HILO, Hawai‘i — Hawai‘i County has released a final draft of its plan for the island’s development over the next 25 years.
After nearly a decade of preparation, the 2045 General Plan was published last week. The document outlines the county’s long-term goals and priorities for how its resources are used in the future.
The final draft describes the county’s general vision for a wide array of fields ranging from stewardship of the ‘aina, sustainable development, transportation, housing, public services and more, while not going into specifics for any particular project.
The updated plan is sorely needed, given that the county is currently operating under its 2005 plan. In particular, Planning Director Zendo Kern noted that the current General Plan does not address climate change, but the third chapter in the 2045 plan outlines a suite of climate goals and policies.
The climate change chapter describes dual goals for climate mitigation — reducing the environmental impact of various sectors such as transportation and commercial energy — and climate adaptation, improving resilience to the unavoidable natural disasters and changing weather patterns that will come as the environment degrades.
Among the climate- related objectives described in the plan is a reiteration of the county’s goal to reduce its carbon footprint to net-zero emissions by 2024 and to convert its government vehicle fleet to 100 percent renewable-powered vehicles by 2035.
This could be achieved, according to the document, by supporting updates to the county building codes to incentivize energy- efficient designs, prioritizing the installation of electric vehicle chargers at county facilities and developing “urban tree inventories” for developed areas including Hilo and Kailua-Kona, among other methods.
Kern said via email that the new draft focuses on climate change and sustainability beyond their dedicated sections, with those elements “infused into the goals, objectives, policies and actions throughout the plan.”
“We’re focused on skating to where the puck is going, not where it is,” said Mayor Mitch Roth in a statement. “By embedding these priorities throughout the plan … we’re ensuring that our community is prepared for the future, not just responding to the present.”
The document has been shaped by public feedback throughout its development process, which began in 2015. Kern said comments about each draft shaped the next, which will continue through this year.
Following the publication of the plan, another public comment period is underway. Two in-person public informational workshops will be held: one from 2 to 4 p.m. Aug. 28 at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center and the other from 2 to 4 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Arc of Hilo.
Residents will have 21 days after that second workshop to submit comments to the Planning Department, after which all comments and the document will be reviewed by the Windward and Leeward planning commissions. Those bodies will have 150 days to review the plan and provide their recommendations.
The document can be viewed, and comments can be submitted, at tinyurl.com/8vpyka48.
Land use
One of the longest single sections of the plan is the subchapter about land use, which details a myriad of challenges facing the county, including a lack of infrastructure, an inconsistent building code, public misunderstanding and misinformation about land use policies, and more.
Among the plan’s various land use objectives is to use “Smart Growth” principles to focus development within designated urban centers through methods such as redeveloping underoccupied shopping centers into mixed-use developments, and prioritizing increasing density and rehabilitating abandoned buildings in urban areas.
As for rural areas, the plan advocates for “preserving rural character and lifestyle” through the development of “new small-scale rural communities or extensions of existing rural communities,” among other things.
The plan also recommends policies that “discourage intensive residential development in areas of high volcanic hazard.”
Elsewhere in the document, the plan proposes that the county develop a process for designating places around the island as “Natural Beauty Sites” for preservation, and includes a list of more than 100 possible candidates. Natural Beauty Sites in Hilo include obvious locations like Coconut Island and Rainbow Falls but also more esoteric examples like the “Viewpoint on hilltop looking over Hilo Bay” on Ponahawai Street.
Housing
The subchapter on housing notes that the cost of building in Hawai‘i has discouraged the development of low- and middle-income housing options, while those affordable housing options that are available are typically far away from goods, services and places of employment.
The plan recommends regular housing inventory data analysis to identify gaps in the county’s housing stock, and to reduce the cost and processing time for permit applications for affordable housing projects. Another recommendation is for policies that incentivize landowners to provide affordable housing units in certain areas in order to prevent land-banking of unimproved properties.
Tourism
The plan encourages the county to continue its initiatives developing regenerative tourism opportunities, but also to “maintain monitoring of resident sentiment towards the visitor industry.” It also recommends the county remove barriers that hinder the visitor industry from buying local Big Island products.
Water
The plan states that water management in Hawai‘i has become overly segregated by various private entities that manage various water resources and recommends a “One Water” strategy, unifying the management of waters of all kinds — stormwater, wastewater, seawater, groundwater, etc. — into a single plan.
Other water recommendations include a regularly updated county drainage master plan, the collection of stormwater to prevent flooding the sewer systems, and expanding wastewater infrastructure in underdeveloped rural areas.
Energy
Although the plan does encourage the development of renewable energy infrastructure to break the county’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, it does not specify any particular type of renewable energy, despite the county’s formation in 2023 of a “Pacific Hydrogen Alliance” between sister cities in California and Japan.
