(BIVN) – On Tuesday, a Hawaiʻi County Council committee advanced a resolution to renew the designation of North Kohala as an Enterprise Zone, however the new designation will not include the industrial area of Kawaihae.

The Hawaiʻi County Council Committee on Governmental Relations and Economic Development gave the resolution a positive recommendation during its meeting in Kona, after a presentation on Enterprise Zones from the administration.

The present Enterprise Zone designation for North Kohala will expire in April of 2020. Officials say the program has proven to be economically beneficial to the district.

The proposed re-designation excludes the area of Kawaihae because it is “no longer eligible for inclusion as a result of the 2010 United States Census and pursuant to Chapter 6 of Title 15, Hawaii Administrative Rules,” the resolution states.

“It’s a little puzzling to me,” Kohala councilman Tim Richards said of the Kawaihae exclusion. “That, to me, is a logical place for this to occur. We have yet to get a real good explanation of why that’s not being designated.”

If Resolution 400-19 is approved by the full council, the designation will allow Mayor Harry Kim to submit an application to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, for processing and a recommendation to the Governor.