Important agricultural lands in Hawaii to be determined at meetings

Meetings will be held April 15th and April 29th

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting is in the middle of organizing a mapping project on Oahu, the third largest of the Hawaiian islands, to help determine which lands meet the needed requirements and can be considered as important agricultural lands (IAL). Under State law, each county must map lands within their boundaries to be considered for IAL designation.

Under Hawaii State law, for lands IAL must be able to do the following:

1. Produce high, sustainable yields when treated with proper farming methods
2. Contribute to Hawaii’s economy and produce products for export or local consumption
3. Promote the expansion of future agricultural activities and income

Government officials are seeking input from landowners, farmers, producers and residents about the type of land to be included as agricultural lands in Honolulu.

There are two meetings scheduled for people to attend so they can be actively engaged in the processes.

The first meeting is Wednesday, April 15^th at the Windward Community College – Hale Akoakoa Room 105. It will begin around 5:30pm and wrap up around 8:30pm.

The second meeting is Wednesday, April 29^th in the Kapolei Hale Conference Rooms A-C. The meeting will start close to 5:30pm and finish around 8:30pm. This meeting is a rescheduling of the cancelled April 1^st meeting.

After the meetings are concluded and the maps are drawn up they will be sent to Honolulu City Council for review, then to the State Land Use Commission for their final stamp of approval.

Join the conversation and tell us if you’ll be attending any of these meetings. If you do, what did you take away from them? Are you happy with the decisions that were made?