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(d) Amendments to the general plan may be initiated by the council or the planning director." Pursuant to the Section 226-52 and 58 of the Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS), as well as Section 3- 15 of the County Charter, the General Plan includes overall themes, goals, principles, objectives, and policies, as well as implementation priorities and actions to carry out policies including, but not limited to, land use maps, programs, projects, regulatory measures, standards and principles, and interagency coordination. Neither the HRS nor the County Charter clearly define all the terms above, so for the purposes of the 2045 General Plan, they are defined in this section using references from professional planning practice. The authority of the General Plan includes three fundamental types: directional, regulatory, and programmatic. Authority Limits of the General Plan The 2045 General Plan often relies on further implementation actions, such as zoning and budget ordinances, to move Hawai'i Island in the direction of our goals. Further, it contains no authority to change previously existing subdivisions or zoning. Achieving our island's vision will require collective long-term commitments that build on this plan. 1.2 History of the Plan General Plan studies in the County of Hawai'i were initiated in the late 1950s and were limited to particular regions of the island such as the Hilo, Kona, Kohala, Hamakua, and Puna Districts. As such, these initial plans lacked a comprehensive, coordinated, and integrated overview of the entire County. The first of these studies, "A Plan for Kona", was completed in 1960 and encompassed the districts of North and South Kona. "A Plan for the Metropolitan Area of Hilo" was completed in 1961 for the districts of South Hilo and Puna. "The Kohala-Hamakua Region General Plan" was completed in 1963 and covered part of the district of North Kona and the districts of North and South Kohala, Hamakua, and North Hilo. These regional plans were adopted by Ordinance No. 317 in July 1965, as the General Plan for the County. The district of Ka'u was the only area in the County not covered by this plan. The first General Plan document to be completed after the ratification of the County Charter in 1968 was adopted by ordinance on December 15, 1971 by the County Council. Upon adoption of the General Plan in 1971, the Council laid the foundation for establishing a comprehensive planning program for the County of Hawaii. This program consists of a hierarchical set of plans and activities. The initial development of the General Plan program, undertaken between 1968 and 1970, was funded through an agreement between the County of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the former State of Hawaii Department of Planning and Economic Development (currently the State 1.0 Introduction I County of Hawaii General Plan 29