2018-05-03 Hearing Transcript - Hamakua CDP

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CLARKSON: Thank you. We'll proceed. Please on this end, please speak into the microphone. Identify yourself and where you reside and then proceed with your no more than three-minute testimony. JOHNSON: Okay. You can hear, okay? Hi, my name is Michael Johnson. I live in Hakalau on the Hamakua Coast. I'm a farmer. The name of the farm is Ono Gardens. And, my testimony is around zoning of Hakalau Point and changing that zoning from Industrial residential to Open lands, and I recommend that we keep it the way it is as Industrial and Open lands and also the land down in the valley is zoned Conservation. I would like to see that changed to Ag, Agriculture. The plan is to have agricultural demo gardens, demonstrating the Hawaiian plants in that area so changing it from Conservation to Ag will help further that. My desire and my vision for the Point is to see it continued as industry as it has been for centuries. The Hawaiians used that land as their center of commerce for centuries and trading and bartering. That was downtown in their culture. Then, it was sugar cane from 1876 to 1974, I think it was. It was the center of sugar cane industry. I'd like to see it continue in this vein to honor the desires and guides of the community objectives put forth in this plan. The land is currently in the State designated as Urban, and the County it's designated as General Industrial. And, the community objectives are to promote, preserve, and enhance a diverse, sustainable local economy. Changing it to Open lands will not do this. The objective number 9 is to encourage the increase and diversity of employment, and changing it to Open lands does not do that. The Objective Number 42 develops a distinctive identify for the Hamakua region to enable public and private industries. Changing this to Open lands does not do that. Page 87 Strengthening Local Agriculture. This section of the CDP guides efforts to strengthen the local ag value, agricultural parks, diversified ag based businesses, and ag tourism. I took a survey and had a petition signed by over 72 local people that want to see it remain Industrial, and I asked people what they wanted to see happen at Hakalau Point, and the number one thing they wanted to have happen was ag tourism. The number two thing was food production, food processing, which it currently does. It processes potatoes; it processes ginger; it can process coffee beans and so on. So, the process to turn it to Open lands was a corrupted process, and it was brought up in a vote without alerting the public, and it was voted on for meetings after that, for months after that until the, it was an unanimous vote. And, I protested that vote, and many people protested that vote to turn it from Industrial residential to Open lands and get rid of the Industrial zoning all together. We were told that this wasn't about zoning, but it's all about zoning. It's all about what the future use of this land will be, and what is good for the land is good for the people, and this land has always been used for centuries to benefit the people's local economy. And, I'd like to see it remain that. CLARKSON: Thank you. Please proceed. LONGACRE: Okay, I'm David Longacre, and I live in Hakalau up Chin Chuck Road. I'm a farmer and aexcuse me, a reforester, and you know, my take is that the CDP that's been presented is generally a really good document, and I think that those who helped craft it really deserve a lot of kudos, but it does contain some serious contradictions in one of its most EXHIBIT D 10