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Home My WebLink About2024-03-26 PL-SPP-2024-000061 Applicants Response to Letters of Opposition LAND'* '` - PLANNING t* 194 Wiwoole St. Hilo, HI 96720 (808) 333-3393 H AWA I I L L C info@landplanninghawaii.com March 26, 2024 Mr. Jeffrey Darrow, Deputy Director Planning Department COUNTY OF HAWAII 101 Pauahi Street Hilo, HI 96720 Dear Mr. Darrow: Subject: Response to Letter of Opposition Regarding Special Permit Application PL-SPP-2024-000061 Applicant: Axel and Michelle Kratel Agent: Land Planning Hawaii LLC Kawiwiki Homesteads, South Hilo,Hawaii, TMK: (3) 2-6-011:001 (por.) We are in receipt of a letter from applicants' neighbors, Gary Barr and Janice Reddick and Michaela Ryer, opposing the subject application. The content of both letters appears identical. We appreciate the neighbors' comments and hope to address the concerns raised in the letters here. The first concern raised is over the land use impact of the proposed bed and breakfast. The letters indicate a concern that allowing transient accommodations on agricultural land will lead to a loss of land for farming and forestry activities, diminish agricultural productivity and increase reliance on imported food. The applicants, who are farmers, share their neighbors' concerns over preserving agricultural land for agricultural uses and food production and have dedicated the vast majority of their property to agricultural use. Photos depicting a variety of these agricultural uses are attached as Exhibit A. As noted in the background report submitted with the application, according to the Land Study Bureau, the soils on the east side of the stream on the property are classified as "D" (poor) and the soils on the west side of the stream are classified as "E" (very poor). Despite these poor soil conditions, and through the use of biointensive regenerative farming practices, the applicants have established a significant amount of agriculture on the property. Approximately 3.5 acres on the east side of the stream are dedicated to a mixture of vegetable crops, fruit trees, Christmas trees and goat pasture. Additionally, the applicants have worked hard to restore and preserve the Artocarpus fruit tree, conifer and native Koa forest on the west side of the stream. Despite the poor soil quality, they are achieving success in their restoration efforts by planting native Koa alongside certain conifer varieties which appear to share a symbiotic relationship. They actively manage and maintain this 6-acre portion of the property for the purpose of fruit and timber production as well as carbon sequestration. The applicants have been offering hosted short-term rentals on the property for years without any disturbance or negative impact to their agricultural endeavors. In fact, income from the hosted rentals is what has made their farming activities viable. Due to the poor soil quality, it has taken the applicants years to figure out what crops and fruit trees are most viable and how to successfully establish productive and sustainable agriculture on the property and it will take many years more for many of their fruit and timber trees to mature and produce income. As income to date has been minimal and expenses have been great, the supplemental income from their hosted rentals is what has kept the farm afloat. In consideration of Bill 121, which seeks to establish regulations around hosted transient accommodations, the applicants have decided to pursue a Special Permit to operate as a bed and breakfast. They feel that the accommodations they seek to provide would be more appropriately characterized as a bed and breakfast than a transient accommodation because they are present on the property to greet and provide a personal experience to their guests, share fruit produced on their farm and share their experiences and knowledge as big island farmers. Their goal is to target guests who are looking for a personal and enriching experience and opportunity to learn about the importance of agriculture and forestry in Hawaii by spending time on an active farm. It is noted that although hosted short-term rentals are not currently regulated in Hawaii County, and thus the applicants could continue to operate a hosted rental without any additional permitting for the time being, they have chosen to go through this exhaustive Special Permit process and have their request reviewed and vetted by the Planning Department and the Planning Commission in order to solidify their bed and breakfast as an unusual and reasonable use of their agricultural property. To this end, the proposed bed and breakfast will not convert this land to non-agricultural use, lead to the loss of land for farming and forestry, diminish agricultural productivity or increase reliance on imported food. Rather, approval of this special permit request will enable the applicants to earn vital supplemental income needed to offset their farming costs, establish a successful farm and increase awareness of the importance of sustainable agriculture in Hawai`i. Additionally, approval of a special permit to utilize a small portion of their property as a bed and breakfast will not alter the character of the community as the use and appearance of the property will remain relatively the same. The second concern raised is the environmental impact of the bed and breakfast. Again, the applicants share their neighbors' concern for the environment, biodiversity, native species and soil, water and air quality. This is precisely why they have worked so hard to preserve the forest on their land and incorporate biointensive and regenerative practices into their farming. While this is meaningful and important work to the applicants, they have struggled to earn a profit. It is through the income from their hosted rentals and with the help of volunteer agricultural workers that they have been able to improve the soil on the property and establish their farm. Thus, the bed and breakfast will not have a negative impact on the environment; rather, income from the bed and breakfast will offset the costs associated with the implementation of the biointensive regenerative practices that are restoring the soil quality on the property and the continued restoration of the forest on the property, which improves air quality through carbon sequestration and provides potential habitat for native species. Additionally, it is noted that all wastewater on the property is disposed of into Department of Health approved individual wastewater systems, mitigating the potential for any impacts from wastewater disposal. It is clear that the applicants responsibly manage their property, care deeply about the environment and are doing more than their fair share to protect it. Thus, the assertion that the applicants request will have negative impacts on the environment is unjustified. The third concern relates to infrastructure impacts, primarily traffic. Traffic generated from the bed and breakfast would be limited to registered guests of the proposed 4-bedroom bed and breakfast(with a 10-guest maximum). According to the Institute of Transportation Engineers Common Trip Generation Rates, I Oth Edition, this use would result in an increase of approximately 2.4 peak hour trips per day. Thus, the proposed use will not represent a significant increase in traffic and traffic would remain consistent with the current residential and agricultural levels. Additionally, the assertion that approval of this special permit will lead to the approval of other similar requests is speculative and ill-informed as the Planning Commission considers each individual special permit application on its own merits. And the final concern relates to neighborhood disturbance. The applicants are aware of only one occasion where a guest of their property mistakenly drove down a neighbor's driveway and regret this occurrence. Since that time, they have made improvements to make their driveway more identifiable and have provided improved directions to guests. To their knowledge, there have been no further incidents. Maintaining the atmosphere of the neighborhood and cordiality with the neighbors is very important to the applicants. Should their bed and breakfast permit be approved, they intend to continue to be conscientious and respectful neighbors and require the same of their guests. We trust that this letter sufficiently addresses the concerns raised by the applicants' neighbors. If not, or if there are questions relating to this matter,please feel free to direct them to me. Thank you very much. Sincerely, John Pipan Planning Administrator t s +awN I w, rw. r L d Y'y <x F- r EXHIBIT A s r _ ., >W -,✓ � _ >.,, +;� gig ��,��, �,� 1`1 AAA 'P .a *�_ po- ,x� s `,/ a, L'' 1 `�'Y � . r s}w.s P�"'�I ' �a'r- - r` �� p _tic:_' .•�`•" PV ^ A}7 � :^ Ir / ✓�\\ i/� �� T� � t�$`Y r y��a,Y yrf�rN� h.Ylr-{� �/ mob' �^� "4. 1,104fifer r �, r 4 PLANTED CONIFERS ��a,l' w l ': '�,�I LG.. 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