COM 1568.000 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Pete Hoffmann, Chairman and Members of the County Council Page 4 Chapter 8 could be revised to only refer to developed park areas, of the active neighborhood and playground ball field type, and if it continues to have an exclusion on the grounds that there already is "enough" park area of that type, this should count only parks within a set radius of the development, rather than the district as a whole. The districts are so large that neighborhood playgrounds in one azea do not do much for people living in other areas. It may be that this bill is motivated by a concern over excessive growth on the island, and is intended to create a moratorium on new zoning. If the desired goal is to slow growth until parks and other public facilities catch up, this bill is not a productive tool. A moratorium on zoning, or even on new subdivisions and apartment buildings, would not stop the island's population from increasing. Growth on the island mostly occurs on land with zoning and subdivision approvals granted long ago. More than 50% of the new homes on the island in the past decade were built in the 1950's to 1970's era subdivisions, like Hawaiian Pazadise Park or Hawaiian Ocean View Estates. Fewer than 5% were built on areas rezoned in the past 10 years, partially because of the long development time between rezoning and development, partially because of market factors. The older subdivisions are still less than 50% built out. There is also major growth built into the current approvals for the coastal resorts in North Kona and South Kohala, into Waikoloa Village, the Parker 2020 zoning in Waimea, Kohala Ranch Project IV, and several zoned areas in Hilo. This means that rezoning is not necessary to have construction or land development, to the extent that this is desired for jobs or economic growth, but well-placed rezoning can improve the current land use pattern, especially in the Kailua-Kona azea. The Community Development Plans (CDP's) so far have a clear message and direction for growth and development. In general, it is a slow growth/preservationist message. In North Kona, the CDP supports the infill development of the area between Palani Road and Keauhou, and north of Palani Road to the Palamanui project, to create a more compact, less auto-dependent community. The proposed "transit-oriented developments" and "traditional neighborhoods" aze mostly zoned for agriculture now and will have to be rezoned to implement the land use strategy in the CDP. This cannot happen if this bill prevents rezoning until the developed park space in Kona is more than doubled. The Puna plan supports new development around "village centers", for similar reasons as the Kona plan: to try to develop a more compact, less auto- dependent community. Again, the "village centers" are mostly zoned agricultural, and will need rezoning for this preferred land use pattern to occur.