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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0493.075 2000-2002 AKINAKA & ASSOCIATES, LTD. M N E PA(If I~ ALSTON HUNT FLOYD & ING M.ac FARMti nl HAWAII ASHFORD & WRISTON MnRYL „H~lu~ IN~_- MAUNA KI A f'It(il'I Rl!E' BANK OF HAWAII BOB ACREE MAUNA LANI ~~F'iVI~E, INC CADES SCHUTTE FLEMING & WRIGHT M~CANDLL'~`_~ I ~NL' 4 CAl1LE COMPANY CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK I"'EAWAII LEEWARD PLANNING CONO=ERENCE MdOFHIS?UN MILLER MUKAI MacKINNON CLARK REALTY CORPORATION MLNEHUNE GEV~LOPMEN( EARL E. BAKKEN FOUNDATION P.O. BOX 2159 KAMUELA, HAWAII 96743-2159 MOOERS ENTERPRISES, LLC FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK OKAHAR.4 ~ ASSOCATES GREENWELL FARMS, INC. FAHKI R RANCH, INC. HAWAII LAND COMPANY I'Alh!A HI A~ H E~EVI'. nPMENi HPM BUILDING SUPPLY FONn Hnl ~ HANi 11 HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY Yin 5111'1 R`~ f' ~HI'- HOKULIAIOCEANSIDE1250 F:.M u;Wgl C~)Ir~'(iRATInN HOLUALOA MANAGEMENT CORP. HII HM 1?WI NSB'~ f'I_M1NNERS & ARCHITECHTS HUALALAI DEVELOPMENT COMPANY SAM IiliiC,?q. q~~ KAHUA RANCH LIMITED ,'~I M IN~FHNaIUINAI, INC KAI HAWAII, INC. ~N ~_ngl f ~I.I~!N KAMEHAMEHA INVESTMENT CORP. JUne I~th SUFI Iv Yr~l~.~i ~ ~ nRF'r`HA(I_~N KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS ~ 1HE NM1ILRI_ (OhJ;1 kaANl'r ~~F HAWAII KAUPULEHU DEVELOPMENTS THE ~ULEN EMMP, EO~NDAIIr~N KEALAKEKUA RANCH dEHI~ON HAWAII, INC. KEALIA RANCH WAIMEA WATER SFHVILLS. INC. KEAUHOUKONACONSTRUCTIONCORP. WATER RESOURCESINTERNAlIONAL KIEWIT PACIFIC COMPANY W6 KUKIO RESORTS, LLC KONA TRANSPORTATION COMPANY WEST HAWAII CONS RETF LANIHAU PROPERTIES, LLC WES THOMAS ty ASSOCIAI E5. INi LILIUOKALANI TRUST WIMBERLY ALLISON TON6 & X00 L'ORANGE 6 ASSOCIATES Ms. Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, Chairperson ft=l~s°° Planning Committee, IJawaii County Council r., County of Ilawaii time..----------~~l~~s? ~_~_~m,_ zn__~._.nM__-_,_ 25 Aupuni Street ~uF:?~~ ~auncAl Ililo, III 96720 ~ ~ Dear Chairperson Leithead-Todd and Committee Members, TESTIMOl~1Y RE: General Plan Revision I am John Ray, President of the Ilawaii Leeward Planning Conference, testifying on the lJawaii County General Plan Revision. Throughout the process we have testified on three (3) areas -the Community Development Plan language, the Classification of Ag Zoned Lands into the to~eo i2) new proposed categories -important and extensive, and other proposed changes to the LLiPAG maps, particularly those which effffectively downzone certain parcels. In regard to the Community Development Plan process, we support revisions in the current DRAFT. The proposed language establishes criteria for a deliberate and fair process to address the relative need for community developments plans and sets out a sound process for their implementation. Secondly, we would like to comment on the Agricultural Land classification and mapping. e support the two-tiered Ag Land classification and the more liberal use of Rural Land categoll-v. V1 c strongly support strict and well-defined criteria for the "important" Ag Land classification and believe that using the definition of Sand, which is truly capable of producing high value economic returns from agriculture and significantly contributing to the County's economic lease, is the most important standard. 13y including additional lands, which are qualified as important under more vague and general standards will only lead to a dilution of the standard. We believe the fourthd~ t,~~pYPi1Yi. 1'C~e ~1~~ ~ ~aa HAWAII LEEWARD PLANNING CONFERENCE I''ile 1!FO, P 0 BO% 2159 KAMUELA. HAWAII 96743-2159 TEL (808) 885-9588 FA% (808) 885-9590 EMAIL. HLPC@GTE.NET ~O'~~ 6d Ref. LJu#~ _ - Page Two important standard under Irarportant Agricultural Lands (page 345), which uses lands classified as at least "fair" for two or more crops, on an irrigated basis.... is an unrealistic standard in many areas. The Bost of providing Ag water on many parts of the island, especially in ~'~est l-Iawaii, is economically prohibitive. The definition of Extensive Agricultural Land (page 34t?9: "Lrrnclc rrot classified as Imp®rtarrt Agricultural Land. Includes lands tltat are not capable of proclur•in~ust~rined, Izigh agricultural Yields with®art the intensive applicati®n of modern ~rrnira~ rraethods urrd teclurolo ies due to certaiar plrysiea! constradnts such as soil composition, slope mac/tine tillabilits• and clisrrate~. ®tJter less intensive agricultural uses such as grazing and pasture may be ine[rrclerl irr Nre Frterrsi?