COM 0074.000 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Honorable James Y. Arakaki, Chairman and Members of the County Council Page 3 subject property have been classified as "E" (Very Poor) for agricultural productivity by the Land Study Bureau's Detailed Land Classification System. Finally, soils within the subject property are classified as "Unique Agricultural Land" by the ALISH system. "Unique Agricultural Land" are lands that have the special combination of soil, quality, location, growing season and moisture supply and which is used to produce sustained high quality and/or high yields of a specific crop when treated and managed according to modern farming methods. The recordation of deed restrictions for individual lot owners to file a conservation plan with the Kona Soil and Water Conservation District will encourage agricultural activities or the presentation of the lands within the proposed subdivision in a manner consistent with the "Orchard" designation by the General Plan LUPAG Map and "Unique Agricultural Land" designation by the ALISH system. The proposed subdivision of 5-acre lots would be compatible with the rural character of lands located within the lower elevations of Kaloko Mauka Subdivision which are zoned Ag-Sa and Ag-3a. The 5-acre lot sizes will provide opportunities for residents who wish to pursue limited agricultural activities, but are not able to commit to the financial or labor demands placed on them by the larger 20-acre parcels. Lands adjacent and to the west of the subject property have been rezoned to A-3a and lands within the existing elevation have been rezoned to the A-Sa zoned district since 1980. Rezoning to A-Sa would also be consistent with a previous pattern that the County Council, through Resolution 330-96, recognized as being established for the area; mainly that rezoning ordinances have established A-3a lots up to the 2,600 foot elevation and A-Sa lots within a band between the 2,600 and the 2,900 foot elevation. Therefore, this recommendation will be consistent with the surrounding land use pattern already established within this portion of Kaloko Mauka Subdivision. The Alala Recovery Plan, prepared in an effort to preserve the habitat of the critically endangered Alala, recommends that portions of Kaloko Mauka Subdivision above the 3,200 foot elevation be designated as "essential habitat" for the Alala. As part of the Office of State Planning's Five-Year State Land Use District Boundary Review, the Water Resources Research Center recommends that the high rainfall and fog-drip area mauka of the 2,000 foot elevation be redesignated into the Conservation District for protection as a watershed recharge area. The Kona Watershed, which provides for the recharge of aquifers which supplies most of Kona's drinking water, includes those lands located within the Kaloko Mauka Subdivision and situated above the 1,900 foot elevation, which includes the subject property. The subject property, located between the 2,500 foot and the 2,800 foot elevation, does not seriously compromise the recommendations of these studies beyond existing conditions. While