2007-05-24 TALLIANCE - Laserfiche WebLink

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DARROW: Just a quick comment is this is Condition 6 of Special Permit 1117, which states that these improvements must be done prior to the establishment of the proposed Retreat for the 16-room Hawaiian Permaculture center. So before they can even open up, they have to have this gravel roadway in. So they actually have a time constraint regarding the improvements of this road. GRAHAM: Thank you, Jeff. Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA: Yes. These are prime agricultural lands, as Toni Withington brought up. And we have been told here today that there is a strong agricultural component in the curriculum – shall I say – or the activities planned for the young people, if this goes through. And I also noticed on the map that there are like proposed fruit orchards and organic vegetable gardens and things like that. Yet, when I look at the original recommendations by the Planning Department, and when I look at the hearings officer’s decision and recommendation, I do not see anything in either document that says that they shall be bound to do agricultural activities on the property. And I would not like to consider anything on prime ag lands without an assurance in a form of recommendations that some sorts of ag will actually be performed in the camp in the retreat center. GRAHAM: Commissioner Siracusa, the only thing I see that looks to address that is Condition 3 of the Order, which says the construction of the retreat and the operation shall be conducted in a manner that is substantially representative of plans and details as contained within the application. So that doesn’t pin it down like you’d like, I think. SIRACUSA: No, it doesn’t, it doesn’t. There is reference to it throughout the application, but there is nothing in the recommendations that say, thou shalt, you know; thou shalt plant or thou shalt raise some livestock or that sort of thing. And this is a big change to change prime ag land out of ag. And the only reason that I believe that the Planning Director was originally supporting it was – despite some other concerns – was the fact that there was going to be a strong agricultural component. So I would like to see that carved in stone here. YAMAMOTO: If I can? GRAHAM: Mr. Yamamoto? YAMAMOTO: I believe Finding of Fact No. 10 basically identifies the applicant is proposing to incorporate agricultural activities, there will be fruit orchards, etc. And that was testimony given during the contested case and part of the record. So it’s a transcript page 12, transcript page 71, transcript at pages 74 and 75. SIRACUSA: There’s a lot of references, that’s true. I just don’t see anything in any of the recommendations that we have before us – either the Planning Director’s recommendations or the hearings officer’s recommendations – and that’s where I’d like to see something that pins it down. WATANABE: Mr. Chair? EXHIBIT B 16