Recomended Hāmākua CDP Policy Rationale

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County zoning determines permitted uses; however LUPAG designations convey preferred future land uses but generally require further action. For example, a State Land Use boundary amendment and/or a County change of zone may be needed for the owner to use the land according to its LUPAG designation. In instances where the State Land Use districts and County zoning displayed significant inconsistencies, it was determined that these were likely remnants of outdated mapping technologies. These instances were adjusted in Pepe'ekeo, Honomu, Papa'aloa, and Haina (related primarily to the locations identified as LUPAG Medium Density Urban (see Factor 8 for more on LUPAG MDU)). In evaluating the State and County designations, a common determination was that the urban growth boundary established by the County LUPAG for many of the towns should be condensed to be more consistent with the current interface between the State Land Use District Urban and Agricultural District boundaries. See also Factor 5. In some instances however, the recommended changes do extend the LUPAG Low Density Urban areas beyond the State Land Use Urban district (generally onto the SLU Agriculture district), particularly when a LUPAG LDU area was shifted away from a coastal location, and when population growth in a particular urban area is desirable and supported by adequate infrastructure. According to the General Plan: "Certain areas that could have been classified as Important Agricultural lands have been placed within urban land use categories. Generally, these are adjacent to existing urban areas. This represents a decision that the orderly development of those urban areas justified the eventual conversion of those lands to urban use." (General Plan page 14-8) Examples of when the LUPAG LDU overlaps to the SLU Agriculture District can be seen with the proposed changes to Wainaku/Kaiwiki, Pauka'a, and Honoka'a. While the CDP land use designation recommendations are generally parcel -specific, there are times when split -designations on larger -lot agricultural parcels bordering urban areas could not be avoided (generally where State Land Use boundaries already dissect a parcel). An example of this can be seen in 'O'okala. 4. Factor 4: Align with County zoning. The fourth factor in developing LUPAG recommendations is based on the Community's Objective #5, which states: "Direct future settlement patterns that are sustainable and connected. Honor Hdmdkua's historic and cultural assets by concentrating new development in existing, walkable, mixed-use town centers while limiting rural sprawl." This objective is important in that the three levels of Land Use regulation in Hawai'i (State Land use, County Zoning, and County LUPAG) are not necessarily consistent with each other, and this can lead to regulatory ambiguity. Now that current mapping technology allows us to provide more parcel -specific guidance, it is important to reevaluate the State Land Use districts and County designations (zoning and LUPAG). Note: County zoning determines permitted uses; however LUPAG designations convey preferred future land uses but generally require further action. For example, a State Land Use boundary amendment and/or a County change of zone may be needed for the owner to use the land according to its LUPAG designation. The CDP land use guide map only affects LUPAG designations; it does not change current zoning or their current permitted uses. There are circumstances when the LUPAG recommendations differ from current County zoning, for example, in order to accommodate flexibility in residential development, a recommendation for some areas is to 21IPage