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<br />INTRODUCTION
<br />The General Plan for the County of Hawaii is the policy document for the
<br />long-range comprehensive development of the island of Hawaii. The rapid
<br />growth and changes experienced in the County in recent years have brought
<br />about unforeseen problems as well as exciting challenges. The extensions of
<br />present situations into the future and the needs and desires of residents make it
<br />necessary that guidelines be established for what will take place in Hawaii.
<br />The General Plan provides the direction for balanced growth of the County.
<br />It brings into focus the relationship between residents and their pursuits and
<br />institutions, offering policy statements which embody the expressed goals for
<br />present and future generations. Its proper use and gradual translation into
<br />reality make it a valuable instrument.
<br />History of the Plan
<br />The formulation and preparation of the General Plan for the County of
<br />Hawaii has been a major program of the Planning Department over the past few
<br />years. This effort has required an intensive examination of the communities and
<br />various components of the County as an integral unit. Previous general plans
<br />have been limited to particular regions of the island and consequently lacked a
<br />fully coordinated and integrated overview of the entire County.
<br />General plan studies in the County of Hawaii were started in the late
<br />1950's. The first of these studies, "A Plan for Kona," was completed in 1960 and
<br />encompassed the districts of North and South Kona. "A Plan for the Metropoli-
<br />tan Area of Hilo" was completed in 1961 for the districts of South Hilo and Puna.
<br />"The Kohala-Hamakua Region General Plan" was completed in 1963 and cov-
<br />ered part of the district of North Kona and the districts of North and South Ko-
<br />hala, Hamakua and North Hilo.
<br />These regional plans were adopted by Ordinance No. 317 in July 1965, as
<br />the General Plan for the County. The district of Ka'u has been the only area in
<br />the County not covered by previous plans. Ka'u and its community centers of
<br />Pahala and Naalehu, which are primarily dependent upon sugar producing
<br />activities, have been relatively static during the past decade. Preliminary plans
<br />for the development of these plantation communities have been available to
<br />the County for administrative purposes and have provided adequate guidance
<br />during this interim period.
<br />With the adoption and ratification of the County Charter in 1968, the Gen-
<br />eral Plan emerged as a major policy document. The Charter mandates the
<br />County Council to:
<br />"adopt by ordinance a general plan which shall set forth the Council's
<br />policy for long-range comprehensive physical development of the County.
<br />It shall contain a statement of development objectives, standards and
<br />principles with respect to the most desirable use of land within the County
<br />for residential, recreational, agricultural, commercial, industrial, and ,other
<br />purposes which shall be consistent with proper conservation of natural re-
<br />sources and the preservation of our natural beauty and historical sites; the
<br />most desirable density of population in the several parts of the County; a
<br />system of principal thoroughfares, highways, streets, public access to the
<br />shoreline, and other open ,spaces; the general locations, relocations and im-
<br />provement of public buildings; the general location and extent of public
<br />utilities and terminals, whether publicly or privately owned, for water,
<br />sewers, light, power, transit and other purposes; the extent and location
<br />of public housing projects; adequate drainage facilities and control; air
<br />pollution; and such other matters as may, in the Council's judgment, be
<br />beneficial to the social, economic, and governmental conditions and trends
<br />and shall be designed to assure the coordinated development of the
<br />County and to promote the general welfare and prosperity of its people."
<br />As a policy document, the General Plan provides the legal basis for all sub-
<br />division, zoning and related ordinances. It also provides. the legal basis for the
<br />initiation and authorization for all public improvements and projects.
<br />General Plan Program
<br />The present General Plan program has been structured to investigate, ana-
<br />lyze, and evaluate concurrently all aspects of the County under a common or
<br />standard methodology. Preparation of the General Plan involved the process of
<br />planning and provided the opportunity to broaden the base of citizen participa-
<br />tion, review and understanding.
<br />The General Plan is intended to achieve the following basic purposes:
<br />To improve the physical environment of the County as a setting for human
<br />activities—to make it more functional, beautiful, healthful, interesting and
<br />efficient.
<br />To promote and safeguard the public interest, the interest of the County as
<br />a whole.
<br />To facilitate the democratic determination of community policies concern-
<br />ing the utilization of its natural, man-made and human resources.
<br />To effect political and technical coordination in community improvement
<br />and development.
<br />To inject long-range considerations into the determination of short-range
<br />actions and implementation.
<br />To provide an objective and flexible framework within which consistent
<br />legislative and administrative decisions can be effected.
<br />In accordance with the agreement between the County of Hawaii and the
<br />Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development through the State of
<br />Hawaii Department of Planning and Economic Development, the tasks of the
<br />General Plan study were to:
<br />Formulate County and district goals and objectives.
<br />Conduct a detailed land use inventory.
<br />Conduct a housing study with special attention to housing problems and
<br />needs of low-income and culturally deprived groups.
<br />Delineate land use patterns including vehicular circulation, public facili-
<br />ties and utilities, community facilities, historical sites, areas for preserva-
<br />tion of natural beauty, urban renewal and redevelopment areas, housing,
<br />flooding and inundation areas, etc.
<br />Summarize present features of the County and each district, and estimate
<br />future requirements to govern location, size, and number of land use com-
<br />ponents, including public facilities.
<br />Prepare standards of land use and/or development including density, set-
<br />backs, ground coverage ratio, recreation facilities, preservation of historic
<br />sites, safeguards for flooding and inundation areas, etc.
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