Recomended Hāmākua CDP Policy Rationale

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Policy 6 Until the General Plan identifies appropriate areas for Industrial development to occur in the Hamakua Planning Area, industrial uses may be permitted outside LUPAG Industrial designated areas through the following regulatory review processes: • Change of Zone: If the subject property is located in State Land Use Urban district, a change of zone request to the appropriate industrial zoning should be considered; process would be the appropriate review mechanism to evaluate the specific parameters of the proposal; • Special Use: If the subject property is located in the State Land Use Agricultural or Rural District, and the project type is consistent with a permitted use of either limited -industrial (ML) or commercial -industrial zoning (MCX), the special use permit process would be the appropriate review mechanism to evaluate the specific parameters of the proposal and set any mitigating conditions. Any requests for Industrial uses shall be carefully evaluated for potential impacts and consistency with the General Plan and Hamakua CDP Policies and Objectives. Of particular note is the existing General Plan policy 14.4.3 (e): Industrial development shall be located in areas adequately served by transportation, utilities, and other essential infrastructure. Rationale: This is an affirmation of General Plan policy 14.4.3(e) and is in line with Community Objective 5. It is an affirmation of General Plan policies 14.4.5.2.2 (b) (South Hilo), 14.4.5.3.2 (a) (North Hilo), and 14.4.5.4.2 (a) (Hamakua), "Identify sites suitable for future industrial activities as the need arises." As noted in Factor 10 from Policy 12, the majority of the currently zoned Industrial areas in the Planning Area are no longer seen as suitable for heavy industry since these types of uses are generally considered to be offensive or have some element of danger. Many of the industrial properties are legacy zoning remnants from the sugar plantations and are sited in environmentally sensitive locations (see also Policy 2). This policy demonstrates flexibility on a case- by-case basis in considering future Industrial uses in appropriate areas until the General Plan identifies locations for Industrial uses. There is an identified lack of land zoned Industrial or designated as Industrial in the LUPAG maps, and there is a growing need in the Planning Area for industrial applications — primarily light -industrial and commercial -industrial. This policy differentiates between two types of regulatory mechanisms and clarifies which process should be pursued. The policy strategy of allowing some types of lighter (less noxious) industrial uses in the State Land Use Agricultural District through the special permit process is seen as advantageous over a property being rezoned for the following reasons: 1) a change of zone is a permanent change of use to the property, and (2) the industrial zoning categories allow for a spectrum of uses that can vary widely in their potential noxious impacts. On the other hand, the special permit process involves a project specific review with a similar regulatory and public review period as change of zone requests, it can set conditions to mitigate potential impacts, it can be revoked for compliance issues or if the use authorized by the use permit has been abandoned for a continuous period of two years (HCC §25-2-67). Until the General Plan Update completes in-depth analysis of the Hamakua Planning Area and identifies appropriate places for Industrial LUPAG designations, this flexibility in considering industrial change of zone and industrial special permit applications is an effective strategy to deal with the Planning Area's lack of Industrial land options. 161Page