2015-06-18 Leeward Exh A (REZ 15-187)

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This is an aerial photograph of the subject parcel and surrounding area. I just wanted to give you kind of a context. Again, it’s outlined in red. You see that the surrounding area is, there are homes or small farms and some vacant lots. More zoomed in, this is the aerial photo of the parcel. Again, this is Hiona Street. There is an existing single-family dwelling on the upper part of the parcel accessed by a driveway out to Hiona Street. The parcel, we can’t see it obviously on the aerial, but there is about 100-foot elevation drop going, heading makai. Further down on the lower portion of the parcel is a workshop and a craft room that is accessed by a lower driveway as well. Mauka of the single-family dwelling there is a landscaped area, as well as some fruit trees and also to the side some additional fruit trees and pineapples and alike. The applicant is requesting a change of zone from Agricultural-3 acres to a Family Agricultural-1 acre zoning district for approximately 3.039 acres of land. The purpose of this change of zone is to subdivide the parcel into two lots in order to convey the makai lot to the applicant’s daughter so that she can build a residence. Here you see the proposed site plan and subdivision map. Again, the Lipps home here on the mauka portion of the property. So this would be subdivided roughly in half with the lower portion, again, proposed to be given to the daughter. This workshop and craft structure would be on the lower portion as well. The next few photos are some just site photos of the area. This is the Lipps home on the upper portion of the property. Again, some photos of the landscaped area and the fruit trees on the makai portion and the side of the house. And this is, sorry about the darkness of it, but a view from the Lipps’s lanai area looking makai, you can see the lower portion of the parcel here. And this is the roof of the workshop structure, and then on the right you see the actual workshop structure itself on the makai portion of the parcel. Again, just some photos of Hiona Street, looking mauka, looking makai, and then some photographs of their driveway on the mauka area and the makai area. So the Planning Director is recommending an unfavorable recommendation be forwarded to the Hawai‘i County Council for the following reasons: First, the proposed request does not conform to the goals, policies and courses of action of the Land Use and Land Use-Agriculture General Plan elements for this area; Second, the proposed request does not conform to the goals, objectives and actions of the Kona Community Development Plan; and third, the proposed request will not result in a more appropriate land use pattern that will further the public necessity and convenience and general welfare. So this first bullet and the third bullet are in our Code as the criteria that we look at when we consider changes of zone. So going through that, just the land use element in the General Plan is to allocate appropriate requested zoning in accordance with the existing or projected needs of the neighborhood, community, region and county; and that zoning requests shall be reviewed with respect to the General Plan designation, district goals, regional plans, State Land Use District, compatibility with adjacent zoned uses, availability of public services and utilities, access, and public need. For the agricultural land use element, again, this subject parcel and the surrounding area is designated Important Agricultural Lands, and this says that IAL lands shall not be rezoned to parcels too small to support economically viable farming units; and more specifically, there is a course of action for 2 EXHIBIT A