2004-01-30 BayPacific - Laserfiche WebLink

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All of these 8,000 acres here were conveyed to the Waikoloa Village Association in 1989 as part of a settlement of various issues between the Village Association, my clients and the prior master developer, which was Boise-Cascade. And that agreement, in that agreement, these lands were intended to be used in perpetuity for open space areas to serve as a buffer and to protect scenic views for the Waikoloa Village area. And we object on the grounds that the proposed rezoning and boundary amendment is inappropriate to this area in light of this long-term vision and in light of this long-term intention. The deed restrictions are evidence of what we intended to do. I wanted to take a very quick moment and point out several passages from the Hawaii County Planning, I’m sorry, General Plan, that support this long-term vision of this area. It will take just a minute. On page 14 of the General Plan, the stated purpose, the stated land use purpose of the General Plan is to “Protect and preserve forest, water, natural and scientific reserves and open areas,” and that’s why we’re here today. On page 32 of the supplementary materials to the General Plan, this is what it has to say, “Hawaii’s natural beauty is both an irreplaceable asset and an asset that is part of the public trust. It is fragile, and although often enhanced by man can easily be adversely affected. Measures must be taken to ensure its protection, both now and in the future, for the enjoyment of Hawaii’s residents and visitors.” And then, finally, with respect to open spaces themselves, this is on page 96 of the General Plan, “A vital part of the environment, open space land is that land which is basically not used for buildings or structures and is characterized by scenic beauty, existing openness, and natural conditions. It is the counterpart of development. Retained in its state of use, open space would maintain and/or enhance the conservation of needed or desired natural, scenic or historic resources which might otherwise be permanently lost. It would also enhance the present or potential value of abutting or surrounding urban development.” That’s why these lands were conveyed to the Waikoloa Village Association and that’s why we object today to these proposals that are before you. One thing I forgot to mention is that when this land was conveyed to the Waikoloa Village Association, it was conveyed for nominal consideration. It was not sold to them, not, there was no return on it. It’s 10,000 acres of land that went to the Waikoloa Village Association for these purposes. Now I understand questions have been raised about prior inconsistent uses with this purpose. This land was conveyed in 1989 as part of an overall settlement of a number of issues that the Waikoloa Village Association had with respect to the overall development and, you know, part of that was Boise-Cascade as predecessor and part of that was Waikoloa. At that time, the agreement was that Waikoloa Companies would convey this land to them for these purposes. At the same time, there was an agreement that the quarry in question would continue to be operated for up to 15 years. Those 15 years have now expired. And based, I mean, in accordance with that agreement, we’ve closed the quarry and the quarry is no longer in operation. The quarry was intended to be a limited and specific exception for this, for the purpose of providing building materials to the Waikoloa Village Association; and during this interim, the Waikoloa Village Association derived rents from the use of the quarry and from the extraction of rocks from the quarry. 11