PD RECOMMENDATION REPORT (PL-SPP-2023-000038)

Home

The criteria for approving a Special Permit are based on Rule 6-7 in the Planning Commission Rules. It states that the Planning Commission shall not approve a Special Permit unless it is found that the proposed use (a)is an unusual and reasonable use of land situated within the Agricultural or Rural District, whichever the case may be, and (b) the proposed use would promote the effectiveness and objectives of Chapter 205, Hawai`i Revised Statutes, as amended. The proposed use is an unusual and reasonable use of land situated within the State Land Use Agricultural District and would promote the effectiveness and objectives of the State Land Use Law and Regulations and Chapter 205,HRS, as amended. In recognizing that lands within agricultural districts might not be best suited for agricultural activities and yet classified as such, and in recognition that certain types of uses might not be strictly agricultural in nature,yet reasonable in such districts, the legislature has provided for the Special Permit process to allow certain unusual and reasonable uses within the Agricultural district. The State Land Use Law and Regulations are intended to preserve,protect, and encourage the development of lands for those uses to which they are best suited in the interest of the public welfare of the people of the State of Hawai`i. In the case of the Agricultural District, the intent is to preserve or keep lands of high agricultural potential in agricultural use. The subject property is currently vacant of any agricultural uses and has been historically used as the Kohala Hotel. The request is unusual in that the proposed uses are not agricultural in nature. However, the proposed transitional medical clinic and workforce housing will primarily occur in an area that has been previously cleared. While approval of this Special Permit will introduce non-agricultural uses into the area, the applicant proposes to develop an outdoor gathering/garden, as well as to plant and cultivate native Hawaiian plants from within Waiakalaupala Gulch to be incorporated into its la`au lapa`au on the subject property. Based on the preceding, the subject request is considered an unusual and reasonable use of agricultural land. -3-