Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan: 03. Land Use and Development

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Chapter 3:Land Use and Development 3.3 Land Use The passage of the Land Use Law in 1961 established the State Land Use Commission. It called for the classification of all lands in the State and authorized the adoption of rules of practice and procedures and regulations for land use within the various State land use districts. The four land use districts created by the State Land Use Commission provide the basic legal framework for land uses in the State of Hawaii. The Urban District is generally defined as lands in urban use with sufficient reserve to accommodate foreseeable growth. In the County of Hawaii this district is comprised of approximately 54,267 acres, or two per cent of the island's total land area. Rural Districts are defined as lands primarily comprised of small farms mixed with low density residential lots that have a minimum lot size of one-half acre under the State Land Use Law. Of the four districts, this is the smallest, with approximately 807 acres of the island's total land area. The Agricultural District includes lands with a high capacity for intensive cultivation as well as those with low capacity. The minimum lot size in this district under the State Land Use Law is one acre. The Agricultural District has the second greatest land area with approximately 1,184,599 acres or slightly over 46 per cent of the total land area of the island. Conservation Districts are primarily those lands in the existing forest and water reserve zones. This district has the largest land area with approximately 1,338,135 acres or 52 per cent of the total land area of the island. Land uses within the Urban Districts are administered exclusively by the counties. In the Ag- ricultural and Rural Districts,the State Land Use Commission establishes use regulations and the counties are responsible for their administration. The counties, however, may adopt more stringent controls than those imposed by the State within these two districts. Land use in the Conservation District is regulated by the State Board of Land and Natural Resources, except that the counties have concurrent permitting power within the Special Management Area near the coast. The counties have no land use control over Federal property, and the Hawaiian Homes Commission has the ultimate control over uses of the Hawaiian home lands leased to native Hawaiians. Within the County of Hawaii, the desirable future land use pattern is set forth by the General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide Map (LUPAG). The more detailed zoning must be consistent with the LUPAG. Lands designated Residential-Agriculture (RA) saw the largest percentage increase in acreage between the years 1989 and 2000 at 60 per cent, although the total acreage of RA zoned lands accounted for less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of the total land area within the County. During the same period, Commercial zoned lands increased by 49 per cent, Multiple Family Residential zoned lands increased by 15 per cent and Industrial zoned lands increased by 14 per cent. Acreages of Open zoned lands fell by 0.6 per cent. Lands designated as Agricultural, excluding lands zoned Unplanned prior to the comprehen- sive revision to the Zoning Code in 1996, account for 77 per cent of all zoned lands within the County. 3-3 Hawaii County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan