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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0045.002 2002-2004 BeltCollins January 2, 2003 03A-004 r Mr. Christopher Yuen Director Department of Planning County of Hawaii Aupuni Center 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Dear Mr. Yuen: Thank you for the copy of your letter to Council Committee Chairperson Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd regarding the designation of certain lands of my six clients in North Kona as "Important Agricultural Lands" in the draft LUPAG map for North Kona for the update of the County General Plan. Your letter states that the lands in question were designated "Important" because the USDA classified them as "fair for two or more crops, on an irrigated basis." Hpnnl„In An~l-al~a The lands in question are not irrigated and there are no plans by anyone to bring irrigation to them. To do so would make no economic sense whatsoever. HnnpKnng Pl iilJy51J These lands have a total acreage of 821.353 acres and only less than 100 '"""Pp'"a' acres mauka of the 1 000-foot elevation could be considered as suitable for an sa°`°° Y $ingapn~o agriculture activity more intense than pasture and grazing. In general, the acreage r„a„o„h makai of the 1,000-foot elevation down to the shoreline has low to very low rainfall, is seasonally dry, is steep to very steep with no soil or stony soils, unsuited for machine tilling, and has frequent outcroppings of rocks and pahoehoe lava. Agricultural Lands Important to the State of Hawaii (ALISH) does not classify the lands as Prime or Unique but rather as other or not classified because they are so poor. Except for a very small area of C, the UH Land Study Bureau classifies these lands as D or E and there are no crops whatsoever being grown at the present time. We have asked the Council to re-designate these lands to "Extensive Agricultural Lands," as they do not meet the definition in the draft text for "Important Agricultural Lands," which is having "better potential for sustained high agricultural yields because of soil type, climate, topography, or other factors." Instead, these lands fit the definition for "Extensive Agricultural Lands," which "have limited potential for agriculture due to physical constraints such as soil Comm. No. File No. Belt Collins Hawaii Ltd. 2153 North King Street, Suile 200 . Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 USA Ref. To: T/808 521 5361 . F/808 538 7819. honolulu@belicollins.com . www.beltcollins.com Ref, t~8te JAN 13 2003 Belt Gollns Hewa is en Enual Oppotlumty Employer Mr. Christopher Yuen January 2, 2003 - 03A-004 Page 2 composition, slope, machine tillability, and climate and are used and suited for grazing and pasture." We had hoped that the Planning Department would realize that its position is not consistent or supportable. We hope you will recommend to the County Council the re-designation of these lands makai of the 1,000 elevation to "Extensive Agricultural Land" in accordance with the criteria and definitions in the draft General Plan Update prepared by your Department. Sincerely yours, BELT COLLINS HAWAII LTD. J e~rr(s R. Bell JRB:gk cc Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd John Michael White William Paris Sr. Trust Kona Trust Agnes P. Smith Trust Agnes K.P. Smith Trust William J. Paris, Jr. Margaret Schattauer Enclosure (Comm. 45.1) JN~Y Of M.~ _ .b . Harry Kim Chrisecpher J. Yuen Mawr (~5 ~~'t S ~ oo-r~ ~„r er. qff Of.N,~yl Gi:L f: ,'_i ' - ..'.i2oyR. Takemoto es.r~r Urpuh'Direc(nr lLLiuj>!~~J D~ ~ttt1YMiT PLANNING llEPAKTMIENT 101 Yauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawaii 9b720-3043 B08) 961-8288 Fax (808) 961-8742 December 10, 2002 Ms. Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, Chair County Council Planning Committee County of Hawaii 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, HI 96720 Dear Chair Leithead-Todd: General Plan Revision September 4, 2002 from Mr. James Bell This is in regards to the letter from Mr. James Bell regarding the proposed General Plan designation of certain lands in the North Kona district, generally located makai of the Belt Highway, and south of Keauhou. The lands referred to in Mr. Bell's letter are designated Important Agricultural Lands on the proposed General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map. The draft General Plan (pages 345-346) lists certain criteria used in designating areas on the island as Important Agricultural Lands. The area noted in Mr. Bell's letter falls into one of these categories. The area is classified as at least `fair' for two or more crops, on an irrigated basis, by the U.S.D.A, Natural Resource Conservation Service's study of suitability for various crops." We hope that the explanation provide will assist in your review of the General Plan LUPAG Map designation of the area. Ms. Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, Chair County Council Planning Committee County of Hawaii Page 2 December 1Q 2002 Should you need further information or clarification, please feel free to contact us. Sincerely, C/~'~~ CHRISTOPHER J. YL~~~_ Planning Director NH:CJY:pak P:wpwin60\norm\gp\leithead-todd 9-23-02 cc: Mr. James Bel] Long Range Planning Division