COM 0167.000 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Honorable James Y. Arakaki, Chairman and Members of the County Council Page 3 the districts of North Kona and South Kona shall be re-classified to any zone district having a minimum lot size of less than 20 acres except where contiguous lands held under the same or a cooperative ownership are concurrently placed in a lower density zoned district with a net effect of maintaining or reducing overall density levels and enhancing the integrity and value of the region's watershed and forest systems. The project site is comprised of soils identified as Kiloa Extremely Stony Muck (rKXD). This soil consists of well-drained, thin, extremely stony organic soils over fragmental A'a lava and is used primarily for woodland and pasture. Soils within the subject property have been classified as "E" (Very Poor) for agricultural productivity by the Land Study Bureau's Detailed Land Classification System. Finally, soils within the subject property are classified as "Unique Agricultural Land" by the ALISH System. "Unique Agricultural Land" are lands that have the special combination of soil, quality, location, growing season and moisture supply and which is used to produce sustained high quality and/or high yields of a specific crop when treated and managed according to modern farming methods. The 5+ acre parcels that could be created would no longer function as a form of open space and green belt and would take away from the agricultural uses and life style of this area. Zoning becomes the fundamental means for protecting agricultural lands and "Unique Agricultural Lands" from speculation land development. These agricultural lands should be protected from encroachment and reserved for primarily agricultural uses. The requested A-Sa zoning is inconsistent with the policies of the General Plan and the Hawaii County Council Resolution No. 330-96. The subdivision of 6 and 14-acre lots would be incompatible with the rural character of lands located within the upper elevations of Kaloko Mauka Subdivision which are zoned A-l0a and A-20a. Approval of this request to A-Sa would also allow other parcels to request rezoning, thereby, creating the proliferation of small lots which would change the character and uses within the area. In addition, the applicants state that activities will be limited to a maximum area of 20 percent of each parcel, and the remainder will be retained in its natural forested state. However the subject parcel currently has no agricultural activity and the construction of asingle-family residential unit is the only activity. The applicants further state that a family garden and orchard will be implemented for the property. It is unclear whether both lots will have the same family garden and orchard activity, since they will be subdivided and have different fee owners. Lands located within the upper regions of Kaloko Mauka Subdivision are predominantly zoned A-20 and A-10 acre parcels at the 3,000-foot elevation. The