PD RECOMMENDATION REPORT (PL-SPP-2022-000012)

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RYamadaSPP.crk.5.23.2022 COUNTY OF HAWAIJ PLANNING DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION YAMADA& SONS,INC. SPECIAL PERMIT APPLICATION PL-SPP-2022-000012 Upon review of the request against the guidelines for granting a Special Permit and pursuant to Planning Commission Rule No. 6-8 (b), the Planning Director recommends that this request be approved by the Planning Commission and forwarded to the State Land Use Commission for final determination. Since this recommendation is made without the benefit of public testimony, the Director reserves the right to modify and/or alter this position based upon additional information presented at the public hearing. This approval recommendation is based on the following findings: The applicant is requesting a Special Permit to establish a new quarry site on approximately 37.882 acres of land on a portion of a larger, 2,407-acre, State-owned property situated within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The State Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) granted a twenty (20)-year license to the applicant in October 2021 to enter and quarry, stockpile, and remove rock and waste deposits for commercial use on the 37.882-acre permit area. A condition of approval will set the life of the special permit to be co-terminus with this land lease. The applicant proposes to extract 25,000 tons of raw rock material per month, and with the excavation reaching a proposed depth of eighty (80) feet from existing grade, the quarry is expected to have an active lifetime of roughly thirty (30)years. Excavation of rock will be accomplished through the use of heavy equipment when possible. If impenetrable rock is encountered during excavation activities, drilling and blasting will be performed. As rock material is excavated, the perimeter of the permit area will have engineered fill with a 3:1 slope to avoid a sheer drop and facilitate future use should a suitable use be contemplated. A vegetative buffer will also be provided around the perimeter of the permit area. The applicant has effectively exhausted its supply of quality rock material from its existing and adjacent 14.99-acre quarry that began operation in November 2010 under Special Permit No. 10-110. This new quarry operation would allow the applicant to