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<br /> Honorable James Y. Arakaki, Chairman <br /> <br /> and Members of the County Council <br /> <br /> Page 10 <br /> property could support small-scale agricultural and floricultural ventures as well as any <br /> packing and related agricultural functions. <br /> The Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map component of the <br /> General Plan is a representation of the document's goals, policies, standards and <br /> courses of action to guide the coordinated growth and development of the County. It <br /> reflects a graphic depiction of the spatial relationships among various land uses and the <br /> expressed policy statements of the document itself. The LUPAG Map establishes the <br /> basic land use pattern for areas within the County. Therefore, changes and requests for <br /> amendments to the LUPAG Map must be evaluated against applicable goals, policies <br /> and standards of the General Plan. The reclassification action also conforms to the <br /> LUPAG Map which designates the area for Industrial Area. The Industrial Area <br /> designation include uses such as manufacturing and processing, wholesaling, large <br /> storage and transportation facilities and light industrial uses. The zoning <br /> reclassification would be a reasonable expansion of industrial activities associated with <br /> the Industrial designation and the existing industrial ases in the area. <br /> Since 1971, the area of the old Puna Sugar Mill has been designated as <br /> Industrial Area. During the 1989 General Plan Comprehensive Review, the Industrial <br /> Area designation was expanded by redesignating lands in the vicinity from Intensive <br /> Agricultural and Orchards to Industrial. This area was considered for industrial <br /> expansion as a variety of Industrial uses have been established in the vicinity through <br /> the Special Permit process. The County had determined that the industrial designation <br /> would promote and encourage additional utilization of the area. Also in 1989, it was <br /> observed that traffic patterns already indicated tremendous movement across the <br /> Puna-South Hilo District boundary. Keaau is in close proximity to the City of Hilo and <br /> has an excellent transportation link via the Volcano Highway-Kanoelehua Avenue. In <br /> addition, Keaau provides a natural focal point provided by the highway system that <br /> could result in the concentration of additional goods and services at Keaau. To <br /> facilitate this growth, during the 1989 review, the lands on the eastern side of the <br /> existing Keaau urban area were redesignated from Orchards and Urban Expansion to <br /> Low Density Urban. Likewise, the lands to the west and southwest side of Keaau <br /> Town were redesignated from Orchards to Urban Expansion. As evident by the <br /> County's action during the 1989 General Plan Comprehensive Review, there definitely <br /> is a need for additional lands to accommodate present and future industrial activities for <br /> the Puna District. <br /> An amendment to the State Land Use Boundary Map from an Agricultural to <br /> Urban District is being concurrently processed for the proposed industrial <br /> development. Upon the adoption of this amendment, the proposed change of zone <br /> request will be consistent with the proposed Urban District designation. <br /> The project site is situated within close proximity to schools, commercial areas, <br /> employment centers and public safety services. The project site is located <br /> approximately one mile from the urban retail/employment of Keaau Town Center. The <br /> Keaau Elementary School is located within 5 minutes of the subject property. The <br /> Police, Fire and emergency medical services are also located in Keaau town, one mile <br /> from the subject property. Keaau is centrally located at the junction of two major <br /> <br />