Hawaii County land use restrictions for agriculturally zoned land.

It is beautiful, but it is not for everyone!

Hawaii County is a place of great beauty and vast open spaces.  But it is also a place where the goals of food self-sufficiency and diversified and sustainable economic growth are taken seriously. At the moment, the County is heavily dependent on tourism, which leaves us in a precarious position when visitor numbers drop for any reason.  We also import an appalling percentage of our food, which leaves us vulnerable to vagaries of labor strikes and natural disasters.

Land zoned for agricultural use, Hawaii County.
Hawaii County and the State restrict use of agriculturally zoned lands

Agricultural lands receive favorable tax treatment.

First and foremost, the property taxes on land in agriculture are much lower than those on land used for residential purposes.  The actual rate is higher for some agricultural land than it is for some residential land, but the assessed values to which those rates are applied results in significantly lower taxes.  Grazing land, in particular, is assessed at about $10,000/acre for non-dedicated land, and is currently taxed at $9.35/$1000.  Homeowner rates are currently $6.15/$1000 of assessed value, but the land and improvements are assessed at market value. Also, those low homeowner rates apply only to primary residences, not to second homes or homes held for income or investment.  Rates are available here: http://www.hawaiipropertytax.com/tax_rates.html

So what constitutes an agricultural use, and where is County land use policy headed?

You can access a handy chart showing the permissible uses of land zoned in various ways here: http://www.hiplanningdept.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Permitted-Uses-Table-091917.pdf

Some of the uses listed in the chart don’t do much to increase food production.  There is obvious value in keeping land in agricultural use, in the sense that it is much easier to later convert open land to food production than it is to restore land that has been used for residential, commercial or industrial purposes so that it can be safely used for such production.  But given the growing emphasis the State is placing on a diversified economy and food self-sufficiency, it is reasonable to expect increasing restrictions on use of agriculturally productive land for purposes other than food production and commercial agriculture.  The days during which a developer could easily purchase a pasture, get it rezoned and subdivided, and build and sell houses, are gone.

Current restrictions on use of agriculturally zoned land.

Even now, the number of dwellings, and the type of occupants of dwellings, are restricted on some agricultural lands.  Some lands are governed by the State Land Use Commission, and lands classified as less productive are subject to County regulation.  This is a huge topic, and while I could post links to every source that would need to be consulted in order to make a determination as to the governing body and restrictions on a given parcel, I instead advise anyone considering a purchase of agriculturally zoned land in Hawaii County to consult with the Hawaii County Planning Department.  Have the TMK of the parcel you are considering, and a planner should be able to outline for you all of the permitted and prohibited uses for that land.  See also http://livinginwaimea.com/2019/03/29/kohala-ranch-property-taxes/

Don’t plan on paying for your agricultural land purchase by selling agricultural goods!

If you want to make a profit on agriculture in Hawaii, your options are even more limited.  Some crops do reasonably well in some years, but given the cost of land, it is very difficult to thrive as a farmer or rancher in Hawaii, year in and year out.  Nonetheless, there are quite a few ranchers and farmers here.  Why?  Because even though it is very hard work, it is also endlessly interesting and occasionally very rewarding!

The Kona Ironman 2018 is next weekend-beware of cyclists!

The Kona Ironman 2018 is coming soon. https://www.active.com/triathlon/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2018-ironman-world-championship This is a huge event on the west side of the Big Island.  Already, with the race in 8 days, the number of new faces and rental cars in Waimea is appreciable.

The Ironman relies heavily on volunteers, and lots of people from our area get involved.  In fact, if you’re on the Island, you’re likely to be involved no matter how hard to try to avoid it.

There are more drivers who are not familiar with the area or our local driving habits, there are cyclists in places you don’t see them the rest of the year, and many restaurants, as well as farmers markets, will be especially busy.

There’s a happy bustle in the air.  This is a group of focused, highly competitive individuals, along with the families who have supported their considerable efforts to qualify for the race,  They are sometimes more aggressive and less accomodating than the local people, and feathers can get ruffled.  This is especially true when it comes to sharing the roads.

Our roads are not designed to accommodate cyclists, which is a crying shame.  Poor planning and a failure to allocate our resources to promoting what is so obviously a great match with our local climate have led to dangerous conditions for cyclists and flairing tempers for motorists.

Cyclists who come from more cyclist-friendly communities, and are more focused on their times than their surroundings, can be oblivious to the interference they are creating for commuters who just want to get to work, or get home.  I hope and believe the Ironman organizers spend a fair amount of time counseling competitors to be aware of conditions on the roads they use, but accidents still happen all too frequently.

Unless you’re employed in a trade related to tourism, or particularly keen on endurance sports, the Ironman can seem like more of a curse than a blessing.  While it would be lovely if all competitors and their families were to approach their time on the Island as if they were respectful guests, many will not.  So it’s up to the locals to put up with the horde of invaders with every bit of grace we can muster.  They are a happy, if oblivious lot, and they will be gone soon after the Kona Ironman 2018 race ends on October 13!

Tropical Storm Olivia

Tropical Storm Olivia approaches

Tropical Storm Olivia is approaching. We have drizzles from time to time,  and sun every once in a while.  We have almost no wind, and it’s not particularly hot or muggy.  We did have a small earthquake a while ago.  I do not like it when I must chose between going outside because of any earthquake and staying inside because of high winds or lightening!

