2005-02-18 TDEUTSCH - Laserfiche WebLink

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exactly the improvements would be, although the Department of Transportation indicated some of the general kinds of improvements that would be required, they would like to see required for this particular intersection. GALDONES:Commissioners, any further questions of Norman? Hearing none, will the applicant or -. Excuse me, Commissioner Springer. SPRINGER:Norman, while in the agricultural designation the requirement to retain 80% of the land covering forest- does the forest cover, is the forest cover considered an agricultural activity, maintaining the forest cover? HAYASHI:Well, forest cover could be considered an agricultural activity but I think the intent- the reason why we require that forest, retention of the forest- that area- a percentage of the property- that was based on the resolution that was adopted by the County Council. So that is the Council’s mandate that this particular area, whenever we rezone properties within this area that that particular condition be imposed. SPRINGER:Thank you. GALDONES:Seeing no further questions of Norman, will the applicant or his representative please step forward. Good morning, Mr. Mooers. Could you please raise your right hand? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawai`i County Planning Commission? MOOERS:I do. GALDONES:Could you please state your name, residence address and you may begin your testimony. MOOERS:My name is Greg Mooers. My address is 62-2365 Kanehoa Street, Kamuela, 96743. We have received the background report and recommendations and agree with everything that staff prepared. I would point out that since there are two others on the agenda today- similar situations that the – historically, the resolution the Council passed was passed to preserve the forest because there were people in Kaloko who had been doing wholesale grading in their property…(inaudible) and other sources of agricultural pursuit and they were concerned about water shed and the Alala, and other things. And at that time the Council did prepare a resolution that supported the rezoning of these properties from Ag-20 to Ag-10, provided they were willing to accept some pretty aggressive forest preservation plans, and those have been currently been adopted. The other, I think, potential benefit of these is the fact that the Department of Transportation usually talks about how dangerous the intersection is but that intersection improvements doesn’t appear anywhere on their plans as far as, you know, being on the books, so that clearly responsibility is going to fall to, I think, the County as it’s intersection here. The Council has normally been preparing, preparing impact related fees of this kind for number of years. And they’ve been applying them, 100% of those funds to the intersection rather than distributing them to police, fire, or whatever. But, you know, the funds are probably, I don’t know what the amount of that fund is now but it’s set for improvement of, for the last number of years so …(inaudible). 3