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this applicant actually doing this, there’s no guarantee the applicant is going to do the <br />subdivision and will have these additional lots on the market in two years or so. You know, the <br />other subdivision has already been approved and on the books for years, and years, and years, <br />came in a few months ago for a five-year extension and its subdivision plan has not been <br />submitted or approved as far as I know. So, you know, there is already, if you’re looking at <br />providing for a need, right, the entitlement for doing a subdivision in this area is already there <br />and that developer has not done anything. To me that speaks loads. So what we’re really <br />looking at is granting this owner entitlement. And once we do that, if it goes up and it passes <br />Council, then the reality is the owner has increased the value of the property by putting in <br />whatever the cost of going through this process is, and is able to turn around and sell it to <br />someone else for a profit without actually doing the development, and without actually providing <br />the alleged benefit that this development would have. So I think we have to take it with a grain <br />of salt the professed actual benefit to the community of this. The immediate benefit will be <br />granting the owner and applicant an entitlement which at that moment opposite of buying a new <br />car and driving it off the lot, as soon as it’s granted it’s going to increase the value of this <br />property without another dime being spent. So I really think that from my perspective in terms <br />of my role on the Commission it’s to look at the big picture -- and really the big picture is there <br />really is no demonstrative need now because of, you know, the market conditions and our <br />recession; and it’s going to take years, really, before we can, you know, recover from where we <br />are right now economically – and it’s that this should not be done now. In the meantime we <br />should do the community development plans and see really how the community wants this <br />developed and address the really bigger issues for the community. Thank you, Mr. Chair. <br />WOODWARD: Commissioner Housel? <br />HOUSEL: Yes. I have a question. Commissioner Kimo brought up that potentially if <br />this subdivided and there are ag lands directly adjacent to it that there may be friction between <br />the new owners and the existing owners of the adjacent land wanting to continue their <br />agriculture. And I wanted to ask Mr. Torigoe if he could help me understand what the current <br />Hawaii law is regarding disclosure to the new potential landowners of adjacent ag property and <br />the reduction of, you know, possible friction there. <br />TORIGOE: Thank you. Commissioner Housel, I’m not an expert on the disclosure <br />requirements but I don’t know that you need to necessarily disclose the surrounding zoning. <br />Now that’s something that you would do normally in due diligence. <br />HOUSEL: Well, then I’d like to ask our Director Yuen would that be appropriate to <br />add as a condition that they disclose that? <br />YUEN: It can be required as a condition, yes. I’m not sure what the disclosure <br />requirements are but there is legal protection under the Right-To-Farm Act from complaints. So <br />it doesn’t protect you from having a complaint made and having a government agency come out <br />and look at your establishment which sometimes, in itself, shakes up the farmer and has caused <br />problems. But it does generate, protect farming activities. <br />HOUSEL: Right. Well, I’m concerned about the potential buyers that may not <br />understand what that means if they want to buy that property and find out later that they didn’t <br />understand it. <br />19 <br /> <br />