COM 0524.000 2010-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Honorable Dominic Yagong, Chairman and Members of the County Council Page 3 The non - performance is the result of conditions that could not have been foreseen or are beyond the control of the applicant(s), successors or assigns, and are not the result of their fault or negligence. The applicant states that the proposed development was not completed due to changes in ownership of the property, in addition to a change in project concept. The current landowner acquired the property with the intention of completion the proposed 1 -acre lot subdivision; however, the deadline for securing Final Subdivision Approval has passed. The applicant states that "because of the current economic malaise and the vagaries of the real estate market, there is a chance that the entire subdivision may not be completed in the next five years." Thus, the applicant requests the possibility of another initial time extension to complete the project. Granting of the time extension would not be contrary to the General Plan or Zoning Code. When Ordinance No. 95 98 was approved on August 23, 1995, the property was designated Orchards under the 1989 General Plan LUPAG map. The subject property was subsequently redesignated as Important Agricultural Lands (JAL) under the 2005 General Plan amendment. IAL lands are those "with better potential for sustained high agricultural yields because of soil type, climate, topography, or other factors." Under the 2005 General Plan amendment, lands classified as Prime or Unique under the Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawai`i (ALISH) classification system became IAL. As such, as a portion of the property was designated Prime, the Orchards designation was amended to the current IAL designation. The property is zoned A -la, a designation which is no longer in existence since the Zoning Code update in 1997. As such, the applicant has requested an amendment from the A -la to the FA -la zoning. However, because the Zoning Code is silent regarding amendments to A -la zoned properties after 1997, the Zoning Code would have to be amended to effectuate such a change from A -la to FA -la. Thus, the current request is not the proper process to address this issue and therefore, we will not support the request. (The applicant withdrew this request prior to the hearing.) At the time the change of zone was approved in 1995, there was no community development plan for the area. Subsequent to the approval of the rezoning, on September 10, 2008, the Puna Community Development Plan (PCDP) was adopted by Ordinance No. 08 116. Although the PCDP supports the reduction of buildable lots in Puna, this request is for an extension of time to complete a project under a change of zone approved in 1995. Thus, the project does not seek to increase the number of lots for greater density, nor does it seek to expand the land area or project concept. The majority of the proposed 35 -lot subdivision will still be comprised of lots approximately one -acre in size. In addition, although the PCDP suggests the preservation of agricultural lands with the