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limit on the ag tourism facility. It also defined major ag tourism as not exceeding 30,000 visitors
<br />per year, which was in the existing code, or is in the existing code, but it also defined minor ag
<br />tourism activities as no more than 15,000 visitors per year. And there were some other amendments
<br />in the Director’s proposed bill. As you can see on Page 4 of your background report, both Planning
<br />Commissions, both Windward and Leeward, offered a favorable recommendation of the Director’s
<br />version of the amendments to the ag tourism bill, and that went up to the County Council in the
<br />form of Bill 266. And as you can see, they conducted a number of meetings on Bill 266 where
<br />various amendments were attempting to be introduced, which then created a bill that departed
<br />greatly from the original purpose of the Planning Director initiated bill. And therefore, that
<br />particular bill was issued an unfavorable recommendation by the Council’s Planning Committee,
<br />rd
<br />and on January 23 of this year the Council voted to postpone that Bill 266 in order to allow the
<br />Council to come up with a more, how do I say, the current bill that’s before you, Bill No. 25, Draft
<br />2. So on Pages 4 and 5 of your background report, I kind of tried to define the differences between
<br />Bill No. 25, I mean, Bill No. 25, Draft 2, which is currently before you, as well as the previous
<br />Director initiated Bill No. 266. The current bill before you, the Council’s version, basically will
<br />keep the 30,000-visitor max for major, but for minor it’s actually dropping it from 15,000 down to
<br />5,000 visitors annually. They are also requiring plan approval, as the Director bill did, but only for
<br />new structures or additions to existing structures whereas the Director’s version basically said plan
<br />approval period for any major ag tourism operations. So in your background report we tried to
<br />provide some highlights on what are some of the most significant changes.
<br />
<br />Now, if I were to direct your attention to the presentation screen, I’m just going to go over briefly
<br />some of the major points of what is being presented to you in the form of Bill No. 25, Draft 2. It is
<br />to improve definitions of activities that can be defined as “ag tourism”; provide additional clarifying
<br />definitions, such as “value added agricultural product,” “agriculturally related products” and
<br />“agricultural operations” among other types of definitions; further refining “major” versus “minor”
<br />agricultural tourism operations – and that’s basically what I mentioned to you just a few seconds
<br />ago where it’s, minor is from 15,000 max as they are bringing it down to 5,000 max; require plan
<br />approval for only new additions or structures to existing, I mean, for major agricultural tourism
<br />operations; – and I’m sorry I just spoke about that – that’s the 5,000 annual limit on minor; and the
<br />elimination of the current restriction that limits gross revenues from the ag tourism operations from
<br />exceeding the gross revenues from the agricultural activity itself. And that restriction was originally
<br />put in to make sure that the ag tourism component doesn’t exceed the revenue generated from the
<br />actual agricultural activity, but that is being removed from the Council version. Just to let you
<br />know, I believe the proposal to eliminate the gross revenue restriction was also in the Director’s
<br />version that you heard earlier. So in a nutshell these are the amendments being offered by Bill No.
<br />25, Draft 2.
<br />
<br />The Director is recommending favorable consideration of this bill, with one provision. And if you
<br />were to look at the very end of the Director’s background and recommendation report, which will
<br />occur on Page 6, we do have one reservation; and the reservation is that the Council is wishing to
<br />place a limit on the hours of operation 20 minutes after official sunset as determined by the National
<br />Weather Service. As you can, as you are aware, sunset changes continuously throughout the entire
<br />year, and I think it’s going to be too difficult not only for the Planning Department as an enforcing
<br />agency but also for the applicants, and maybe even for visitors, to figure out when sun sets and
<br />when -.
<br />
<br />GIFFIN: Is today, yeah.
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<br />EXHIBIT B
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