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internal emails), guidelines, and other decisions for similarly-situated applicants during the <br /> relevant time period is necessary for I`o Processing to assess the legitimacy of DPW's position <br /> (including for settlement purposes) and to have a fair shot of making its case to the Board. <br /> II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND. <br /> A. THE LEGISLATURE ENACTED HRS § 46-88 TO EXEMPT <br /> AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURES FROM THE NORMAL BUILDING CODE <br /> PROCESS. <br /> This appeal has to do with DPW's processing of agricultural exemptions from the County <br /> Building Code, under Haw. Rev. Stat. ("HRS") § 46-88. I`o Processing's request for an <br /> agricultural exemption is directly related to a pressing problem in the State: At present, many <br /> farmers and ranchers in Hawaii are unable to sell locally-grown beef to local consumers. Due to <br /> a lack of meat processing facilities located in Hawaii, ranchers are forced to ship their livestock <br /> to the mainland for processing. In turn, the vast majority of beef consumed in Hawaii is <br /> imported from the mainland. This is a major impediment to sustainable beef production in <br /> Hawaii. <br /> There are many reasons why Hawaii does not have more meat processing facilities. One <br /> reason is the financial and logistical difficulty of building under Hawaii's onerous building <br /> permit requirements. In recent years, the Hawaii Legislature stepped in to ease that burden, by <br /> enacting HRS § 46-88. The Legislature passed HRS § 46-88 for the express purpose of <br /> exempting "Agricultural Buildings" from the traditional county-level building permit process. <br /> The Legislature explained its intent: <br /> "Your Committee on Conference finds that nonresidential building code <br /> requirements are financially and logistically burdensome to farming and <br /> ranching operations despite the minimal risk that these structures pose to <br /> public safety. Although Act 114, Session Laws of Hawaii 2012, exempts <br /> nonresidential agricultural and aquaculture buildings and structures from the <br /> building permit requirements, farmers and ranchers are still discouraged from <br /> expanding their farming operations due to the onerous building code <br /> 3 <br /> 4871-5206-8494.1.071717-00001 <br />