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The Honorable J Yoshimoto, Chairman and Members of the County Council Page 2 site. If feasible in the future, the applicant would like to construct a second building for offices uses. The change of zone request from an A-la to a CN-20 zoned district conforms to applicable goals, policies and standards of the General Plan. In order to consider an area for any type of zoning designation, the applicable goals, policies and standards of the General Plan must .be adequately addressed. It is only through such a comprehensive policy analysis approach that evaluations and decisions can be made to better time and stage developments to achieve growth determined by the General Plan and related planning documents. The implications of these evaluations and decisions must be also considered as they may have an impact on similar areas in the County. The Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map component of the General Plan is a representation of the document's goals and policies to guide the coordinated growth and development of the County. It reflects a graphic depiction of the physical relationship among the various land uses. The requested change of zone to a CN-20 district conforms to the LUP AG Map, which designates the property and its immediately surrounding area as Medium Density Urban. Such designation may allow neighborhood commercial uses, including office and retail uses. Several of the surrounding properties to the north, east and west are mainly vacant parcels that were formerly used for the cultivation of sugarcane. Since the closure of sugar plantations in the 1970's and 1980's these properties have remained in agricultural zoning but have not been used for agricultural purposes. The lands just mauka of Komohana Street and to the northeast along Ponahawai Street have recently been rezoned for commercial and residential uses. The property is identified by the Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii (ALISH) System as Existing Urban Development. Soils within the property and surrounding area are unclassified for agricultural productivity by the Land Study Bureau. Thus, the applicant's request is consistent with surrounding land uses and zoning. In the initial review of this application, the Planning Department believed that the request did not conform to the goals and standards of the Land Use and Transportation elements of the General Plan because allowing direct access to and from Komohana Street via a driveway, rather than a public road, for commercial development would reduce the efficient operation of Komohana Street as a limited-access secondary arterial roadway; and introducing high traffic volumes associated with commercial land uses may result in a hazardous situation as vehicles attempt to enter and exit Komohana Street, which is heavily congested at times. However, upon further review of this application and during recent discussions with the applicant, the Department has determined that with the placement of signage and a physical barrier to prohibit left-turns at the property driveway, the request will conform to the General Plan. The Department is