2008-01-03 tdoutoro - Laserfiche WebLink

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Then 21 describes the soils in the area. While the, this area is classified as Grade C agricultural lands. Nevertheless, I think that itÓs a little bit ironic because this area of Kona is not just good for growing coffee but is, you know, one of the best places in the entire world to grow coffee. So while it may be classified as G by the StateÓs assessment be classified as Grade C, in actuality this is a prime agricultural area. And, as you know, most of the coffee that is grown in Hawaii is grown in the area. In the past, there were a lot of agricultural activities on the property. There were agricultural sites from pre-contact times; and the radiocarbon indicated that there had been agriculture on the property as early as 1400. So the property was also part of what they call the Kamehameha Great Fields; and they grew lot of things there. So there was a site that the Applicant was supposed to preserve. But then after the period of grubbing, the site was destroyed. So I think that this is something that I indicated in my recommendation, that in the future the Applicant should be more sensitive to Native Hawaiian culture and history in the area. I also took, added that the Applicant shall provide access in the event of documented gatherings that have been done in the past. There was no evidence submitted at the hearing but, obviously, native Hawaiians have used the area before. That statement is taken from the ApplicantÓs application. And because the applicant made that representation at the point in time, I included it in the recommendation. So I think that we could just skip now to page 28 and look at the recommendations. One other problem that came up during the hearing was that the Applicant didnÓt have the proper water usage calculation equipment and didnÓt have all the improvements that it should have for water usage. I think that the Applicant needs to immediately make those improvements. The applicants are obviously using a substantial amount of water in the reflection pool and the water fountain, obviously, using a lot of water. The property is, you know, in a dry area but it is very nicely green, and some of the foliage is quite attractive. Bananas, oranges, lemons, as well as coffee is grown there. So the applicants are obviously are using a lot of water and, you know, thatÓs a precious commodity in Kona. So I think the Applicant needs to make the improvements as soon as possible on the water usage. In No. 3, we request that the Applicant put in heavy landscaping to assist in reducing the noise and visual pollution for the neighbor. No. 4, public tours and retail sales of non-agricultural products should be conducted in conjunction with active cultivation on at least seven acres of coffee. This is proposed as a coffee farm within agricultural district. And while I note in the ApplicantÓs exceptions they seem to think that public tours without any coffee farms have somehow or other become the main emphasis, that isnÓt the way the evidence came out of the, at the hearing. The evidence at the hearing was that this was a coffee farm and in order to keep the coffee farm going as part of Doutor CoffeeÓs benefits to its franchisees in Japan, that these tours are offered and this is, you know, part of their efforts as growers of coffee. 5