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thus as accorded deference on jttidicial appeal. " The Court further stated that Article <br /> Xl, section 3 of the Hawaii State Constitution "is not self=executing" and requires <br /> the Legislature to provide statutory guidance for its implementation. <br /> In lieu of the Legislature's inability for over a quarter century to adopt a statute <br /> implementing such standards and criteria for important agriculture lands, we believe <br /> that the reasonable discretion of the counties to evaluate and approve agricultural <br /> subdivisions must be honored. <br /> Therein lies the crux of the predicament posed by the Third Circuit Court's land use <br /> order. Many citizens within the Agricultural District now live on properties where <br /> little or no farm activity is conducted or farm-related income generated - in Hawaii <br /> County and throughout the State of Hawaii. We see no public purpose served by <br /> subjecting our residents to the anxiety and unfair exercise of meeting a retroactive <br /> court-imposed standard of agricultural viability. <br /> Moreover, we note that in June 2001 the state Land Use Commission rejected rules <br /> proposed by the Sierra Club to require a proposed subdivision to "prove" it is t~~rly <br /> agricultural if it contained houses adjacent to golf course fairways, resort-like <br /> features, prices exceeding the median price of houses in the state, or dwellings larger <br /> than 3,500 square feet. <br /> By the assessment of the Hawaii County planning director and the State Department <br /> of Agriculture, the full complement of agricultural activity at Hokuli'a, as proposed <br /> by the developer, greatly exceeds the property's former productivity as marginal, <br /> seasonal grazing land. <br /> Finally, we notice with some irony that the Third Circuit Court directive to obtain <br /> state Land Use Commission reclassification to the Urban District can only serve to <br /> reduce the agricultural component that Hokuli`a now so willingly affords. <br /> <br /> 4. There comes a time when arguments must yield to reason and good-natured <br /> resolution. <br /> The prolonged litigation related to Hokuli'a warrants a prompt and conclusive finding <br /> by the Hawaii Supreme Court. We need a just, civil conclusion to this arduous, <br /> costly Lawsuit and the arguments surrounding it. We owe that conclusion to the <br /> people of our island and our state. The public interest compels it. An abiding spirit ol~ <br /> aloha yearns for it. <br /> Despite much inflamed rhetoric and wounded feelings in our community, we see no <br /> villains in this case. On the one hand, we see inspired champions of native Hawaiian <br /> rights and probity in land use. On the other hand, we see an earnest developer <br /> demonstrably and graciously seeking to do what's best. All parties to this case. and <br /> the County of Hawaii, deserve an outcome to this dispute that is clear and <br /> conclusive. <br /> 4 <br /> <br />