Waimea rezoning draws hours of testimony; council amends zoning conditions and delays votes to March 6

The Hawaii County Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions heard more than two hours of testimony Feb. 4 on rival plans for a Pu‘u Kapu parcel in Waimea and on two linked measures — bill 198, a request to amend the State Land Use District from agricultural to rural, and bill 199, a proposal to change county zoning to allow three neighborhood commercial lots and five residential-agriculture lots.

The proposals, filed by Kapolehu Land LLC for a 5.349-acre property fronting Mamalahoa Highway, would create three commercial parcels with about 18,600 square feet of gross leasable space and five half-acre residential-ag lots behind them. Supporters told the committee the project follows the Waimea design plan and would add small commercial spaces and housing; opponents said the rezoning would take valuable agricultural land, worsen traffic and accelerate gentrification.

Why it matters: The discussion pits two long-standing priorities for South Kohala — maintaining agricultural land and food security, and accommodating measured town growth and small local businesses — and tests how the county balancing process treats contested rezoning requests.

Planning context and the applicant proposal

Jeff Darrow of the county Planning Department told the committee the applicant seeks a State Land Use boundary amendment for approximately 2.653 acres and a change of zone from Agricultural-5 to Neighborhood Commercial (CN-10) for 2.325 acres and Residential-Agriculture RA-0.5 for 3.024 acres. If approved, the applicant proposes to subdivide the parcel into eight lots: three commercial lots fronting…