PD Background Report (PL-SPP-2022-000025)

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313. Subject Property Description The subject site identified as TMK (3) 9-6-011: 007 consists of 10.7 acres zoned Agricultural 20-acres (A-20a). The Property is located roughly 3.5 miles north of Pahala along Wood Valley Road, Ka`u, Hawaii. The Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) designates the Property as Extensive Agriculture. The Land Study Bureau(LSB) classifies the 2-acre portion of the Property as primarily "C", or moderate agricultural productivity. Under the Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii (ALISH) classification system, the subject site is unclassified. The U.S. Department of Agricultural Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has designated the soil type for the Property as Udifluvents-Kuanene complex with 2 to 10 percent slopes (2k j9). Udifluvent soils are derived from alluvial flats on pahoehoe lava flows, which are somewhat excessively drained with a low runoff class. Kuanene soils from ash fields on pahoehoe flows are well drained and have high runoff. The Ka`u area is considered Lava Zone 3, on a scale ranging from 9 to 1 (least hazardous to most). This site is located roughly 8 miles from the ocean and is not in the Conservation District or Special Management Area. The subject portion is on the western boundary of the 10.7-acre Property. This 2-acre portion is mainly comprised of non-native grass such as guinea grass, desmodium vine and other non-native grasses. It is currently vacant of any structures and will require minimal grading on less than one (1) acre to construct the temporary improvements. Other types of vegetation in the surrounding area include cook pine, eucalyptus, and macadamia nut. Current access onto the parcel is roughly 3.5 miles north of Pahala off Wood Valley Road. A gravel road 1,400 feet long leads to the subject Property. Edmund C. Olson Trust has legal access to this road by way of an Easement Deed and can grant access to ASIAA for the proposed land use (Exhibit Q. 3C. Institutional Considerations State Land Use The subject site is designated State Land Use Agriculture. The Special Permit area will consist of 2-acres of land. Based on the size of the project area, no State Land Use Commission action is required. The County of Hawaii can process the special permit request. Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) §205-6 allows County Planning Commissions to permit certain unusual and reasonable uses within the Agricultural and Rural districts other than those for which the district is classified. The unusual and 13