Tightening Farm Rules Might Sound Good, But Could Hurt Real Farmers

Michael Levine/Civil Beat

WAIALUA — He's been a farmer for 10 years now, but Al Santoro sometimes still sounds like a naval intelligence analyst.

"Nobody's cracked the code yet," he told about 30 members of a tour on a recent Saturday morning, discussing the challenges facing small farms like his Poamoho Organic Produce as Hawaii transitions from a plantation mentality into diversified agriculture.

Santoro is among those who have voiced opposition to two proposals currently before the Honolulu City Council. Bill 23, if approved, would limit ag parcels to one dwelling with no more than 1,500 square feet of floor space. Bill 24 seeks to clean up various sections of the county's land use ordinance and generally tighten regulations on farm land. Both bills are pending action by the Council's Planning Committee.

The bills essentially equate the size of a home with the productivity of the land on which it's built. However, they offer no evidence that the two are related. Standing on Santoro's land, you can see one neighbor "agricultural" parcel with a big home and two horses, with no crops. Another parcel has no home, two horses and no crops. Santoro's acreage, a true farm, has a home bigger than the proposed limit. It's difficult to see the link.

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