LEGISLATURE 2006
State legislature considers Hokulia bill
By Tara Godvin
Associated Press
A bill that would have helped out the stalled Hokulia project is still making its way through the Senate despite a recent settlement of the conflict over the Big Island luxury development begun on agricultural land.
Opponents and supporters submitted a two-inch thick pile of testimony on the measure heard by a state Senate committee yesterday. The bill would allow single-family homes in agricultural districts, but only if the land is made up of 10 percent or less of soils classified as among the two richest soil types in the state.
The measure would apply to homes already built on agricultural land or already approved by the counties and at least partially built.
Sen. Russell Kokubun, chairman of the Senate Water, Land and Agriculture Committee, said one of the options would be to allow the counties to decide themselves how to use their own farmland.
Because of the volumes of conflicting testimony, Kokubun (D, Hilo-Naalehu) delayed decision making on the measure until tomorrow.