COM 0118.018 2002-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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FROM TCMCH PHONE N0. 80881359226 qUG. 20 2004 04:57PM P1 I Alexand~a Bernstein - PO Box 2043 - ICamuela, HI 96743 2'f Angnst o, 2ooa ~ ~ q~ 7 Dear ncilman- ~~l"~' Regard ug the update of the Agriculture Tax [,aw. I i In my h mble opinion, there are two things to do, at the exact same time, L- Tak ppropriately the people who live on Agriculture land but are acKUally not farmers; if they are not making a livin, at leas[ every three years, ranching or raising crops, then maybe they are not farmers or ranchers -they are just residents -and therefore don't deserve to he sut~ 'dized by the taxpayers. ~ Lo er the assessment on actual farmers and ranchers who do eazn a living this way. In fact, giv an extra break to those who are raising certified organic crops. Subsid' d Agriculture land benefits the rest of us by: 1- Preserving open space - a BIG part of the tourist attraction of the Big Island 2- Allowing some part of our economy to be home-grown and insulated to some extent from the price of oil 3- Preserving an economic scetor, small farms, that is available to entrepreneurs that may not be inclined to work for others or for big organizations. This keeps local people local instead of driv!~ng them to Oahu or the mainland for employment. 4- If culture land can be more profitable for the farmers, there is less incentive to upzone agn Iture land to residential zoning, which brings in more people to deplete the water sup ly and crowd the roadways. 5- If f~ers can retain their lands, there is less land that will go to tree chip farms and other con roversial uses. Provi~' g an incentive to increase Urganic Farms benefits the rest of us by: 1- ally' f the abbvc 2 - prb iding a source of food that is more nourishing - an increasing important market locally an or export 3 - e sing fewer workers to industrial chemicals, thereby lessening the number of workers rat on early disability and/or leaving the workforce early due to chronic disease 4 - in' easing the number of people, for example, farm workers, who are aware of healthy pra 'ces -knowledge about organic eating goes hand in hand with incentives to stop smn ing and eating processed food -this affects the length and severity of degenerative disc se, always a drag on the economy and quality of family life. $very person who takes a step!,back from the onset of diabetes benefits the rest of us as well as his own family. Raga Ing Property Tax and Housing Shortage 1 he about new people moving here who bid up property values and their neighbor's as ssments go up to levels they cannot afford. Ilow about raising the overall rate per square foo and giving a progressive reduction to people who have lived in Hawaii for a certain nuYt~ber of years. I don't know what that would be, but T'm guessing you could end up with ~i I~ Comm. No.~ g_ g Ref. To: PrmedrN Ref, t)ate A