city’s advice for owners like you is to persuade booking platforms to update their policies or to take your advertising business elsewhere. The Department of Planning and Permitting addresses this issue on its FAQ about Ordinance 19-18, which, among other things, penalizes owners for advertising illegal rentals. Oahu rentals of less than 30 days are illegal, unless the property is in a resort zone or has a nonconforming use permit. Here’s how DPP explains it:
“I only rent my property for 30 days or longer, but when I advertise on a certain platform, the monthly rate is automatically broken down into daily rates. These rates become part of my ad and I have no ability to change that. Will I be liable, even though I don’t rent by the day?
“Yes, you may be cited for illegally advertising. If the platform is unwilling to change its policy, you may have to decide whether to continue participating on that platform.”
Q: It has been reported that construction of TMT on Mauna Kea would take 10 years. Why so long? I’m assuming it’s not due to making of the telescope itself. Does that timeline take into account delays that may be the result of protests on Mauna Kea and the probable string of legal challenges in the pipeline, much like construction of H-3?
A: It seems that your assumption was incorrect. The proposed construction timeline, from July 2019 to July 2027, publicized by TMT International Observatory (www.tmt.org), describes how long it would take to build, ship, install and test the complex astronomical instruments and the observatory housing them. You can read the details at 808ne.ws/tmttime, on the TMT website.
To address your second question, no, that eight-year timeline did not account for delays caused by the opposition. It said that construction would begin July 15. That did not happen. Protesters, many of whom are Native Hawaiian and consider Mauna Kea sacred, prevented it by blocking the road to the summit. On Tuesday the state extended by two years — to Sept. 26, 2021 — its deadline for TMT to begin construction.
Social Security update
The Social Security Administration says people in Hawaii should be able to order replacement Social Security cards at www.ssa.gov, assuming that they are eligible to do so. We had asked after hearing from six readers unable to complete transactions via their “my Social Security” accounts.
“We confirmed with our systems team that everything is working properly and there has not been an outage of our online serv-ices in Hawaii. We do not have enough information about these isolated readers’ issues to provide a detailed response, but we encourage them to contact their local office if they continue to have problems completing their business online,” spokeswoman Patricia Raymond said by email Tuesday.
Meanwhile we heard from a seventh reader who had the same trouble as the others and gave up after trying twice online; he ended up going to the Social Security office in Kapolei to handle the task in person.
Mahalo
Mahalo to good neighbors in Aina Haina. With storms coming, I’ve had neighbors ask whether I need water or batteries, or help getting things off the lanai. I know my neighbors and thanked them. I appreciate that they look out for elders in their midst. — Spry senior
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
