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February 25, 2016 I Volume 10 I Issue 4 Zoning Bulletin <br />federal constitutional question." <br />Rezoning —State land use <br />commission reclassifies land <br />from agricultural to urban <br />Opponents argued a stay of the <br />reclassification was required while <br />counties first completed a mapping of <br />important agricultural lands <br />Citation: Sierra Club v. D.R. Horton -Schuler Homes, LLC, 2015 <br />WL 9306955 (Haw. 2015) <br />HAWAI'I (12/22/15)—This case addressed the issue of whether <br />the Hawai'i State Constitution required a stay of state Land Use Com- <br />mission reclassification (rezoning) proceedings pending county agri- <br />cultural land determinations. The case also addressed whether a par- <br />ticular reclassification from agricultural state land use to urban state <br />land use was proper. <br />The Background/Facts: In January 2007, D.R. Horton -Schuler <br />Homes, LLC ("Horton -Schuler") filed a Petition for Land Use District <br />Boundary Amendment ("Petition") before the Hawai'i's Land Use <br />Commission ("LUC"). Horton -Schuler sought the reclassification of <br />approximately 1525.516 acres of its land from an agricultural state <br />land use district to an urban state land use district. Horton -Schuler <br />proposed the development of a "mixed -use, transit -ready com- <br />munity," which would consist of residential, business, and com- <br />mercial areas, transit stops, schools, parks, and open space (the <br />"Project"). The Final Environmental Impact Statement ("FEIS") filed <br />with the Petition explained that Horton -Schuler would be relocating <br />its existing agricultural tenants onto replacement lands. The FEIS <br />also noted that the proposed Project conformed to the Hawai'i State <br />Plan in that it would help provide "economic stability, diversity, and <br />growth for present and future generations," as well as provide "vari- <br />ous housing and employment opportunities" for the region. <br />The Sierra Club and Clayton Hee, in his individual capacity, (col- <br />lectively, the "Opponents") were permitted to intervene in the <br />Petition. They opposed the loss of and reclassification of the agricul- <br />tural lands. <br />6 © 2016 Thomson Reuters <br />