In a few days, the Honolulu City Council is expected to decide whether new B&Bs can be licensed to operate on O'ahu. Aside from rail transit, few issues in recent memory have been as divisive, pitting neighbor against neighbor and going so far as to target tourists as unwelcome in some communities.

You have to wonder how things became so heated. After all, B&Bs are thriving in every state and just about every country. In fact, they're in some of the most desirable locations in the world. They often help give those areas their unique cachet, not to mention hosting visitors who arrive year after year with their own economic stimulus packages for local businesses.

It's sad but true that there are those who would punish visitors simply for trying to spend a few days in their community. B&B opponents are known to walk the beach and question visitors, trying to ferret out where they are staying. Threatening letters have been sent to entire neighborhoods. People have even held up signs in Kailua urging: Tourists Go Home.

Keep in mind these are visitors who have traveled thousands of miles and chosen a B&B as a quiet alternative to the hustle and bustle of Waikíkí. Many are seniors on a limited income or families with young children. Most are seeking affordable accommodations in a quiet atmosphere, virtually nonexistent in Waikíkí.

When you think about it, B&Bs would seem a natural fit for O'ahu, yet no new B&Bs have been licensed in the past 20 years. It's time to start viewing B&Bs for their advantages instead of listening to a shrill minority who continue to blast away at B&Bs trying to sink them for good.

B&Bs offer a tremendous upside to O'ahu. B&B visitors spend more money with small businesses, money that circulates here instead of going to some national or international hotel chain or high-end retailer that funnels the money outside the state. The B&B visitor clearly helps smaller businesses make a go of it.

As for the B&B resident-owner, the extra income allows retired seniors to maintain their independence and keep their homes in the family, for future generations. For most resident-owners, it simply provides a way to make ends meet and cope with Hawai'i's high cost of living. The rental income won't make them rich but it can help them survive.

Bill 7, now being discussed by the City Council, would establish a regulatory framework for licensing B&Bs. As it stands, B&Bs that were in operation in 1989 are considered licensed operations, provided they sought licenses by that time. Those that began operation in the ensuing years are operating without a license. If the City Council votes no on Bill 7, unlicensed B&Bs will stay in hiding, and those who fancy themselves neighborhood vigilantes will remain on the warpath against neighbors they suspect of being B&B operators.

It's important to note that in addition to a licensing provision for B&Bs that meets the licensing criteria, Bill 7 would put a process in place for the regulation and monitoring of B&Bs and a mechanism for enforcement of the rules.

One important stipulation in Bill 7 requires that, to qualify for a license, a B&B must be operated by the person who owns the property. The owner must also physically reside on the property. Further, the resident-owner is held responsible for the management of the B&B and the behavior of the guests who stay there. This should allay the concerns of some in the community who worry that B&B guests will create problems with parking or noise.

We all want to maintain the character of our communities. Our quiet neighborhoods are what attract B&B visitors, after all. Bill 7 provides a workable solution that will ultimately strengthen our economy and help local residents.

Whether that will be the case now rests with the City Council, which must decide the B&B issue on the merits of what is right for O'ahu and the majority of residents. For council members whose districts are home to the loud minority who seek to sway the outcome by turning up the volume of their opposition, it will require a difficult decision. Let's hope they have the courage to make it.

Angie Larson is president of the Hawai'i Vacation Rental Owners Association. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.