The latest version of a bill to allow permits for new bed and breakfast lodgings on O'ahu will be heard by the City Council's Zoning Committee today.

It was drafted by Councilman Ikaika Anderson, whose Windward district is among the two major battlegrounds for the B&B debate.

The city has not allowed any new B&Bs to be permitted since the late 1980s, but illegal operations have sprung up, largely in Kailua and on the North Shore. Council members have tried to reach some kind of compromise on the situation since 2005.

The newest draft of Bill 08-07 states:

• B&Bs would be allowed in residential-zoned areas, but the homeowner must live on the property. To be eligible, the property owner would have to be receiving a homeowner's tax exemption.

• A B&B operation would not have to be in the same structure where the homeowner lives, but must be on the same property.

• New B&Bs would not be allowed on land zoned for agriculture.

Other aspects of the bill that was advanced by the full council on Oct. 27 remain, including a formula that would cap the number of B&Bs in each of the nine council districts. The bill also would limit each B&B establishment to no more than three bedrooms, and a maximum of two guests per bedroom.

The Oct. 27 preliminary vote was 5-3, but six "yes" votes are required for final approval. The full council could take the third of three required votes as early as Dec. 16.

Anderson's latest version did not sway either supporters or opponents of B&Bs.

Longtime B&B supporter Will Page, a Kailua businessman, said the bill is "headed in the right direction" but adds that it is still too restrictive.

For instance, Page said, he and other B&B supporters want to allow units in more than one building. He also said the number of units allowed should be based on the size of the dwelling.

"I think we want for there to be a broader definition of bed-and-breakfast that has the owner living on the property but doesn't require it all be one big house, or one big unit," Page said. "I would want it to be as broad as possible to include cabins, cottages, duplex units, 'ohana dwellings."

Page said B&Bs should be allowed on agricultural-zoned properties, noting the popularity of agricultural and ecological tourism.

Kailua resident Paul Spriggs said the changes he's seen in the bill are not enough to sway his opposition

Council members to date have only attempted to address ancillary concerns such as traffic, parking and noise, but not the larger issues such as enforcement of existing laws, said Spriggs, who has lived in Kailua the past nine years.

"I"m just opposed to the whole idea of spot zoning in a residential area," Spriggs said. "It defeats the whole purpose of having a residential area."

He said the council should be looking at Bill 08-08, which attempts to regulate B&Bs, especially the illegal ones that have sprung up in recent years.

Anderson said the agricultural lands were taken out of the bill at the request of the agricultural community.

Councilman Gary Okino has led the charge for a "spacing" requirement, but Anderson said neither he nor Zoning Chairman Rod Tam were comfortable with that kind of restriction.

"Some people wanted it to be 500 feet, some people said 750, some people wanted 1,000 feet," Anderson said. "Which number do we go with, and what's the justification for whatever number that we go with? I think that's setting public policy by pulling numbers out of thin air."

Tam said the new version is workable. The most important aspect is that B&B permits would only be available for owner-occupants. Having an owner on site ensures proper oversight, he said.

"That's the whole intent of bed-and-breakfasts, that the owner lives on the property," Tam said.