HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0964.021 2004-2006
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BettCoks
November 21, 2003
03A-618
Mr. Leningrad Elarionoff
Chairperson Planning Committee
County Council
County of Hawaii
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Dear Mr. Elarionoff:
Proposed Revision to LUPAG Map 4
North Kona, Hawaii
Because over a year has passed since this testimony regarding the proposed
changes to the Hawaii County General Plan was presented, it is being resubmitted on
behalf of the following North Kona landowners:
Honolulu
Guam
Hong Kong
Landowner TMK Acreage Philippines
Seattle
1) Kona Trust 7-9-05: 9 49.67 Singapore
7-9-95: 76 108.55 Thalantl
158.22
2) William Paris Sr. Trust 7-9-05: 4 0.777
7-9-05: 14 59.40
7-9-05: 78 161.50
7-9-07: 13 12.500
234.177
3) Agnes P. Smith Trust 7-9-05: 5 16.80
7-9-05:79 94.50
7-9-05:15 0.439
111.739
4) Agnes K.P. Smith Trust 7-9-06: 5 12.0
7-9-96:37 29.0
41.0
Comm. No.
f . 2.1
Ref. To. vftow"
Bell Collins Hawaii Lid. 6ef. Data ,~_1G 2 3 ~nnrt
2153 North King Street, Suite 200 . Honolulu, Hawaii 96819-4554 USA
T/808 521 5361 . F/808 538 7819 . honolulu@beleollins.com . www.bellcollins.com
Belt Collins Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Mr. Leningrad Elarionoff
November 21, 2003 - 03A-618
Page 2
Landowner TMK Acreage
5) William J. Paris, Jr. 7-9-05: 6 11.70
7-9-05:77 20.70
7-9-05:7 0.643
7-9-05: 60 22.403
7-9-05:75 0.987
7-9-06: 3 46.5
7-9-06:36 66.5
7-9-06: 4 18.0
7-9-06: 35 18.0
7-9-06:13 3.45
8-9-06:14 2.75
211.633
6) Margaret Schattauer 7-9-05: 2 30.80
7-9-05: 3 16.357
47.157
TOTAL 803.926
*Recently Sold.
The lands owned by these landowners, all of whom have owned their land here
for many years, are located generally between Keauhou Resort and Hokulia and
between the shoreline and area below the Kuakini and Mamalahoa Highways in North
Kona. These lands, which are referred to herein as the Lower Honalo lands, are vacant
or in very low-carrying capacity cattle ranching. The cattle are placed on the land
primarily to keep scrub vegetation down to mitigate fire hazard.
In general, the Lower Honalo lands are steep, stony, and rocky Aa and Pahoehoe
lava with little or no soil cover. These are the same soils as underlay Hokulia and
Keauhou Resort. There is no irrigation on these lands. As a County condition for the
development of Hokulia, a bypass roadway for Mamalahoa Highway is currently under
construction across these Lower Honalo lands. No provision is being made for the
bringing of irrigation or domestic water to these lands in the building of the bypass.
The draft General Plan update proposes to replace the current "Orchards" and
"Extensive Agricultural" designations for these Lower Honalo lands with a new
classification called "Important Agricultural Lands."
Mr. Leningrad Elarionoff
November 21, 2003 - 03A-618
Page 3
The text of the draft General Plan update sets forth criteria for lands to be classified
as "Important Agricultural Lands." The draft update states that lands to be classified as
"Important Agricultural Lands" have "better potential for sustained high agricultural
yields." The criteria set forth in the draft update is shown in Exhibit B, which is attached.
That same criteria has been used by Belt Collins Hawaii and the respective
landowners to evaluate the Lower Honalo lands. Our evaluation, which is attached as
Exhibit C, divides the Lower Honalo lands into four areas beginning at the shoreline and
moving mauka as follows:
Area 1 - Lower Honalo land makai of the new bypass road down to the shoreline.
Area 2 - Lower Honalo land between the new bypass road and the old railroad
right-of-way.
