House committee looks
at agricultural tourism bill

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By B.J. Reyes
Associated Press

A House committee yesterday approved a measure that would allow agricultural tourism on working farms and processing facilities but held on to a bill appropriating $150,000 from the state's tourism special fund to enhance such venues.

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Rep. Felipe "Jun" Abinsay, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, agreed with concerns raised by the Hawaii Tourism Authority over the funding bill.

"While we encourage efforts to develop and enhance agricultural tourism, we would like to see this bill tabled and refer these types of projects to the individual counties," said Rex Johnson, the authority's executive director.

The committee voted 13-1 to hold the bill.

Committee members unanimously passed the other measure over objections from groups who argued that allowing tourism-related activities on agriculturally zoned land opens the possibility for abuse by developers.

Among the opponents testifying against the bill was Jeff Mikulina, director of the Hawaii chapter of the Sierra Club, who said abuses already have occurred. "We've seen abuses and you can really -- with creative lawyering -- make anything incidental to ag and further these abuses," Mikulina said.

The bill would only allow tourism-related functions as secondary activities on a working farm or processing facility.

Even supporters of the measure agreed that measures must be taken to ensure that abuse does not occur.

"Without requirements and definitions, all activities will be allowed on agricultural lands so long as there is some sort of linkage to tourism," said Alan Takemoto, a spokesman for the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.

Abinsay, D-Kalihi-Kapalama, said the opponents raised legitimate concerns, but the committee agreed to pass the bill out of committee to keep discussion alive on the issue.

The bill now goes to the House Finance Committee.