LIHU‘E — A stakeholder committee Oct. 22 came up with a formula for identifying important agricultural lands on the island. But not without much discussion and some disagreement. The Stakeholder and Technical Advisory Committee for Kaua‘i met for the eighth
LIHU‘E — A stakeholder committee Oct. 22 came up with a formula for identifying important agricultural lands on the island.
But not without much discussion and some disagreement.
The Stakeholder and Technical Advisory Committee for Kaua‘i met for the eighth time last week. It came up with a final recommendation, although not unanimously, of which ratings should be used to identify IAL here.
The eight criteria chosen to identify IAL are: currently in agriculture, of good soil quality, identified by Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawai‘i or Land Study Bureau, having Native Hawaiian or unique crops, having sufficient water, being consistent with county plans, contributing to critical land mass, and having access to infrastructure and markets.
An equation taking into consideration these criteria will be used to rate agricultural lands on a scale from 0 to 40.
With many diverging opinions, the committee took some time Friday to figure out which would be their recommended cut-out rating to identify IAL.
“If we put a number out there we could potentially create anxiety in the community,” said stakeholder Keone Kealoha, adding that the committee’s recommendation would not be the final say anyway.
Souza said it is the committee’s kuleana to give the community a number at its next public meeting in November. “We’ve got to make a recommendation.”
After much discussion, a 9-2 vote recommended that lands that have a score higher than somewhere between 20 and 30 should be preserved as IAL.
Stakeholder Don Heacock wanted the cut-out rating to be set somewhere between 15 and 25.
When the final cut-out number is agreed upon, the lands that score equal or higher to this number will be classified as IAL. This means that if a higher score is chosen, there will be fewer lands classified as IAL, and more lands subject to potential re-zoning.
Kaua‘i is 353,900 acres. The island is comprised of 198,769 acres of conservation lands, 139,542 acres of agricultural lands, 14,334 acres of urban lands and 1,255 acres of rural lands.
Dr. Karl Kim, from the University of Hawai‘i study team helping with the project, said that in a scale of 0 to 40 — 0 being the lowest classification and 40 the highest — if the cut-out number is set at 10, then 94 percent of Kaua‘i’s agricultural lands would be classified as IAL.
If the cut-out number is set at 20, then 65.8 percent of the island’s agricultural lands would be IAL. If the number is set at 30, then only 40.8 percent of those agricultural lands would be IAL.
A state constitutional amendment approved by voters more than three decades ago is closer to becoming enacted into reality.
When it does, residents will likely have a better understanding on the direction Hawai‘i is headed in its struggle to balance development and agriculture.
The state has mandated each county conduct studies using several criteria to determine important agricultural lands (IAL).
“This is no light responsibility here,” Kalani Souza told stakeholders during a meeting he mediated Friday in Lihu‘e.
“This is important, heavy stuff.”
After the 1978 Constitutional Convention, Hawai‘i voters approved the identification and designation of IAL, which was enacted that same year as Article IX, Section 3 of the state constitution.
“The state shall conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, and increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands,” the Hawai‘i Constitution states.
But it wasn’t until July 1, 2005, that Gov. Linda Lingle signed Act 183, providing standards, criteria and processes to fulfill the IAL mandate.
Important agricultural lands can be designated important in two ways.
In the first method, a farmer or landowner can file a petition for a declaratory ruling from the state Land Use Commission, which will need a two-thirds vote to approve the request.
The other way of identifying such land requires the participation of dozens of hand-picked stakeholders throughout the five counties, plus input from all community members who may want to testify.
The public will have a chance to provide input in three meetings next month. The meetings are all scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Lihu‘e Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall; 9 to 11 a.m. Nov. 20 at Kilauea Neighborhood Center; and 3 to 5 p.m., Nov. 20 at Waimea Neighborhood Center.
Go to www.hawaii.gov for more information.