Area 3 - Lower Honalo land mauka of the old railroad right-of-way up to about
the 1,000-foot elevation.
Area 4 - Lower Honalo land mauka of the 1,000-foot elevation.
You will note that our evaluation shows that the Lower Honalo lands within
Areas 1, 2, and 3 do not meet the criteria for "Important Agricultural Lands." It is
obvious from our evaluation, using the draft update criteria, that these lands belong in the
"Extensive Agriculture" classification, which is defined as "Lands not classified as
Important Agricultural Land. Includes lands that are not capable of producing sustained,
high agricultural yields without the intensive application of modern farming methods and
technologies due to certain physical constraints such as soil composition, slope,
machine tillability and climate. Other less intensive agricultural uses such as grazing and
pasture may be included in the Extensive Agricultural land category."
Our evaluation shows that only some of the land in Area 4, land mauka of the
1,000-foot elevation, belongs in the "Important Agricultural Lands" classification. These
are the Coffee Belt lands with Honuaulu soils and adequate rainfall. In addition,
irrigation water may be made available from existing mauka water systems to these lands,
but such water would be inadequate for the very dry, stony lands below the 1,000-foot
elevation.
On behalf of our clients, we respectfully request that draft LUPAG Map 4, North
Kona, be modified to reflect our Exhibit A, which is attached. Exhibit A shows the proper
location for "Important Agricultural Lands" and "Extensive Agriculture" designations on
the Lower Honalo lands based on criteria of the draft General Plan update.
Mr. Leningrad Elarionoff
November 21, 2003 - 03A-618
Page 4
If you have any questions, we would be pleased to answer them, and we hope
for your favorable consideration of this request.
Sincerely yours,
BELT COLLINS HAWAII LTD.
mes R. Bell
JRB:gk
cc: Christopher Yuen/Norman Hayashi
John Michael White
Landowners
Enclosures
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EXHIBIT B
Current Proposed Criteria in General Plan Draft
Agriculture Designations - Draft General Plan Update 2002
(Intensive Agriculture: Sugar, orchard, diversified agriculture, and floriculture.
High: Fertile soil.
Low: Less fertile soil.
Extensive Agriculture: Pasturage and range lands.
Orchar : Those agricultural lands which, though rocky in character and content,
support productive macadamia nuts, papaya, citrus and other similar agricultural
products).
Important Agricultural Land: Important agricultural lands are those with better
potential for sustained high agricultural yields because of soil type, climate, topography,
or other factors. Important agricultural lands were determined by including the
following lands:
• Lands identified as "Intensive Agriculture" on the 1989 General Plan Land Use
Pattern Allocation Guide maps.
• Lands identified in the Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii
(ALISH) classification system as "Prime" or "Unique."
• Lands classified by the Land Study Bureau's Soil Survey Report as Class B
"Good" soils. (There are no Class A lands on the island of Hawaii.
• Lands classified as at least "fair" for two or more crops, on an irrigated basis, by
the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service's study of suitability for
various crops.
• In North and South Kona, the "coffee belt," a continuous band defined by
elevation, according to input from area farmers.
• State agricultural parks.
Some areas that meet the criteria for important agricultural lands on an irrigated basis
only were included in the "Extensive Agricultural Land" category due to their
remoteness from potential sources of irrigation.
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
justifies the eventual conversion of those lands to urban use.
Because of the scale of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide maps used to designate
Important Agricultural Land, the location of these lands should be verified by more
detailed mapping when considering specific land use decisions.
EXHIBIT C
EVALUATION OF LOWER HONALO LANDS
Belt Collins Hawaii
(See Attached Map Exhibits C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4)
Important Agricultural Land
Criteria used in draft General Plan Update: Agricultural land with better potential for
sustained high agricultural yields because of:
a. Soil type.
b. Climate. See attached Map C-1.
