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INTRODUCTION <br />PURPOSE OF THE GENERAL PLAN <br />The County of Hawaii's General Plan is the policy document for the long range <br />comprehensive development of the island of Hawaii. The purposes of the General Plan are to: <br />• Guide the pattern of future development in this County based on long-term goals; <br />• Identify the visions, values, and priorities important to the people of this County; <br />• Provide the framework for regulatory decisions, capital improvement priorities, <br />acquisition strategies, and other pertinent government programs within the County <br />organization and coordinated with State and Federal programs. <br />• Improve the physical environment of the County as a setting for human activities; to <br />make it more functional, beautiful, healthful, interesting, and efficient. <br />• Promote and safeguard the public interest and the interest of the County as a whole. <br />• Facilitate the democratic determination of community policies concerning the <br />utilization of its natural, man-made, and human resources. <br />• Effect political and technical coordination in community improvement and <br />development. <br />• Inject long-range considerations into the determination of short-range actions and <br />implementation. <br />History of the Plan <br />General Plan studies in the County of Hawaii were initiated in the late 1950's and were <br />limited to particular regions of the island such as the Hilo, Kona, Kohala, Hamakua, and Puna <br />Districts. As such, these initial general plans lacked a comprehensive, coordinated, and integrated <br />overview of the entire County. The first of these studies, "A Plan for Kona", was completed in <br />1960 and encompassed the districts of North and South Kona. "A Plan for the Metropolitan Area <br />of Hilo" was completed in 1961 for the districts of South Hilo and Puna. "The Kohala-Hamakua <br />Region General Plan" was completed in 1963 and covered part of the district of North Kona and <br />the districts of North and South Kohala, Hamakua and North Hilo. These regional plans were <br />adopted by Ordinance No. 317 in July 1965, as the General Plan for the County. The district of <br />Ka'u was the only area in the County not covered by this plan. <br />With the adoption and ratification of the County Charter in 1968, the General Plan <br />emerged as a major policy document. Section 3-15 of the County Charter states: <br />Introduction <br />