The pasture animals are staying close to shelter

All of the animals have chosen to stay under cover this morning.  I will have to keep a close eye on the sheep, since if they decide to leave their shed

The weather this morning

they can easily get stranded if the water rises quickly.  That can result in horrible health problems, including fly strike, so I may need to use my trusty dog, and his not so trusty side-kick, to bring them in if the streams start to rise.

Even if the winds do not rise, flooding can make life miserable

We have been threatened by hurricanes often, and have yet to be badly affected by one. Some believe that the modeling used by the forecasters does not do a good job of accounting for the effect of our huge mountains. https://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/ For whatever reason, storms tend to veer away or lose strength as the approach. But even without strong winds, flooding can make life miserable, and I am taking Tropical Storm Olivia seriously.

Low lying areas will flood, and trees will come down even without high winds if the soil becomes too soggy. The power may go out-although that’s just an excuse to eat up the ice cream in the freezer! Kids will get antsy if they must stay home and indoors, and pets will track in water and worse if allowed outdoors.

We are lucky, though, that we live on an Island!

The rain water will flow out to sea fairly quickly, the sun will come out and within days of tropical storm Olivia’s arrival, there will be little to remind us of her!

Horse keeping in Hawaii

Horses at top of property

Horse keeping in Hawaii is not always fun.  On the day I took this picture I had already been searching for a while.  I was sopping wet because the rain had started unexpectedly.  I had gone out without rain gear. I had just about concluded that I’d missed the horses standing under trees near the barn, when I did one last visual sweep toward the top of the property. You can barely see them in this picture, but the white spot just above the center of the picture is one of them.  They weren’t exactly stuck, but they were reluctant to come down a steep slope.   I had to go up and halter the lead mare, then negotiate with her for a while before we agreed on a path toward the barn.

Keeping horses at pasture is better for them-and usually works out well for me, since they tend to make their way back toward the barn at feeding time.

Horses heading down to barn
On a good day, they come down on their own

But it doesn’t always work out.

I keep two horses in at night. One because she is ancient and frail, and if I keep her in she burns fewer calories shivering and eats 10 pounds of senior, which helps keep the weight on her. I have to shut her in or she’ll chose to go out and lie down, and she was getting very skinny. I feed her a combination of alfalfa pellets and Purina Senior, available at Waimea Feed Supply https://www.yellowpages.com/kamuela-hi/feed-store , and Nutrena Senior Safe Choice, available at Animal Health in Waimea https://www.yellowpages.com/kamuela-hi/feed-store and Alfalfa Hay and Cubes in Pauuilo https://www.manta.com/c/mmqmk71/alfalfa-hay-cubes

I combine the three feeds when all are available because there are many times when one or more are not available, and I want her to be able to transition easily to whatever I have for her.

The other I keep in because she has chronically bad feet, and the best way I’ve found of keeping her feet in decent shape is to allow them to dry out every night. Plus, the two horses keep each other company, so they don’t get upset when the rest of the herd heads back out after feeding.  If it weren’t for the needs of those two horses, I would have let them all stay out last night!

I supplement all my horses with some alfalfa, a scoop a day of Platinum Performance, plus free choice Hawaii Horse Minerals.  The latter is especially important because our grasses have a component that binds with calcium, making it unavailable for the horses to metabolize.  The Hawaii Horse Minerals boosts the amount of calcium available to horses, so that their calcium/phosphorus ratio remains healthy.  The Horse Minerals are available at Animal Health in Waimea and, I believe, Alfalfa Hay and Cubes in Pauuilo.

Where’s the best place on the Island to keep horses?  Without questions, Waikii Ranch.  The climate is about perfect-cool and dry.  They have extensive riding trails, an arena, and a polo field.  It is difficult to get through the design review process, and expensive to build, so if you can find something already built that suits you, that may be a smarter option.  Here are some current listings: https://judy.hawaii.elitepacific.com/results-gallery/?hood=3374528&sort=importdate&status=A

Recycling in Waimea

Recycling in Waimea takes some effort.  The county does not make it easy. Mixed recycling is available at most transfer stations, including the one in Waimea.  Glass and metal can be separately recycled.  The best information on what is acceptable is here: http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/recycle/

The County has recently stopped accepting plastics.  This is a nation-wide issue, but that doesn’t make it any easier to bear.  I hope a local entrepreneur will soon start a business manufacturing items using locally recycled plastics, but that will take a few years. 

Recycle Across America is doing some great work in both encouraging recycling and educating the public about how to recycle effectively.  https://www.recycleacrossamerica.org/.  I gather that plastic recycling has come to a stand still because China decided it was too costly to clean soiled plastics.  If only we had all rinsed our plastic containers!

Recycling hazardous household waste here is even more inconvenient.  There is only one day a year when the Waimea transfer station accepts hazardous household waste. Obviously, many people are going to take the expedient step, and simply discard such waste into the trash bins. The good news is that if you store your hazardous wastes up and schedule your time to deliver it to the transfer station on the right day, the people staffing the project are fantastic!  Very friendly and efficient.

Recycling in Waimea is not easy, but it is worth the effort!