2012-04-19 Leeward Exh B - Zoning Code Ag Tourism

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GIFFIN: Commissioners? Hearing none, there is a member of the public that signed up to testify on this agenda item: Lani Weigert? Did I pronounce your last name correctly? WEIGERT: Yes. GIFFIN: Thank you. Will you please raise your right hand? Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i County Planning Commission? WEIGERT: Yes. GIFFIN: Please state your name. WEIGERT: My name is Lani Weigert. I am the president of the Hawai‘i Agri Tourism Association, which is a 501(c)(3) state-wide organization. And I’m also the founder and owner of Ali‘i Kula Lavender Farm on the Island of Maui, although I reside here. GIFFIN: Lani, please go ahead. WEIGERT: So I am in support of the changes and amendments that the Director has made. And I just wanted to be available here to see if any of the Commissioners had any questions with regard to ag tourism. The changes that the Director have made has really helped a lot of the farms. And let me explain to you why that is. The original intent to do an agri tourism bill was to allow farmers to do this legally, but also to allow them a way to provide supplemental income to their farms, largely for the reasons that the Director has mentioned, because many of the farms have seasonal crops and they have to wait to make more income. A case in point would be a farm here that maybe some of you might know, it is the Hawaiian Vanilla Company. And his very laborious crop does not always, it’s not always in season, and so he has been able to survive by doing ag tourism activities such as offer different types of luncheons at his property, as well as the walking tours. And I do understand that with regard to the amount of money he makes on his raw crop versus his ag tourism activities, it’s probably 30 percent in raw crops sales versus 70 percent in ag tourism activities. For my farm, which does lavender, we have twelve percent in raw crop sales and all the rest in ag tourism activities. So can you imagine if that was not allowed? Now, we had to go the special use permit route, and the special use permit route will cost any farmer anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 with regard to all of the consultants and engineers that would be required to come. So the Director is absolutely correct that every county is watching this bill with bated breath, because it will then open the gates for the entire state to allow ag tourism across the different farms. And right now there is an allowance that was made by Representative Angus McKelvey that allows educational walking tours at farms across the state; however, this would actually seal it completely by having an ordinance in every county, which allows for value-added products to be sold at farms, etc. So ag tourism with regard to making sure that there’s some type of active agricultural operation on the farm is very important, because that’s the reason people want to come to these farms. And the way that the Director has written it really grounds that first, and so the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau Federation is also in support in how this is written as well. GIFFIN: Director. 5 EXHIBIT B