01-29-2008, 05:44 AM
quote:
Originally posted by bodysurf
Zoning wise.. some developer's ,like on Kauai , have gotten creative and turned supposed ag land(old sugar land)residential even without being rezoned...people are supposed to derive their income from their lot but many just build a house and graze a horse in the back for appearances sake.
And that is exactly the point Rob is trying to make in the “How to keep agriculture/farming viable in Hawaii?” post. Bad zoning is contributing to bad developments.
Let’s look at the problem facing many mainland communities. Once you had sprawling 1,000 acre ranches. They were income producing ranches and grazing land. One day, a developer comes along and convinced the community planning dept that if they could reduce the size from 1,000 acres to 100 acres, you can get 10 times the number of people ranching the land and make it affordable to the small rancher. So it was done. Of course 9 remained ranches and one turned into a private mega estate for their own private horses. Soon, another developer came along and said, if we can chop the 100 acres to 10 acres, you will have 10 times the number of ranches and it will be affordable to many more ranchers. So it was done. Of course, 6 remained working ranches and 4 became estates with no ranching except for their own private riding horses. Again, another developer came along and said, if we can chop the 10 acres to 1 acre, you will have 10 times the number of ranches and it will be affordable to many more ranchers. So it was done. Of course 3 remained ranches while 7 became private estates with no horses. But, again, another developer came along and said, if we can chop the 1 acre to 1/2 acres, you will have 2 times the number of homes capable of keeping horses and keep the rural ranch feel. So it was done. Of course nobody keep horses and it became just another housing development. As this spread, soon those without horses converted the rural ranch atmosphere into another suburbia forcing the remaining ranches to be so isolated, they ultimately sell out to a developer and move.
Let’s say Puna land is zoned one acre agricultural and everyone in the area farms their land, maintains the rural agricultural feel, and abides by the standards of self sufficiency as best they can, and adhere to responsible environmental methods. They are powerless to prevent a person from building a 5,000 sq foot glass and aluminum modern home with manicure lawns, gated entrance with security cameras, in ground pool, putting green, and illuminated tennis court. Because zoning has loopholes the size of the moon and no actual mandate to use the land according to the zoning intention, owners are free to build what they want for the purposes they want so long as they stay within the zoning.
This is the scenario Rob is seeing occurring in Puna. Although land is designated agricultural, there is no mandate that the land be used for agricultural purposes. Just like the ranch zoning (mentioned above) enables people to have horses, nothing said they must. So instead of a paddock, you have a tennis court. Instead of a tack room you have a cabana. Instead of horse trails, you have a putting green.