http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2009/01/18/local/local01.txt
* Please refer to the above article for context.
Introduction
Despite the current decline of the housing market in the US, housing developments continue to be built in areas where developers hope there will be an appeal to upperclass families looking to buy. For current development, Hawaii is an ideal location due to its tropical location as well as its governance by the US which allows for greater feasibility to build relative to non-US island territories. Although development in Hawaii has accommodated an increasing population as well as high rates of tourism, there has been difficulty finding adequate developable space and as a result, zoned land has been reclassified to permit building. However, due to the importance of the limited space to various investors (residents, tourists, developers, politicians, etc.), allowing or disallowing the reclassification of land has led to conflict. Such is the case in Papaikou, Hawaii where there has been plans to reclassify land, currently zoned for agriculture, as urban in order to allow for the development of Papaikou Point. According to West Hawaii Today, Papaikou Point would consist of 200 homes covering about 90 acres of land. Residents have protested the development claiming that they will lose valuable agricultural land as well as a loss of access to shoreline, increased traffic, and higher property taxes. To evaluate whether Papaikou Point should be developed, the current zoning of the development site for Papaikou Point was assessed. Additionally, a suitability analysis of Papaikou for agriculture was performed. Based on the analyses, it is advised that the land in Papaikou not be reclassified, and as a result, that the development be either suspended or have its area reduced in order to maintain economic stability for the current residents of Papaikou.
Methods
Shapefiles for the County of Hawaii were attained and included current land zoning as of March 2007, the boundary of Papaikou, agricultural lands by commodity, soil quality, precipitation levels, and a digital elevation model. To create the map representing the current zoning of the proposed site area, it was necessary to find the extent of the area through the Papaikou Point development proposal. Additionally, the zoning was regrouped in order to allow for easier understanding of the land. All lands that were zoned as agriculture were selected and displayed as a single layer. The same process was undertaken for the residential and commercial district zones. For the suitability analysis, a digital elevation model of Hawaii was attained through the USGS Seamless Server. The image was clipped in order to exclusively show elevation data for Hilo, which includes the town of Papaikou and the potential development site. A hillshade was added to the elevation image in order to show surface detail. Additionally, slope was calculated and displayed. Soil quality data was added and mapped for Hilo. The last two shapefiles added were for precipitation levels and agricultural commodities by area. The data was displayed for the entire island of Hawaii in order to allow for comparisons between Papaikou and the rest of the island. For agricultural commodities, sugarcane was selected and was the only commodity displayed due to its relevance and importance to Papaikou. By reviewing the statistics for the data, the extent of sugarcane area was found for Papaikou and a percent was generated to show the extent of sugarcane in Papaikou relative to the rest of the island.
Results
Based on the map of the current zoning of land in Papaikou, it is evident that most of the land is classified as agricultural while some is zoned as residential and even less as commercial district. As a result, there is very limited space for further development. Therefore, it would be necessary for the agricultural land to be reclassified as urban in order to allow for any substantial development project.
In order to understand the importance of the land within Papaikou for agriculture, a suitability analysis was performed. By analyzing the map of the total area of sugarcane in Hawaii, it was evident that most of the production is occurring on the north-eastern side of the island which includes Papaikou. After calculating the area of sugarcane in Hilo and Papaikou relative to the rest of the island, it was found that about 5% of the area of sugarcane production is occurring in Hilo, with 3% of the area found in Papaikou. Average precipitation was also evaluated for the entire island in order to show differences between Papaikou and other areas. Based on the map, Papaikou has higher average rates of precipitation relative to the rest of Hawaii. Elevation for Papaikou was found to be low relative to other areas. Similarly, the slope of the land in Papaikou was small. Both low elevations and small slope are conducive for agriculture and allow for a suitable surface for tropical crop production. In order to greater understand the quality of the land, the soil of Papaikou was evaluated and found to contain both highly erodible or potentially highly erodible soil, most likely due to Papaikou's proximity to the beach. As a result, developing on this land would increase soil erosion. In contrast, greater crop production would allow for the protection of the soil from wind and water degradation due to crop roots which stabilize soil. Overall, the suitability analysis reveals that Papaikou is highly suitable as an area for agriculture and in particular, for sugarcane production.
In addition to the maps created, a graph showing home sales in Papaikou was included. Since 2005, there has been a decrease in the total number of homes sold in Papaikou.
Conclusion/ Discussion
From the analyses, it can be surmised that the land within Papaikou, including within the proposed site for the Papaikou Point development, is highly suitable for sugar cane production and therefore, should not be reclassified to permit development. A low elevation, small slope, and high levels of of precipitation creates fertile soil in Papaikou and allow for abundant sugarcane production.
About 17% of the residents of Papaikou rely on agriculture, hunting, fishing, and forestry for income. Decreasing the amount of land would have a negative impact on the the economy of Papaikou, whose residents fall within the middle to lower class relative to the rest of Hawaii. In 2008, the median income for Papaikou was $50, 278 compared to Hawaii which had a median income of $67, 214 (http://www.city-data.com/city/Papaikou-Hawaii.html). With a population slightly over 1, 0000 individuals and 500 homes, Papaikou is a rural town with close community relationships. Increasing the population with the addition of 200 housing developments would result in greater waste, stress on the land, traffic, and overall, present problems that the small community of Papaikou will have to face without enough resources to diminish the impact of a higher population. Highly erodible soil or the potential for highly erodible soil in Papaikou is also cause for concern when considering development. Efforts to stabilize the soil to ensure safety will cost the county money that could otherwise be directed towards benefiting the economy of Papaikou. By continuing crop production on the land, the soil can be stabilized by the roots of crops and less funds will need to be directed towards mitigating soil erosion.
Overall, the county of Hawaii needs to consider the economic stability of Papaikou when deciding whether or not it is appropriate to rezone agricultural land as urban in order to permit the building of the Papaikou Point development. Since 2005, home sales in Papaikou have been in steady decline (http://www.city-data.com/city/Papaikou-Hawaii.html). Therefore, it does not appear to be financially viable to build a development until the housing market begins to rebound. It is advised that the Land Use Commission does not approve the reclassification of agricultural land due to its importance for economic stability in Papaikou. As a result, the fully proposed 90 acre development will either need to be reduced in size or temporarily suspended until agreements have been made with the residents of Papaikou. Offering the residents financial support, implementing social programs, or creating more jobs in other industries are possible ways in which the county of Hawaii and the developers of Papaikou Point can move forward with building while considering the needs of the community. Ultimately, the Papaikou residents should have a voice in the decision process regarding the rezoning of agricultural land. Above all, the county of Hawaii should make the livelihoods of residents a priority and evaluate the potential impact that the development will have on the economy.
While this analysis highlights the suitability of the land for agriculture, it is limited by the data available on soil quality. A more detailed analysis on soil quality relative to the rest of Hawaii would strengthen the claim that Papaikou contains land that is important for agriculture and therefore, should not be developed. Additional analyses might include evaluating the impact that the development will have on traffic and waste management in Papaikou.
Maps
Home Sales Chart
*Source: www.city-data.com/city/Papaikou-Hawaii.html
Map Projection: North American Datum 1983, UTM Zone 4
Data Sources:
1. www.city-data.com/city/Papaikou-Hawaii.html
2. Hawaii Statewide GIS Program http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/gis/
3. USGS Seamless Server www.usgs.gov
4. Papaikou Ohana
5. West Hawaii Today www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2009/01/18/local
/local01.txt
6. http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/hawaii/papaikou
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