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PORT OF THE
LEGISLATIVE APPROVALS AND ACQUISITIONS COMMITTEE
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DATE: June 20, 2023 Re: Comm. No. 326/Bill No. 52
PLACE: Council Chambers
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
TIME: 2:3 8 p.m.
Council Chair and Members
Hawaii County Council
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Your Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions, to which was referred Bill No. 52, reports
as follows:
Bill No. 52, transmitted by Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, via Communication No. 326 dated May 18, 2023,
repeals Ordinance No. 98-63, which amended Ordinance No. 95-70, and repeals Ordinance No. 95-70,
which amended Section 25-86 (North and South Kona Districts Zone Map), Article 3, Chapter 25
(Zoning Code) of the Hawaii County Code, by changing the district classification from Agricultural-
Twenty Acres (A-20a) to Agricultural-One Acre (A-1 a), Agricultural-Three Acres (A-3 a),
Agricultural-Two Hundred Acres (A-200a), Agricultural-Two Hundred Fifty-Five Acres (A-255a),
and Agricultural—Eight Thousand Acres (A-8000a) at Kealakekua, Kiloa, Waipunaula, Kalama
Kumu, and Kalamakowali, South Kona, Hawaii, covered by Tax Map Keys: 8-2-012:001, 012, 014
(Por.), 015, and 8-2-001:101 (formerly Tax Map Keys: 8-2-012:012 and a portion of 00 1) (Planning
Director Initiated) (.Area: Approx. 11,185.708 acres)
Due to the lack of quorum, the Leeward Planning Commission forwards its unfavorable recommendation
to repeal the change of zoning district clarification for five parcels located approximately 1.2 miles
east of the Hawaii Belt Road in the vicinity of Greenwell Mountain Road and extending approximately
8.6 miles further east. The repeal would revert the zoning of these lands back to the Agricultural
20-acres (A-20a) zoning district.
Planning Director Zendo Kern and Planner Maija Jackson were available in Hilo Chambers. Director
Kern gave a brief overview that the applicant requested to revert this property back to its original
zoning. He further explained that the negative recommendation to Council from the Leeward
Planning Commission was because three of six seated commissioners had some type of conflict and
had to recuse themselves, resulting in the technical challenge of no quorum.
Gregory Hendrickson, Esq., General Manager and representative for Kealakekua Mountain Reserve,
was available in Chambers to offer background on the property and to answer questions.
He stated that all the property owners are in agreement with reverting the property to its original
zoning and with each having acreage as follows: Greenwell has 100 acres, Kona Hills has 500 acres,
Kealakekua Mountain Reserve has 9,000 acres of conservation easement, HCC Farms has 225 acres
of conservation easement, and the Pace Family has 1,000 acres used for grazing.
LAAO Report No. 23
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LAAO-i I Page 2 June 20,2023
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He shared that this property was rezoned in the mid-90s to develop a golf course resort community
with 500 units, a clubhouse and other things, and that the project was advanced by a family from
Japan, who after the collapse of the Japanese economy withdrew from Hawaii and sold the property
to the Pace family in 2004. The Pace family hired him to complete a conservation easement of over
9,000 acres that would allow the property to be preserved in perpetuity as one large parcel.
He also explained that as determined by the Planning Department, that the ordinance is no longer
effective, and conditions of the ordinance can no longer be met partially because of the conservation
easement being put in place, and that a request to the Planning Department to revert the property back
to its original zoning should be made.
Mr. Hendrickson shared further that Kealakekua Mountain Reserve's property is used for sustainable
forestry and they have planted more than 350,000 native trees. They have installed miles of fencing
and invited the community to come to visit the property resulting in over 815 visits last year. He also
stated that the Pace Family owns over 1,000 acres of the property that is used for cattle grazing.
Several Council Members offered comments and made inquiry about the project to which
Mr. Hendrickson, Director Kern and Maija Jackson responded, as to the property's original zoning as
it pertains to the General Plan, conversation easements, what else is being done on the property by
each owner, and what could be done with this property after this bill passes.
Your Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions is in accord with the purpose and intent
of Bill No. 52, and recommends its passage on first reading,
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AYES NOES ABS Ex Respectfully submitted,
EVANS X
GALIMBA X COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE
INABA X APPROVALS AND ACQUISITIONS
KAGIWADA X
KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER X
KIERKIEWICz X HOLEKA GORO INABA, CHAIR
KIMBALL X
LEE LOY X LAAO REPORT NO.: 23
VILLEGAS X ADOPTED: JUL 0 6 2023