2023-02-10 I'o Processing Company - BOA General Petition for Appeal 4870-8058-9647 v.4

Home

acres of agricultural land in North Kona(the "Project"). Appellant's Project will be able to process local livestock for many ranchers in the State. The Project is an ideal size for a facility that both seamlessly blends into the surrounding area while also providing meaningful contributions to meeting Hawai`i's agricultural needs. The Project is comprised of several agricultural structures, including: (1) an Agricultural Office Building (Appellant's/USDA offices); (2) a Composting Structure; (3) an Agricultural Shed; (4) a Covered Work Area; and (5) a meat processing agricultural building ("Processing Facility"). The Agricultural Shed and Composting Structure have received full and final County approval. See Exs. 3 & 4. A building permit has been issued for Agricultural Office Building, but an agricultural exemption is also being sought. See Ex. 5. Accordingly, at issue in this appeal are the structures that have been denied approval of the Declarations: The Processing Facility, the Agricultural Office Building, and the Covered Work Area. The Processing Facility is a single, one-story structure comprised of a, "purpose- designed,transportable module"that is pre-designed and engineered by Friesla to be a"turnkey" USDA-approved meat processing system. It is comprised of four attached prefabricated stainless steel modules: (1) a Harvest module (50 feet x 10 feet, 500 square feet); (2) an Aging Cooler module (50 feet x 12 feet, 600 square feet); (3) a Cut and Wrap module (50 feet x 12 feet, 600 square feet), and(4) Freezer module (30 feet x 12 feet, 360 square feet). See Ex. 6. All together, the Agricultural Unit is 2,060 square feet. The Agricultural Unit is bolted onto a concrete at-grade slab. See Ex. 7. It has a front setback of 30 feet and side setbacks of 20 feet, and a structural span of less than 25 feet in all areas. The Agricultural Unit is used entirely for the agricultural purposes of processing,packaging and sale of processed livestock from local ranchers. The Processing Facility has been installed, inspected and approved by the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA"),through a Certificate of Registration and Grant of Inspection. See Ex. 8. USDA approval is the industry gold standard for food safety and facility design. Accordingly,Appellant has federal government approval to process and label local meat, in a manner that meets stringent federal standards. The Agricultural Office Building,which is 852 square feet, is a non-residential building used to manage, organize, and carry out the agricultural operations occurring on the Property. The Covered Work Area, which is 900 square feet, is a space for storage and operations ancillary 3 4870-8058-9647.4.071717-00001