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PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN r <br /> 1 <br /> helpful to have a mapping system for agricultural lands that is relevant to Puna's agricultural <br /> activities so that they can be adequately preserved and planned for future use. <br /> The Puna Community Development Plan seeks to manage growth by: encouraging a <br /> more efficient, environmentally sustainable land use pattern; reducing the number of and <br /> rearranging previously-approved subdivision lots; requesting the County to change the zoning of <br /> lots now inappropriately zoned for present and future use and growth; promoting agricultural use <br /> and other"green"employment in the district; promoting the use of renewable energy; improving <br /> the delivery of social services and housing assistance; and providing the necessary public <br /> services, parks and recreation opportunities in a manner that supports community-building and <br /> an improved quality of life. <br /> 3.1 LAND USE PATTERN <br /> "Village centers" (or "town centers" for the larger settlements) are the model on which <br /> Puna's future land use pattern will be based, redirecting Puna's extensive subdivisions from their <br /> present course of sprawl development. Three types of village centers are proposed to provide <br /> varying levels of services based on location, size, and functional attributes. Regional town <br /> centers are located at Puna's largest existing urban settlements — Kea'au, Hawaiian Paradise <br /> Park, and Pahoa—and are meant to provide a wide range of services and amenities. Kea'au and <br /> Pahoa already have a nucleus of region-serving facilities, so they take on more of the <br /> characteristics of a town rather than a village. Community village centers provide a more limited <br /> range of services in smaller existing urban settlements and subdivisions that are experiencing the <br /> greatest rates of population growth. Community village centers are projected for Volcano, <br /> Mountain View, Kurtistown, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Maku`u, and 'Ainaloa. Neighborhood <br /> village centers serve smaller or more remote communities with relatively small lot sizes. <br /> Neighborhood village centers are projected for Glenwood, Orchidland Estates, Hawaiian <br /> Paradise Park, Hawaiian Beaches,Nanawale Estates, Leilani Estates, and Kapoho. <br /> The principal tools to reshape future land use in Puna include: (1) and pooling to form <br /> village centers and grow town centers while preventing sprawl development; (2) adjustments to <br /> County and State tax codes to discourage land speculation and provide tax relief for long-time <br /> homeowners and renters and to provide an incentive for removing development rights from <br /> property; (3) district-wide rezoning and tighter restrictions on variances from subdivision <br /> standards to discourage further subdivision of properties that are not within designated <br /> village/town centers; and (4) amendments to the County zoning code to discourage excessive lot <br /> clearance and speculative building practices. <br /> 3.1.1 Goals <br /> a. Puna retains a rural character while it protects its native natural and cultural resources. <br /> b. The quality of life improves and economic opportunity expands for Puna's residents. <br /> c. Services and community facilities are more accessible in village/town centers that are <br /> distributed throughout the region, including the underserved subdivisions that have been <br /> experiencing higher levels of development growth. <br /> d. Exposure to high risk from natural hazards situations is reduced. <br /> 3-3 <br />