Ho‘opili- Does Urban Agriculture have a Future in Hawaii?

Will garden plots adjacent to homes make up for the loss of Oahu’s prime agricultural lands?

It’s a worldwide phenomenon, and one that doesn’t bode well for Mother Earth. Has the “Market” become our lord and master?

By Jack Kelly
The Kona Story
Jan 25, 2012

Excerpt:

The Ho‘opili project on Oahu has come back before the Land Use Commission again. Developer D.H. Horton is seeking rezoning of 1,500 acres of prime agricultural land from Ag to Urban, to allow construction of an 11,750-home subdivision. D.R. Horton first brought the project to the LUC in 2009, but the request was denied because it lacked an adequate timeline for the development.

Major agricultural producer Aloun Farms presently farms about 1,100 of those acres and produces a good percentage of the locally grown fresh vegetables in the area. Opponents of the Ho‘opili project had been citing the loss of Aloun Farms as a major reason for turning down the rezoning. But suddenly, Aloun Farms came out in support of the project, saying it had other land already lined up. Honolulu Civil Beat quoted Aloun Farms representative Alec Sou as saying he supported the project because of the difficult economy. “I do support it, from the standpoint of job creation,” Sou said.

Read the complete article here.

Ho‘opili ‘s Urban agriculture program – (developer’s vision) here.