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ORDINANCE NO. 849 BILL NO. 2203 <br /> A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 8, <br /> KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, RELATING TO THE <br /> COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE <br /> BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF <br /> HAWAII: <br /> SECTION 1. Findings and Purpose. The Council finds that the County <br /> of Kauai is a unique and special island community with a quality of life, natural <br /> beauty and rural character admired worldwide. This quality of life and unique <br /> rural character form the basis not only for the island's tourism industry but also for <br /> the overall economy and the high level of resident satisfaction with their island <br /> home. <br /> The protection and preservation of the rural character and quality of life of <br /> Kauai are dependent on proper planning and reasonable regulation. If the County <br /> of Kauai is to achieve the main goal of the Kauai General Plan-protecting the <br /> rural character of our island-this will require a thorough assessment of the <br /> positive and negative impacts of potential development. <br /> Experience of communities across the United States has shown that the <br /> development of "superstores"-i.e., retail businesses generally occupying more than <br /> 75,000 gross square feet, result in significant and adverse community impacts, <br /> including demand on government infrastructure, traffic congestion, adverse <br /> environmental consequences and harmful, often fatal, impacts on small businesses. <br /> These superstores do not match the rural character that Kauai is striving to <br /> maintain. They are more appropriate, if at all, in large urban areas with huge <br /> freeways and many people. By centralizing services to the extreme, they contradict <br /> the very "smart growth" policies that the island is seeking to follow in order to <br /> lessen its oil dependency and infrastructure costs, perpetuate "walkable," "bikeable" <br /> small town communities and encourage and support small businesses that have <br /> been an integral part of the landscape for years. <br /> The purpose of this proposed amendment to the CZO ordinance is to protect <br /> the citizens from net adverse impacts caused by large "superstores" such as <br /> <br /> increased traffic, and centralization of commerce, which were not envisioned when <br /> <br /> the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance was first adopted. <br /> <br /> p:BILLISi112209amended/.IF'.Iki 1 <br /> <br />