The Kaua’i County Council has unanimously approved the zoning ordinance that will allow Gay & Robinson to build the 250-unit Kapalawai Resort in Makaweli. The nearly two-year zoning process gathered momentum in the past few weeks as all seven council
The Kaua’i County Council has unanimously approved the zoning ordinance that will allow Gay & Robinson to build the 250-unit Kapalawai Resort in Makaweli.
The nearly two-year zoning process gathered momentum in the past few weeks as all seven council members expressed support for the project.
After adding amendments designating 20 units of affordable housing on the property for employees of the resort, guaranteeing 24-hour public access to the shoreline and 2.5 acres for public picnicking, the council approved the project Thursday.
Developers say they hope to have the project near completion within five years.
Gay & Robinson has promised at least 225 service-industry jobs at the resort, with West Side residents getting the first shot at everything from managing to waiting tables.
The resort will also feature a restored royal fishpond with cultural and historic ties. To oversee the pond’s restoration, the company has retained Bill Kikuchi, who is retired from teaching at Kaua’i Community College and is known statewide for his fishpond expertisen.
Kikuchi has said the pond is nearly silted over.
Activists had claimed there are many other historically significant sites on the proposed resort site, but Kikuchi said the only truly significant site one is the fish pond.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
