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important for agricultural production, may still be important for other reasons such as open space preservation, environmental and scenic values, and therefore preservation of these lands should be considered. • South Kohala has the highest amount of lands designated as "Urban Expansion" by the County LUPAG when compared with other County distrlCts - -It appears that the County is anticipating that significant urban growth and development will occur in South Kohala in the future. The urban expansion areas in South Kohala are primarily located around the Waikoloa azea and Kawaihae azea. This lazge Urban Expansion acreage should be reevaluated during the next County General Plan update. DEMOGRAPHICS, LOCAL ECONOMY, AND POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS According to the 2000 Census, South Kohala was the fourth most populated district in the County. However, it was the fastest growing district from 1980 to 1990 and the second fastest growing district from 1990 to 2000. Economic Characteristics Mauna Kea Resort, Mauna Lani Resort, and the Waikoloa Beach Resort, the three resort complexes in the district, account for 40 percent of all hotel rooms within the County. Between 1980 and 1998, ten properties within these resorts were developed totaling 3,400 visitor units. South Kohala hotels are some of the County's largest employers, employing residents from all over the County. There are several new projects being planned these resorts. The Mauna Kea Resort is tentatively planning to develop recreational amenities such as a golf course and 135 large acreage residential lots with associated infrastructure and commercial use on its "Ouli 2" property. Stanford Carr is planning to develop 516 hotel units, three golf holes and related support facilities within the Mauna Lani Resort. Eco-tourism, nature-tourism, and ag-tourism aze growing sectors in the tourism market. Encouragement of these tourism markets would be consistent with the community vision and values. Establishing hiking, biking, and equestrian trails will promote economic activities consistent with these values. Although tourism is currently the leading economic industry in the district, the area is also well known for cattle ranching, vegetable production, and other forms of agriculture. Waimea is one of the most productive areas for vegetable crops on the Big Island. Cabbages, tomatoes celery, lettuce, daikon (radish), peppers, broccoli and carrots are just some of the vegetables grown. Experiments are being conducted on different crops as well as on the improvement of those presently grown. The highly varied climatic conditions on the wet east side of Waimea and the dry west side of the town allow for a variety of crops to be grown. Further expansion of the agricultural industry, including more truck farms, faces many challenges. This industry, faced with competition for resources from tourism and other urban forces, needs governmental assistance. (County of Hawaii General Plan, 2005) There has been a continuing trend of small farmers going out of business because of two primary factors: 1) the market price of land has risen dramatically in the last decade 10