A bill that would allow the issuance of more bed-and-breakfast permits for the first time in 20 years will likely be defeated when it comes up for a final vote tomorrow.

As of yesterday, only four members of the nine-member Honolulu City Council said they support Bill 08-07, which authorizes B&B operators to apply for permits. Six votes are necessary for the bill to pass.

"If the bill dies, we're left with the status quo and ... nobody supports the way things are," said Councilman Ikaika Anderson, a proponent of the bill who represents Kailua, a key battleground in the debate.

As of yesterday, joining Anderson in supporting the bill were Councilmen Todd Apo, Nestor Garcia and Rod Tam. Opposed were Romy Cachola, Donovan Dela Cruz, Charles Djou, Ann Kobayashi and Gary Okino. Cachola is in the Philippines on a medical mission and is expected to miss tomorrow's vote.

The vote represents the closest the council has come to lifting a moratorium on new B&Bs, enacted in 1989.

Hundreds of unpermitted B&Bs have sprung up on O'ahu in the last two decades, sparking calls for reform from both supporters and opponents.

Supporters say B&Bs provide a service to the community, offering an alternative to the traditional tourism experience and allowing a source of income for homeowners strapped for money and trying to pay their mortgages. Opponents say existing illegal B&Bs break up the fabric of neighborhoods, take away housing options and create competition for hotels and other more traditional visitor accommodations .

The latest draft allows for a maximum of about 1,275 B&Bs total on O'ahu and up to a third of that number, or 425 B&Bs, in each of the nine council districts.

The Department of Planning and Permitting, which gets the duty of managing the permits and enforcement, estimated there are now about 50 licensed B&Bs but indicated it is unclear how many illegal ones are operating.

The bill as now written makes only owner occupants eligible for B&B permits. A homeowner exemption on property taxes would be required as proof.

The bill would allow new B&Bs only in residential-zoned areas after agricultural districts were taken out of the last incarnation. A B&B would not have to be in the same structure where the homeowner lives, but must be on the same property.

Each B&B could have up to three bedrooms, and a maximum of two guests per bedroom. On-site parking would be required.

Okino could be swayed to support the bill, but only if the others would agree to a "separation" provision that requires the B&Bs to be at least 500 feet apart.

A city planner for 30 years, Okino said the current draft allows for clustering of B&Bs.

"You could theoretically create a resort district within a residential zone because there would be no limitation to where you could put these things," Okino said.

But both Anderson and Tam, who chairs the Zoning Committee, which moved out the bill earlier this month, said no one has provided any reason B&Bs should be 500 feet apart rather than 1,000 feet or some other distance.

"There's no sound foundation to it," Tam said.

Okino said that while he agrees there's no science to determining what distance should separate B&Bs, he noted that a spacing requirement is not unprecedented.

He pointed out that nursing facilities are required to be a minimum of 1,000 feet from each other.

The other "no" votes on the bill were firm in their opposition.

Kobayashi, Dela Cruz and Djou said there needs to be enforcement of existing laws pertaining to B&Bs and transient vacation units

"There's no enforcement of what we have now, and that's a big problem," Kobayashi said.

Djou said there should be more attention to shutting down illegal B&Bs before any consideration is given to expanding the number of legal ones.

Tam, however, said he worries about what happens if the bill is shot down.

"There's going to be unregistered bed and breakfast operators," Tam said. If the bill is defeated, "then basically it's going to be business as usual. And there's going to be frustration about nonlegislation."

The bill would do nothing more than allow for a type of home business under specific circumstances, he said.

Supporters and opponents are expected to turn out in droves for tomorrow's meeting.

Members of the Hawaii Vacation Rental Owners Association have been visiting with council members and spreading the word for their supporters to show up tomorrow.

Phyllis Young, who has operated a B&B without a permit in East Honolulu for about 15 years, said she and her husband will continue the business even if the bill is shot down.

"If this bill does not pass, we are going to take a risk and run it, and if we get shut down, we will have to shut down and i t means we'll have to sell our house and who knows, maybe even leave our children and our grandchildren and go someplace we can afford," Young said.

Meanwhile, members of Save O'ahu's Neighborhoods and Keep It Kailua waved signs at Kailua junction yesterday afternoon, urging their supporters to show up at Honolulu Hale tomorrow.

Larry Bartley, executive director of Save O'ahu's Neighborhoods, said given the violations that occur now, he's afraid of what happens if the bill does pass.

"I don't know what enforcement would look like," he said.