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GRAHAM:Any other comments from the other Commissioners? I might just <br />rephrase a little bit what I was concerned about, about the precedent, and maybe ask the Planning <br />Director to comment on that too so we get his feel since he did give a positive recommendation. <br />I feel like this application is valuable to the landowner. And, in general, something that€s helpful <br />to a landowner, we should try to support it if there are no negative sides to it. I mean that€s my <br />general feeling as a Commissioner. Again, I€m speaking as a Commissioner not as a Chairman. <br />When I look at like Mr. Nishimura€s comments about the State Land Use area that had already <br />been moved to Urban next to it not having rezonings in that area since then is indicative of the <br />fact we€re not going to get a lot of rezonings coming after this. It also seems to me it€s indicative <br />of the fact that from a land use perspective there€s not really a need for more residential lots in <br />that area. So I feel like, you know, we are sort of setting a precedent, but we don€t really have <br />the public need shown in the past that this precedent will work to the public€s benefit. And, <br />hence, I€m concerned about that precedent. And since Planning Director Yuen is certainly aware <br />of all these things and he made a favorable recommendation, I€d like to hear his comments on <br />that. <br />YUEN:Sure, thanks for asking. The Commission is correct to look at this as <br />potentially precedent setting, but you also have to keep that in perspective. Strictly on the <br />matter, first of all, on the State Land Use Boundary Amendment, which is the subject of motion <br />right now, one factor in the Department€s favorable recommendation on the boundary <br />amendment is that it is contiguous with the existing State Land Use Urban area. Now that <br />wouldn€t be true for, you know, if you went in 1000 feet and you wanted a boundary <br />amendment, then you don€t need that criteria any more, not to say that that means absolutely no. <br />But the contiguity of this is, on the State Land Use Boundary Amendment side, is something that <br />affects how you look at this because, and this is by the Statute itself, the State Land Use Statute. <br />So then, well, what about within that existing Urban area, all those Ag-3 acre lots where there <br />has not been any rezoning requests, or there has only be one rezoning request? Yes, you do have <br />to look at the potential that if this went through favorably people would cite this as an example of <br />acknowledgement that a greater density of half acre lots would be an acceptable use. I point out <br />that the General Plan designation for the area is Low Density Urban which suggests that <br />something like this half acre lot or even a smaller lot is consistent with the General Plan. <br />As to whether another lot on another street would have, we would say, no, that -. You know, I <br />don€t know what the other streets look like, if they have the width of Awa Street, the right-of- <br />way, the pavement width, the shoulders, whether they have the available water supply, all those <br />factors that are favorable. In this case, you know, may or may not be; but there is a, as far as this <br />being consistent with an overall plan, we do have an overall plan; and that is the General Plan. <br />And I wanted to say one thing about the term spot zoning that was used. First of all, as a <br />technical matter, we€re still on the State Land Use Boundary Amendment, we€re not on zoning. <br />The State Land Use has, the contiguity is the similar idea here, and that you don€t just pick a spot <br />out in the middle of Agriculture and change it to Urban. That€s a factor against it. But this is <br />contiguous. But the phrase spot is zoning is something that has, that suggests something that, <br />people misinterpret that phrase. Spot zoning means that you single out a particular piece of land <br />for preferential treatment or differential treatment not based on an overall land use plan. So if <br />this were a lot that was in the middle of an area that was designated, you know, Extensive <br />Agriculture or Important Agriculture and you were singling out this one spot for rezoning, that <br />would be a legitimate statement of the term spot zoning. But when you have a General Plan that <br />has a map for the area and this is consistent with that map, this is not spot zoning. <br />GRAHAM:Onefollow-upforMr.Yuen.WhenIlookattheGeneralPlanMap,the <br />LUPAGMap,itseemedtojustsortofbarelyencompassthisareainsortofaroughboundary <br />comingthroughandnotthatwholefullarea.But,again,weknowthattheGeneralPlanissortof <br />9EXHIBIT A <br /> <br />