COM 0042.061 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Rural Designation Rural: This category includes existing subdivisions in the State Land Use Agricultural and Rural districts that have a significant residential component. Typical lot sizes vary from 9,000- square feet to two acres. These subdivisions may contain small farms, wooded areas, and open fields as well as residences. Allowable uses within these areas, with appropriate zoning, may include commercial facilities that serve the residential and agricultural uses in the area, and community and public facilities. The Rural designation does not necessarily mean that these areas should be further subdivided to smaller lots. Most lack the infrastructure necessary to allow further subdivision. Agriculture Designations Important Agricultural Land: Important agricultural lands are those with better potential for sustained high agricultural yields because of soil type, climate, topography, or other factors. Important agricultural lands were determined by including the following lands: • Lands identified as "Intensive Agriculture" on the 1989 General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide maps. • Lands identified in the Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii (ALISH) classification system as "Prime" or "Unique". • Lands classified by the Land Study Bureau's Soil Survey Report as Class B "Good" soils. (There are no Class A lands on the island of Hawaii) • Lands classified as at least "fair" for two or more crops, on an irrigated basis, by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service's study of suitability for various crops. • In North and South Kona, the "coffee belt", a continuous band defined by elevation, according to input from area farmers. • State agricultural parks. Some areas that meet the criteria for important agricultural lands on an irrigated basis only were included in the "Extensive Agricultural Land" category due to their remoteness from potential sources of irrigation. Certain areas that could have been classified as Important Agricultural lands have been placed within urban land use categories. Generally, these are adjacent to existing urban areas. This represents a decision that the orderly development of those urban areas justifies the eventual conversion of those lands to urban use. Because of the scale of the Land use Pattern Allocation Guide maps used to designate Important Agricultural Land, the location of these lands should be verified by more detailed mapping when considering specific land use decisions.