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REPORT OF THE <br /> COMMITTEE ON PLANNING <br /> DATE: July 18, 2012 Re: Comm. No. 745/Bill No. 266 <br /> PLACE: Council Chambers <br /> Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i <br /> TIME: 11:15 a.m. <br /> Council Chair and Members <br /> Hawai`i County Council <br /> Hilo, Hawai`i 96720 <br /> Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Comm. No. 745/Bill No. 266, reports as <br /> follows: <br /> Bill No. 266, transmitted by Mayor William P. Kenoi, via Communication No. 745, dated <br /> May 25, 2012, is a Planning Director initiated ordinance amending Chapter 25 (Zoning Code) of <br /> the Hawai`i County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended) relating to Agricultural Tourism. <br /> Also enclosed were favorable recommendations from the Windward Planning Commission Chair <br /> Zendo Kern and the Leeward Planning Commission Chair Geraldine Giffin. <br /> Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd was present at the West Hawai`i Civic Center and <br /> stated that she initiated this bill at the request of the agricultural and agricultural tourism <br /> communities. She explained that the intention was to amend the county code to create and <br /> define major and minor agricultural tourism operations which would allow different conditions <br /> and requirements for each. She stated that several definitions were added to provide more <br /> clarity. <br /> Committee Member Smart moved to amend Bill 266 with the contents of Comm. 745.1, which <br /> would require plan approval and a drainage study prior to any new construction or development <br /> to occur. The amendment passed with a vote of eight ayes and one absent. <br /> Several Committee Members inquired about parking, ADA compliance (Americans with <br /> Disabilities Act), non-agricultural related uses, such as weddings and concerts which require <br /> special use permits, building sizes, approval period and defaulting on approval if deadlines are <br /> not met, visitors allowed per week, traffic impact analysis reports, proof of compliance timeline, <br /> times of restricted noise levels, trespassing on native lands, inclusion of botanical gardens, <br /> school tours, and gravel vs. asphalt roads. <br /> When asked if this bill went to public hearings, Ms. Leithead Todd stated that this bill was <br /> drafted at the request from the agricultural communities to change the code and make it more <br /> workable by creating and defining agricultural tourism operations into minor and major <br /> categories. She added that it went to both planning commissions and was on their agendas more <br /> PC Rept. No.: 55 <br />