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~.1~~r w M <br /> Q' ,C~ S <br /> lay <br /> COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII <br /> ..;s <br /> ,•ry~OI~M~ <br /> RESOLUTION NO. 'L1 ~ ?'7 <br /> <br /> A RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 25, ZONING CODE, <br /> HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO RETAIL <br /> ESTABLISHMENTS <br /> WHEREAS, the County of Hawaii is a unique and special island community with a <br /> quality of life, natural beauty, and rural character admired worldwide; and <br /> WHEREAS, the protection and preservation of our unique quality of life, natural beauty, <br /> and rural character are dependent on proper planning and reasonable growth policies consistent <br /> with existing natural conditions and inherent limitations on population and development within an <br /> island community; and <br /> WHEREAS, the experience of communities across the United States has shown that the <br /> development of "superstores," retail businesses significantly larger than any retail store operating <br /> within acommunity -generally occupying more than 90,000 gross square feet, offering for sale <br /> more than 25,000 different stockkeeping units ("SKU"), and dedicating more than 20,000 gross <br /> square feet of floor area to the sale of groceries -results in tremendous adverse community <br /> impacts including traffic congestion, increased demand on government infrastructure, negative <br /> environmental consequences, and harmful, often fatal, impacts on small businesses; and <br /> WHEREAS, it is the policy of the County of Hawaii General Plan to encourage <br /> community-based and pedestrian-friendly design and development to preserve the rural character <br /> of Hawaii Island and to support small business development that is consistent with its rural, <br /> agricultural, and historic character; and <br /> WHEREAS, the council finds that the development of "superstores" would contradict the <br /> "smart growth" policies that Hawaii County is striving to implement and would undermine <br /> existing plans to manage traffic congestion, encourage pedestrian-friendly small-town community <br /> design, and support small businesses that have been an integral part of our island landscape; and <br /> WHEREAS, chapter 25, article 1, section 25-1-5, Hawaii County Code 1983 (2005 <br /> Edition, as amended) -particularly in its definition of "Retail establishment" -does not <br /> adequately address the negative impacts of "superstores" demonstrated in communities across the <br /> mainland United States; and <br /> WHEREAS, chapter 25, article 2, subsection 25-2-43(b), Hawaii County Code 1983 <br /> (2005 Edition, as amended), provides, in pertinent part, that "[t]he council shall refer any proposed <br /> council-initiated amendment to this chapter to the director and the commission with requests for <br /> their respective comments and recommendations thereon, prior to the first reading of any such <br /> amendment..." <br /> <br />