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Dr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Council Chair <br />and Members of the County Council <br />December 22, 2025 <br />Page 3 <br />the lot sizes typically found in the rural areas, and the surrounding properties consist of <br />residential and small farm lots. <br />The property is not considered important agricultural land as it is considered <br />Unclassified on the Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii (ALISH) <br />Map. It is also classified as very poor by the Land Study Bureau, which determines <br />productivity ratings of agricultural lands. <br />The 6.063-acre subject property is roughly rectangular in shape and is <br />unimproved. There is an agricultural shed on the subject property as well as an <br />unpermitted, tiny house of wheels which the applicant intends to remove. The property is <br />in the Kanehoa Estates Subdivision and borders Kanehoa Place, which is privately <br />maintained, and Kawaihae Road to the north. The property has a gentle and gradual slope <br />in the north -to -south direction and there are no topographical constraints that affect the <br />subject property. On April 29, 1985, the subject property was part of Kanehoa Estates <br />Subdivision, which established thirty (30) lots at least 5 acres in size each. <br />The surrounding lands are located within the State's Agricultural (A) and Rural <br />(R) Districts, and the County's Residential and Agricultural (A-20a, A-5a, RA-2a) zoned <br />districts. The parcel immediately to the north, across Kanehoa Place is zoned Residential <br />and Agricultural-2 acre (RA-2a). The parcel to the south adjacent to the property is zoned <br />Agricultural-5-acre (A-5a) as well as the parcels to the east and west. According to the <br />applicant, over the past couple of decades, individual lots within this subdivision have <br />witnessed State Land Use Boundary Amendments and Change of Zone requests identical <br />to that requested by the applicant, resulting in subdivisions of these original lots into <br />smaller, 2-acre parcels. These amendments have occurred to the properties immediately <br />to the north of the subject property. The proposed change of zone would complement the <br />existing and predominately rural residential land uses in the surrounding area and is <br />consistent with the General Plan designation for the area. <br />While the County has adopted an accessory dwelling units (ADUs) ordinance <br />under Bill No. 123, which permits the construction of ADUs within the Residential and <br />Agricultural (RA) zoning district, this allowance applies only to properties located within <br />the State Land Use Urban District. At this time, based on the Planning Department's <br />interpretation of State statute, the development of ADUs is not permitted within the SLU <br />Rural District. Pursuant to HRS §46-4.8, Accessory dwelling units on residentially zoned <br />lots, subsection (b) provides that "...each county shall adopt or amend ordinances <br />defining reasonable standards that allow for the construction of at least two accessory <br />dwelling units, or the reasonable equivalent, for residential use on all residentially zoned <br />lots. " However, subsection (i)(1) clarifies that "this section shall not apply to any area <br />outside of the urban district established by Chapter 205. " Moreover, subsection (k) <br />indicates that, ""Residentially zoned lot" does not include a lot in a county zoning district <br />that is intended for rural, low density residential development, and open space <br />