•e A~ricudtural land category" seems to more accurately describes much of the land placed in the Important Ag Land category. The lands proposed to be placed into the "important" Ag category in the current DRAFT totals almost 400,000 acres. fio put this in some perspective, the titate Department of Agriculture estimated in 1993 that all of the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the state could be grown on 18,000 acres, assuming only one crop per year. For various reasons. certain crops can't be grown in Hawaii, and because we grow multiple crops per year, our actual land needs for local consumption is considerably less. Production costs were not considered. e hope to expand and develop export markets, especially for high value tropical fruits and other orchard crops, but our overall agricultural land needs are actually small compared to the total acreage available. And in regard to Big Island production, we have to keep in mind the competition from other islands, particularly Oahu, which also has thousands of acres of former plantation lands, as well as 80% of the State population and markets. Lastly, we would like to address the proposed down-zoning of various shoreline parcels in VI~'est Hawaii. While certain landowners support or at least go along with some of the suggested changes in General Plan designation, others do not. We need to ask the following: 1. Are the proposed changes consistent with existing State and Regional plans:' 2. Have the affected landowners been directly contacted in regard to the proposed changes? 3. Has the County made a serious effort to discuss all options to mitigate their concerns short of a General Plan re-designation? 4. Ilas the current level of development interest and activity been taken into consideration in making these recommendations? 5. Have the legal consequences and County liability potentially created by the proposed changes been fully researched -specifically "due process", "equal protection", and "takings" issues? These are important process issues, which need to be thoroughly addressed. In a larger context, while we'd also like to point out that while the current level of development in West Hawaii is substantial, an important facet of this development is the predominant nature of Resort-Residential emphasis versus Resort growth. In effect, the current wave of development is substantially under building in the context of what was previously approved for mane of these sites. Rather than hotels, part time resort residential developments are occurring, which will HAWAII LEEWARD PLANNING CONFERENCE P 0. BO% 2159 KAMUEU. HAWAII 96743-2159 TEl ;808) 885-9588 FA% (808) 885-9590 EMAIL: HIPC@GTE.NET Page Three provide substantially less long-term employment and economic activity. So looking does n the road in terms of building a more sustainable economic base, we need to be careful not to limit our options. In closing, let's look at a smaller geographic region -the area between Kailua and the Airport. Certainly we want to protect key coastal resources, especially the Kaloko-Ilonokohau National Ilistoric Park and the "Pine Trees" beach area. But, how do we come up with the resources to protect, preserve, and maintain those areas? As brought out in a recent Nest I~awaii editorial, "it is imperative to recognize t/te strict liaagit of cutest is pubdie in flee Kohaniki area: The public shorelines state property, which is by law defined as extending to the high reach of the evaves as E videnred bt• the presence of vegetation. The publics wdPdle it has an interest in using the beach area, r~~ rvc~ll ~ls dte private property abutting the state shoreline, does not o~vn "Pine Trees." Protect holkQ~n[ddk[ Ohuna must reco ni a Kohanai&i orvnershi canaaod be co-o fed throe h use. There is no entitleme~zt. L the area - especially the amount of tlae parcel delineated by Protect Kolaaraaiki Ohana - is to become ublic the onl means to do so is to bu tlae land - i it ties the "broad-based comgrruni ~ su urt « nd financial resources. " What prompted this editorial was the recent potential purchase of the Kohanaiki property- by a buyer who represented aloes-density development proposal, which could have been a real va-in-w•in situation for the owner and the community. We believe the County and community should focus on similar innovative development options for the area, which respect private property rights, create economic opportunity, and offer great potential for public/private partnerships to benefit the overall community. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. ~ ~ . 2 John B. Ray President I~awaii Leeward Planning Conference HAWAII LEEWARD PLANNING CONFERENCE P. 0 BOX 2159 KAMUEIA. HAWAII 96743-2159 TEL (8081 885-9588 FAX (808) 885-9590 EMAIL. HLPC@GTE.NEf