03-22-2021, 03:45 AM
I've already researched this one.
HB247 + SB340 stipulate requirements for "farm dwellings" on ag lands with soil class A or B. Most of the eastern Big Island is class E. The largest section of class A that I could find (with a cursory search) is the flat part of Maui between the airports. There are a few bits of class A on Oahu.
The bill has other flaws; notably, they intend to determine the $10K annual income by looking at GET filings, but these don't provide enough granularity to calculate which activities were actually "ag revenue". The bigger problem is that it's nearly impossible to generate $10K/year on small acreage, and it's very difficult to find buyers for the produce without direct sales to restaurants or farmers' markets. Supermarkets, the school system and the prison system just aren't interested in small-scale producers.
Put another way, the Legislature is creating the appearance of "addressing a problem" and "responding to a concerned constituency" ... but everyone knows these "farm dwellings" pay far more taxes than an actual farmer, and since all our land-use decisions are based on "highest and best use", we're not really going to tell developers to stop.
HB247 + SB340 stipulate requirements for "farm dwellings" on ag lands with soil class A or B. Most of the eastern Big Island is class E. The largest section of class A that I could find (with a cursory search) is the flat part of Maui between the airports. There are a few bits of class A on Oahu.
The bill has other flaws; notably, they intend to determine the $10K annual income by looking at GET filings, but these don't provide enough granularity to calculate which activities were actually "ag revenue". The bigger problem is that it's nearly impossible to generate $10K/year on small acreage, and it's very difficult to find buyers for the produce without direct sales to restaurants or farmers' markets. Supermarkets, the school system and the prison system just aren't interested in small-scale producers.
Put another way, the Legislature is creating the appearance of "addressing a problem" and "responding to a concerned constituency" ... but everyone knows these "farm dwellings" pay far more taxes than an actual farmer, and since all our land-use decisions are based on "highest and best use", we're not really going to tell developers to stop.