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<br /> Gary Safarik, Chairman <br /> <br /> and Members of the County Council <br /> <br /> Page 3 <br /> The applicant has invested a substantial amount of time and money in attempting <br /> to develop the Highlands Golf Estates and Golf Course project. They have spent well in <br /> excess of 3 million dollars, which includes complying with the conditions of the change <br /> of zone ordinance and tentative subdivision approval. The applicant has submitted <br /> numerous plans such as the golf course plan, subdivision improvement plans and <br /> intersection improvement plans that have been approved. They have submitted the final <br /> plat map, but have not received final subdivision approval as of this date. The applicant <br /> has also completed channelization improvements of the Waikoloa Road/Paniolo <br /> Avenue/Pua Melia Street intersection. In summary, the applicant has made a good faith <br /> effort in complying with conditions of Change of Zone Ordinance 95-51. <br /> Granting of the time extension would not be contrary to the General Plan or <br /> Zoning Code. There have been amendments to both the General Plan and the Zoning <br /> Code since the original change of zone ordinance and the amended ordinance were <br /> approved. The 1989 General Plan designation for this azea was extensive agricultural. <br /> The area was rezoned to Residential-Agricultural 1-acre (RA-la) and Open to allow for <br /> the creation of the Highlands Golf Estates, consisting of 400 one-acre lots, and Highlands <br /> Golf Course. The 2005 Genera] Plan designates the azea rural and open, minoring the <br /> approved zoning. Therefore, the request would not be contrary to the changes within the <br /> 2005 General Plan. <br /> Regarding the changes within the amended Zoning Code, the purpose and <br /> applicability of the RA district differs from the previous code adding that the RA district <br /> is intended to be only within areas designated as being in the State land use rural or urban <br /> districts. <br /> To comply with the changes in the Zoning Code and with Chapter 205, H.R.S., <br /> the proposed ordinance will contain a new condition, Condition that requires this <br /> project to be reclassified to the Rural district by the Land Use Commission, prior to final <br /> subdivision approval, unless there is a change in the current state land use law or an <br /> appellate decision in the Hokulia case, Kelly v. 1250 Oceanside Partners, that clearly <br /> establishes the legality of this type of project in the agricultural district. <br /> This proposed project is basically similar to the "Hokulia" project that the Third <br /> Circuit Court, Kona Division, ruled was an illegal use of agricultural district land in Kelly <br /> v. 1250 Oceanside Partners. Both projects involve one-acre lots along a golf course. The <br /> Hokulia project's zoning conditions required some agricultural use on each lot. The <br /> project's agricultural plan would have created a large coffee farm combining areas from <br /> many lots, but the court ruled that this agricultural use was too insubstantial. The <br /> Waikoloa Highlands zoning lacks any agricultural use condition at all. <br /> <br />