Koholalele Hamakua EA PBR Final TMK No. 4-2-005:001

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HAMAKUA LAND SALE: KOHOLALELE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2.1 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED ACTION The County acquired the Site from the bankrupt Hamakua Sugar Company in 1994 in a settlement of taxes owed to the County of Hawaii. Prior to the County's acquisition, the property had been in active sugar cane production. The County Department of Finance will be selling this property in accordance with County Council Resolution No. 161 -02, adopted on January 24, 2002, authorizing the sale of the Site. Although the sales proceeds are not considered property tax revenues that are subject to the 2% allocation into the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation special fund pursuant to Hawaii County Code §2- 214(b)(5), the Mayor has proposed that the proceeds be deposited into that special fund or exchanged for any land on the Open Space priority list.4 The Hawaii County Department of Finance (DOF) proposes to initially sell or exchange Parcel 1 at public auction, and may later consider selling or exchanging Parcel 5. 2.2 NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTION The County has not used, generated revenues, or otherwise derived any benefit from the Site since acquiring it in 1994 from Hamakua Sugar Company in lieu of real property taxes owed. The County views that the sale of these lands will serve the greater public interest in that it will allow these lands to return to productive agricultural use while allowing the County to recoup previously unpaid real property taxes that it may use to fund existing or additional programs. The sale will also mean that these lands will revert to private ownership and will be subject to real property taxes that are currently not being paid under County ownership. 2.3 POTENTIAL USES While the lands are expected to remain in agriculture, the exact use and any associated impacts will depend on the buyer. This EA, however, discusses potential impacts and mitigation measures for the possibility that the Site would be subdivided up to the maximum number of lots permitted by zoning with a farm dwelling built on each lot. The Site is zoned A -40a, allowing dwellings at a minimum lot size of 40 acres. Assuming 20% of the 1040 -acre Site would be used for roadways, the Site could be further subdivided into a total of 20 lots. This hypothetical number of lots also assumes that water is or will become available. 2.4 TrnmvG OF ACTION The proposed sale or exchange is tentatively planned for the later part of 2010. 4 Armstrong, Jason, "A flip -flop on land policy ", Hawaii Tribune Herald, January 16, 2010. 2 -1