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<br /> Stacy Higa, Chairman <br /> <br /> and Members of the County Council <br /> <br /> Page 8 <br /> designation allows for village and neighborhood commercial and single family and <br /> multiple family residential and related functions (multiple family --up to 35 units per <br /> acre). The proposed request is to develop a 212-unit housing project, which will help <br /> address the housing needs of the community. This change of zone will facilitate the <br /> development of a framework of a concentration of urban activities occurring in an orderly <br /> manner commensurate with the provision of necessary infrastructure. The County <br /> Planning Department is supporting the development of housing that is affordable to <br /> working families in Kailua-Kona, which is a major employment center. This should <br /> reduce the need for workers to commute long distances. Therefore, it is determined that <br /> the request is consistent with the urban form depicted on the LUPAG Map for this area of <br /> North Kona. <br /> The requested change of zone is also generally consistent with regional and <br /> community planning documents that prescribe the County's land use policies for this <br /> portion of North Kona. The Kona Regional Plan adopted as Planning Commission <br /> Resolution No. 1-84 in April 1984, recommends the area for residential units at a density <br /> of 8 units per acre. The applicant's request will provide for a residential density of <br /> roughly 17 units per acre. While the requested change of zone will provide for a unit <br /> density that is greater than the density recommended by the Kona Regional Plan, it still <br /> compliments its fundamental goal of providing residential units within this section of <br /> North Kona. The Kona Regional Plan is also somewhat obsolete. <br /> The requested change of zone will not create a significant adverse impact upon the <br /> natural resources of the area. While the project site is situated within the County's <br /> Agricultural-Sa (A-Sa) zoned district, it is not currently being used for active agricultural <br /> purposes. The property is unclassified by the State of Hawaii's Agricultural Lands of <br /> Importance to the State of Hawaii (ALISH) Map. The Land Use Study Bureau's Overall <br /> Master Productivity Rating for the soils in the area is "E" or Very Poor. The project site <br /> is currently vacant and was graded in the past. Therefore, the rezoning of this 14-acre <br /> area from an A-Sa to a RM-2.5 zoning designation will not be detrimental to the <br /> reduction of this area from the agricultural land inventory in the County of Hawaii. From <br /> a land use perspective, it is a more feasible alternative to infill urban development within <br /> this particular area of North Kona. In doing so, it would tend to alleviate the conversion <br /> of more productive agricultural lands in other locations within the North Kona area <br /> designated for urban types of uses. <br /> <br />