2006-04-07 Tgp-amendment - Laserfiche WebLink

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BERGIN:If that would be okay? ALAMEDA:Sure. BERGIN:Its addressed to yourself as Chair and Mr. Chris Yuen as Director regarding the Proposed Hawaii County General Plan Amendments. Dear Mr. Alameda and Mr. Yuen: Thank you for this opportunity to speak. I would like to confine my comments to the portion of the proposed General Plan amendments related to the South Kohala District. My wife and I are property owners of an 11-acre mango orchard in Lalamilo Farm Lots, which is a 500-acre fee simple agricultural park developed by the State of Hawaii in the early 1960s to provide rich and fertile lands for intense truck farming and other diversified agriculture in a temperateregionwhichisideallysuitedtohigh-demandvegetable,fruitandflowercrops.This is an intensive agricultural region described in various documents as the most extensive truck farming in the County. Many believe Lalamilo is one of the most successful ag parks ever developed by the State. Consequently, over the years, the State has invested more than $50 million in taxpayer dollars in Lalamilo Farmlots for access roads, water resources, crop research and a co-operative cooling plant. This is an investment of public funds that has been more than repaid by private investment by the 35 farm owners, who have poured about a half billion dollars in private funds over the past 45 years into this area. The private investment reflects the fertility and sustainability of this area and why the region provides employment for about 150 people. But Lalamilo Farmlots is not reproduceable. Why? Primarily because there are no comparable, appropriate lands available that enjoy similar climatic conditions and are not impacted by urban encroachment. More importantly, to develop additional or replacement acreage today would be cost prohibitive. So, my first message is to point out that in the language of the Hawaii County General Plan, which clearly stipulates as County-wide course of action priorities: 1)To protect important agricultural lands from urban encroachment; and encourage buffer zones of compatible uses between important agricultural lands and adjacent uses. 2)Encourage buffer zones of compatible uses between important agricultural lands and adjacent uses. Given these two priorities which are clearly enunciated as community priorities in the General Plan, and the tremendous public and private sector investment in diversified agriculture, in the Lalamilo Farmlots area, Im here to urge that the Planning Commission accept the Planning Directors recommended course of action to delete from the General Plan the following language only. And that would be Item b) the Countys extension of this road, between Mamalahoa Highway and Kawaihae Road in the vicinity of the Waimea Transfer Station. 5EXHIBIT C