COM 0909.000 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Honorable James Y. Arakaki, Chairman and Members of the County Council Page 3 * The County shall encourage the development and maintenance of communities meeting the needs of its residents in balance with the physical and social environment. * Agricultural land shall be used as one form of open space or green belt. While the potential for intensive and/or extensive agricultural uses may exist, the project site is comprised of soils identified as Kiloa Extremely Stony Muck (rKXD). This soil consist of well drained, thin, extremely stony organic soils over fragmental A'a lava and is used primarily for woodland and pasture. Soils within the subject property have been classified as "E" (Very Poor) for agricultural productivity by the Land Study Bureau's Detailed Land Classification System. Finally, soils within the subject property are classified as "Unique Agricultural Land" by the ALISH system. "Unique Agricultural Land" are lands that have the special combination of soil, quality, location, growing season and moisture supply and which is used to produce sustained high quality and/or high yields of a specific crop when treated and managed according to modern farming methods. The recordation of deed restrictions for individual lot owners to file a conservation plan with the Kona Soil and Water Conservation District will encourage agricultural activities or the presentation of the lands within the proposed subdivision in a manner consistent with the "Orchard" designation by the General Plan LUPAG Map and "Unique Agricultural Land" designation by the ALISH system. The requested A-10a zoning is consistent with the recommendation of the Kona Regional Plan. The proposed subdivision of two 10-acre lots would be compatible with the agricultural character of lands located within the upper elevations of Kaloko Mauka Subdivision which are zoned A-20a and A-10a. The applicant has agreed to impose restrictive covenants requiring the filing of a conservation plan with the Soil and Water Conservation District as well as restricting the construction of second dwelling units on each subdivided lots. The 10.2 and 10.1 acre lot sizes will also provide additional opportunities for residents who wish to pursue limited agricultural activities, but are not able to commit to the financial or labor demands placed on them by the larger 20-acre parcels. Lands located within the upper regions of Kaloko Mauka Subdivision are predominantly zoned A-20a. Recent zoning classifications have been approved for 5-acre parcels at the 2,900 foot elevation and 10-acre parcels at the 3,000 foot elevation. The subject property is adjacent to a 7-acre and 10-acre lots zoned A-7a and bounded by 20-acre zoned lands. However, an increasing number of parcels are being affected with condominium property regimes. Therefore, a favorable recommendation of this change of zone request will be consistent with the surrounding land use pattern