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Harry Kim Christopher J. Yuen Mayor Director $ Brad Kurokawa, ASLA LEEDO AP (foutttg of'afmxtt Deputy Director PLANNING DEPARTMENT 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo. Hawaii 96720-4224 (808) 961-8288 • FAX (808) 961-8742 December 4, 2007 Honorable Angel Pilago, Chair And Members of the Committee on Planning n COMMITTEE ON PLANNINGO r." 333 Kilauea Avenue, Second Floor I rl Hilo, HI 96720 , Dear Chair Pilago and Members of the Committee on Planning: ' 0 1- SUBJECT: BILL 148, DRAFT 2 (2005) o RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL TOURISM The Planning Committee has put Bill 148 (2005) back on its agenda for a review of old items that have never been acted upon. The Dec. 4, 2007 meeting is not a good time to discuss this because some of the interested farming groups cannot attend. This letter is just to give some background on Bill 148. Bill 148 was the Planning Department's attempt to set a framework for agriculturally- related tourism. This can encompass things like tours of farms where visitors can see farming operations, and purchase farm products and other incidental items. There is considerable interest in this in the ag community as a way of adding value to farming operations. We basically want to encourage this, while recognizing that there should be some protection for other values, such as neighborhood quality and public safety issues due to traffic and other factors. Currently, most agricultural tourism can only be allowed with a special permit, which is approved by the Planning Commission after a public hearing. This can be a cumbersome process. Bill 148 tried to define a smaller scale of operations that could be done without a special permit, by administrative review, while requiring a special permit for larger operations. Public reaction to Bill 148 was mixed. I don't want to claim to characterize Comm. No. Ref. To: Rnf. bare DEC 0 4 2007 Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.