Committee approves amended extension for Hilo food-systems campus and advances bill to council

The Committee on Legislative Approvals amended and approved bill 16 on Feb. 4, 2025, clearing a time-extension request and sending the measure to full council. The measure concerns a proposed Hawaii Island Agriculture Innovation Park and Food Systems campus at a roughly 8-acre site in Pōnōwai (South Hilo) and updates timing conditions for required frontage and utility improvements.

Why it matters: The project — led by Ho‘olaka (the Food Basket’s lead project team) — combines a food-distribution hub with an agricultural innovation program intended to boost on-island food production, support smaller farmers, and provide distributed fresh product for local food programs.

Applicant request and planning review

The clerk’s reading of the bill described the applicant’s request as a time-extension petition; the applicant’s project director, Justin Clayton of the Food Basket, told the committee the organization needs flexibility on the schedule for frontage improvements, emergency access design and utility sequencing. Clayton asked for an additional five years to finalize engineering, complete required frontage work and sequence installations so items are not constructed and then replaced when later utility work is required. Planning staff worked with the applicant to draft an amendment (communication 76.2) that incorporates that timetable and other technical clarifications.

Project scope and implementation

Committee materials identify the property as about eight acres. Applicant representatives said a full site plan has not yet been finalized and that the overall project budget and components remain subject to design decisions and a capital campaign. Justin Clayton told the committee the original program-level cost estimate was near $134 million but that the team expects to reduce the program cost as the design is refined. In the near term the project plans include on-site wastewater treatment systems until a sewer connection is feasible; the applicants reported preliminary engineering and a predevelopment funding need to complete preconstruction engineering and siting for utilities.

Formal actions and votes

- Motion to amend bill 16 with the applicant-requested changes in communication 76.2 (adds time-extension language and technical clarifications): adopted; clerk recorded the amendment vote in committee as 6 ayes (several council members were excused at the time of the amendment vote). - Motion to amend bill 16 with housekeeping language to align tolling and timing text to recent code updates (communication 76.3): adopted. - Motion to approve bill 16 as amended and forward to full council: adopted (clerk recorded 9 ayes).

Context and next steps

Committee members — including Chair Heather Kimball and several colleagues who said they support the Food Basket’s model — praised the project’s potential to combine food distribution with farm production and training. The committee approved the time-extension language and sent the amended ordinance to full council; the applicant will continue engineering and fundraising while obtaining necessary permits. The committee noted the project will require phased utility work and that on-site wastewater systems are an interim solution until a sewer extension is feasible.

Ending

Bill 16, as amended to reflect the applicant’s requested schedule and clarifications, was forwarded to the full County Council. The project team said it will continue design and fundraising and return with clarified phasing and utility plans as it prepares for construction and occupancy.