Kaua‘i County is seeking up to $75,000 to hire legal counsel to defend itself in a lawsuit in which Koloa Marketplace claims the county should have automatically approved its shopping center and office complex in Koloa in 2006 when it failed to process its permits in a timely manner.
Koloa Marketplace contends Planning Director Ian Costa had 60 days from Dec., 28, 2005, when the application process was completed, to issue a report for or against the project.
The requirement is part of the county’s comprehensive zoning ordinance, the lawsuit said.
Costa failed to meet the deadline, hence the project should have been automatically approved, Gary Grimmer and Karl Kobayashi, two Honolulu attorneys representing Koloa Marketplace, said in the lawsuit.
During its scheduled meeting at the historic County Building Wednesday, the county Attorney’s Office will ask the council for $75,000 to augment a legal battle against Koloa Marketplace.
Grimmer, Kobayashi nor Costa were available for comment yesterday.
The plaintiff claims the county has constitutionally denied it due process and has violated development rights.
The status of the project is up in the air, but if it goes forward, it will enhance business opportunities in Koloa town but will contribute to more traffic congestion on the South Shore.
Koloa Marketplace is owned mostly by interests from Hawai‘i and Michigan.
The process for developing the project began on Sept. 26, 2005, when Koloa Marketplace filed applications for a use permit, a project development permit and a Class IV zoning permit.
The lawsuit notes the county’s comprehensive zoning ordinance required Costa to issue a report for or against the project on Feb. 26, 2006 — 60 days after the county had reviewed the application on Dec. 28, 2005.
That day came and went, and no report was issued, the lawsuit states.
With no report available as of that day, the plaintiffs claim they had automatic approval to move forward with the project, in compliance with the county’s comprehensive zoning ordinance and a state law.
Although Koloa Marketplace representatives had made that situation known to the county, the county Planning Commission finally took action on Sept. 26, 2006, and denied the project, the plaintiffs said.
The action essentially amounts to the county illegally “taking” a property to the detriment of the developer, opening the way for compensation, the plaintiffs said.
The plaintiffs said they would seek damages during any upcoming trial.
Koloa Marketplace had entered into a agreement with the Knudsen Family to develop the 8-acre project near the intersection of Koloa and Maluhia roads. The Knudsen family has held land in South Kaua‘i for 150 years.
Koloa Marketplace proposed a project that included 12 separate buildings, which would range between a few hundred square feet to 12,000 square feet each.
The development would involve the relocation of the Koloa Post Office to another part of the project site and the demolition of the existing Post Office building, which would be replaced by a small supermarket.
The buildings to be constructed would take up 76,200 square feet of the parcel, with 75,000 square feet of it to be leased.
