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Applicability of IAL designation to Parcel 055 a. Potential for sustained high agricultural yields because of soil type, climate, topography, or other factors: Parcel 005 has characteristics which should exclude it from the IAL designation, as noted below. 1. Soil: the soil is V okala - a poor soil which requires amendment to achieve productivity; 2. Slope: the gulch -side slope of the property is approximately 25% and the streetside slope is approximately 16%; 3. Machine Tillability: without extensive and costly grading, tilling would be dangerous without a large tractor on about half of property due to its slope and rocky soil composition; the upper plots are tilled by hand; 4. Climate: heavy rains wash away the topsoil and deplete the soil of nutrients which require heavy amendment to be productive. 5. Size: Parcel 055 is 3.955 acres, of which, approximately 1.5 acres is suitable for small-scale/subsistence farming (not counting the back pasture). At a purchase cost of over $63,000/acre, farming on such a small plot is marginal. In fact, from the bottom of Kihalani Homestead Road to the crossover road, there are no properties greater than 15 acres in size. Kihalani Homestead reflects the rural, homestead nature of this area aptly described in CDP Policy 4 [1/ ... lands near urban areas where an intermediate land use between residential and productive agricultural areas is consistent with the surrounding uses and rural character'] and the Rural District description ["... lands primarily comprised of small farms mixed with low density residential lots that have a minimum lot size of one-half acre... 7- In fact, the fragmentation of the land into homestead parcels along the length of Kihalani Homestead Road does not accommodate the type of large-scale farming envisioned by Act 183, the State IAL law? b . Need for LD U.- The 2005 Hawaii County General Plan3lists 53,587 acres designated for agriculture, of which 21,632 are IAL (12.4% of the total North Hilo acreage). Only 617 acres (.0035 ofthe total North Hilo acreage) are reserved for LDU development and a mere 71 acres designated Rural. When considering the 11.6% change in population from 1990-2000, one must question whether the removal ofLDU acreage such as Parcel 055 is warranted. i Generally, slopes of 15% to 25% are considered suitable only for limited agricultural uses. 2 Act 183: "Discourage the fragmentation of important agricultural lands and the conversion of these lands to nonagricultural uses." 3 Hawaii County General Plan LUPAG.