C. Topography or other factors.
d. Land identified as "Intensive Agriculture" on 1989 LUPAG maps. See
attached Map C-2.
e. Land identified in ALISH as "Prime" or "Unique." See attached Map C-3.
f. Land Classified as "B" in the UH Land Study Bureau report. See attached
Map C-4.
g. Land classified as "fair" for two or more crops (coffee, macadamia nut,
banana, papaya, and cut flowers) with irrigation by USDA.
h. Coffee Belt defined by elevation.
Area 1. Land Makai of the New Bypass Highway Down to the Shoreline:
a. Soil types:
(i) 230 Waiaha - stony and unsuited for machine tilling.
(ii) 233 Waiaha - rocky with frequent outcrops of pahoehoe and
unsuited for machine tilling.
(iii) 289 Pahoehoe - no soil and unsuited for machine tilling.
(iv) 292 Almost Bare Pahoehoe - no soil and very poorly suited for
machine tilling.
(v) 319 Bare Aa - no soil and unsuited for machine tilling.
b. Climate - hot and seasonally dry - less than 40" of rain.
C. Topography or other - steep and rocky, now partially in cattle ranching.
d. Intensive Ag. 1989 GP - no land designated Intensive Ag.
e. ALISH - no land designated Prime or Unique.
I UH - no land classified as B.
g. USDA - no irrigation available.
h. Coffee Belt - no coffee growing.
Area 2. Land Between New Bypass Highway and Old RR Right-of-Way:
a. Soil types:
(i) 72 Kainakiu - shallow soil unsuited for machine tilling.
(ii) 230 Waiaha - stony and unsuited for machine tilling.
(iii) 289 Pahoehoe - no soil and unsuited for machine tilling.
(iv) 262 Aa - no soil and unsuited for machine tilling.
b. Climate - hot and seasonally dry with rainfall above 40".
C. Topography and other - steep and rocky, now partially in cattle ranching.
d. Intensive Ag. 1989 GP - no land designated Intensive Ag.
e. ALISH - no land designated Prime or Unique.
f. UH - no land classified as B.
g. USDA - no irrigation available.
h. Coffee Belt - no coffee growing.
Area 3. Land Mauka of Old RR Right-of-Way up to the 1,000' Elevation:
a. Soil types:
(i) 71 Kainaliu - deep soil, rocky and unsuited for machine tilling.
(ii) 72 Kainaliu - shallow soil, rocky and unsuited for machine tilling.
(iii) 262 Aa - no soil and unsuited for machine tilling.
(iv) 292 Almost Bare Aa - no soil and very poorly suited for machine
tilling.
b. Climate - hot and seasonally rainy with 40" to 60" of rain.
Exhibit C -2- August 12, 2002
c. Topography and other - steep with 11 to 20 percent slope, partially used for
cattle grazing.
d. Intensive Ag. 1989 GP - no land classified Intensive Ag.
e. ALISH - no land classified as Prime or Unique.
f UH - no land classified as B.
g. USDA - no irrigation available.
h. Coffee Belt - no coffee growing.
Area 4. Land Mauka of the 1,000' elevation up to Kuakini and Mamalahoa Highways:
a. Soil types:
(i) 51 Honuaulu - moderately deep to deep soil, stony and poorly suited
for machine tilling.
(ii) 52 Honuaulu - moderately deep to deep soil, rocky and unsuited to
machine tilling.
(iii) 53 Honuaulu -
(iv) 292 Almost Bare Aa - no soil and very poorly suited for machine
tilling.
b. Climate - moderately humid and cloudy, 40" to 50" of rain
c. Topography and other - steep undulating terrain.
d. Intensive Ag. 1989 GP - no land classified Intensive Ag.
e. ALISH - some land classified as Unique.
f. UH - land within 51 Honuaulu soils is rated B. Land within 52 and 53
Honuaulu is rated C.
g. USDA - there is no irrigation available.
h. Coffee Belt - land with Honuaulu soils are within the Coffee Belt.
Exhibit C -3- August 12, 2002
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