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KUBOTA:Norman, can you give me the CountyÓs rationale for limiti the 25? I mean, whatÓs the rationale? I donÓt see it anywhere, or am I missing something? FUJIKAWA:Director? YUEN:The rationale is written up in the section in the recommendation where we talk about the question of creating smaller zoned, agriculturally zoned lots, than the 20-acre lot size. And let me mention, specifically thatÓs on, if you go to page 4, the middle of the page, ÐThe major concern in allowing a rezoning of agricultural land that creates smaller lot sizes is that this will reduce the potential use of the land for commercial agriculture by fragmenting the land into areas too small to be farmed on a commercial scale. W intensively cultivated on small acreages, these crops usually have a very limited market. Reducing the size of the lots can greatly reduce the range of potential agricultural uses. At the same time, a strong demand exists in the real estate market for lots in agricultural areas by purchasers who are interested in large-lot residential home sites or for speculation. The desire for these ÒgentlemanÓs estatesÓ tends to drive up the price of agricultural land making it less affordable for commercial farmers. ÐMost agricultural rezonings in Hawaii County in the last twenty years have resulted in subdivisions where the primary use is residential, not agricultural. For the most part, these rezonings did not occur on prime agricultural land,Ñ and this land here is prime agricultural land. ÐThe predominant zoning in the former sugar lands north of Hilo and in KaÓu is A-20a. There will be considerable interest by the new owners to rezone to red because the biggest component to value is the ability to build a home. The per-acre price is therefore higher if the property can be sold in smaller lots. T be handled very carefully because of the possible carving up of the land into uneconomical units, and the increasing per-acre price. The issue of the optimal lot size for agriculture is difficult because with the end of sugar, agriculture is in flux. No one crop, or even type of crop, has emerged as a probable economic mainstay, so it is difficult to determine an optimal size of a lot. The proposed rezoning has the potential to increase the agricultural productivity of the area by providing water. For that reason, the Director is willing to recommend approval of an Agricultural Project District, but with a limit of 17 lots (10 acre average) rather than the 25 proposed by the applicant. This will allow an experiment with a mix of lot sizes, rather than having a predominantly 5-acre lot project.Ñ And if I were to add anything, to add to say to that, we are really seeing, weÓve seen the end of the sugar era, the plantation sugar era. WeÓre seeing the sale of the property by the plantations to new owners; and we will see a desire to break up the property to smaller than the 20-acre lot sizes call for by the zoning. This is something that we do have to handle very carefully. I think we, I look at what is being proposed here as an experiment. And rather than have an experiment where the predominant lot size is 5 acres as proposed by the applicant, to my way of thinking thatÓs very marginal as far as something thatÓs going to create a viable commercial farming enterprise. So my recommendation is to allow some, itÓs essentially the rezoning would allow some mix of lot sizes, including some of 5 acres, but with an average of 10 acres in size. FUJIKAWA:Commissioners, any questions with the Director? 4