Laserfiche WebLink
24. EXPANDED CONCEPT OF RURAL -AGRICULTURE DESIGNATION <br />Draft 1 introduces a proposed Rural Designation that applies only to existing, identified <br />subdivisions having a significant residential component with typical lot sizes of 9,000 <br />square -foot lots to two acres. This is a welcome recognition of the existing situation, <br />especially with the many non -conforming subdivisions in Puna and Ka'u. The <br />description is being applied to areas with conforming subdivisions, such as Sunrise <br />Estates and Keaau Agricultural Lots, Akolea Plantation Subdivision, and Pacific <br />Plantation. Unfortunately, not all conforming subdivisions, such as Maliu Ridge and <br />Hokulia, were identified for the Rural Designation. The new Designation should apply <br />equally to these and other conforming subdivisions. <br />Subdivisions having up to 4 -acre sized lots having a significant residential component <br />could also fall into this category. We understand there are residents in these larger lot <br />subdivisions who object to being placed in the Rural Designation. These subdivisions <br />were not depicted on the LUPAG Map although they may match the Rural description. <br />The General Plan can correctly describe these existing situations without 'mapping' <br />them. Accordingly, Draft 2 proposes to increase the typical lot size of existing <br />subdivisions to 4 acres. <br />Draft 2 describes the Rural category more explicitly by saying it includes "areas with or <br />proposed for small farms intermixed with residential uses where city -like concentrations <br />of people, structures, streets and urban levels of service are absent." <br />Draft 2 envisions that there will be Rural -Agricultural areas in the future. These areas <br />may typically provide a transition between agricultural and urban forms. Rural - <br />Agricultural areas help to create a buffer between the large agricultural activities and the <br />denser urban activities. It is not intended that these areas be on the LUPAG map. <br />Instead, Rural -Agriculture policies point to two existing policies of encouraging rural -style <br />residential -agricultural developments in appropriate locations and establishing standards <br />and criteria for these uses. Notably, the proposed LUPAG Map allocation table shows <br />only 47,996 acres (1.9%) in Rural out of a total 2,517,803 acres in the County. <br />25. RETAIN INTENSIVE AND EXTENSIVE AGRICULTURE DESIGNATIONS. DELETE <br />IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL LAND DESIGNATION <br />Article XI, section 3 of the Hawaii State Constitution states that <br />[t]he State shall conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified <br />agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of <br />agriculturally suitable lands. The legislature shall provide standards and criteria <br />to accomplish the foregoing. <br />Lands identified by the State as important agricultural lands needed to fulfill the <br />purposes above shall not be reclassified by the State or rezoned by its political <br />subdivisions without meeting the standards and criteria established by the <br />legislature and approved by a two-thirds vote of the body responsible for the <br />reclassification or rezoning action. <br />12 <br />