LIHU‘E — The county is wrapping up its Important Agricultural Lands Study and will present an update on the study during a round of community meetings. The meetings are scheduled as follows: — Friday, 5 to 7 p.m. – state
LIHU‘E — The county is wrapping up its Important Agricultural Lands Study and will present an update on the study during a round of community meetings.
The meetings are scheduled as follows:
— Friday, 5 to 7 p.m. – state Department of Agriculture office, 4398 Pua Loke Street, Lihu‘e
— Saturday, 9 to 11 a.m. – Kilauea Neighborhood Center
— Saturday, 3 to 5 p.m. – Waimea Neighborhood Center
Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the data collected over the last two years including the impact of IAL designations on property values and farm worker housing, and county-level incentives for landowners that choose to designate their lands as being IAL.
Other items that will be covered at the meeting are: water accessibility as a critical factor in determining the viability of agriculture; crop production; and other agricultural concerns.
The first round of regional community meetings was held in November 2010. Information gathered during these meetings was incorporated into subsequent meeting discussions as well as the draft IAL Study Report.
Leading this project are the Kaua’i County Planning Department, University of Hawai‘i – Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and a 21-member Stakeholder/Technical Advisory Committee (STAC).
Kaua’i is the first county in the state to initiate an IAL study.
The goal of the study is to identify candidate lands that meet the criteria of Act 183, SLH 2005. Act 183 directs each county to provide a list of candidate IAL for designation.
The purpose of IAL designations, pursuant to Act 183, is to conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands.
For more information, please contact Lea Kaiaokamalie, staff planner, at 241-4050.
To request an auxiliary aid, American Sign Language interpreter or materials in an alternate format, contact Kaiaokamalie at least five days prior to the respective meeting.
