LIHUE — A new Longs Drugs store proposed in Waipouli would replace 103 coconut trees in a grove protected by the county’s Exceptional Tree Ordinance. The vast majority of them were planted more than a century ago and are between 80 to 100 feet tall.
Pat Cowan, construction director at KZ DevCo, said Longs Drugs does not yet own the property, but is in the process of buying it, with the transaction in escrow.
“The normal coconut tree survives for about 100 years,” said Jerry Nishek, general manager of Kauai Nursery and Landscaping. He said the trees, at 103 years old, are at a point where they can’t push water up and are starting to die.
Some of the trees may live another 10 or 15 years, but others may die a year from now, Nishek said at a Kauai Arborist Advisory Committee meeting Thursday morning.
Rayne Regush, chairwoman of the Wailua-Kapaa Neighborhood Association, questioned the legality of cutting down the trees.
“It’s important to know that the state Hawaii Revised Statues, Chapter 58, about the exceptional trees, emphasizes protection of the trees and does not make exception for commercial uses of the property,” she said.
The new Longs Drugs is being proposed on a lot between Aleka Loop and Kuhio Highway, immediately in front of the Courtyard by Marriott in Waipouli. The store and its cement parking lot would cover most of the land.
Rows of coconut trees would be planted on grassy areas north of the property and along Kuhio Highway, in the parking lot and on the perimeter of the property.
The original coconut grove was planted in 1911 by Edward Broadbent, according to the Arborist Report prepared by Nishek. The lot in question had an estimated 161 trees, which were part of a larger plantation with 1,100 trees. Out of the 103 trees in the lot, 82 are thought to be originally planted in 1911.
Cowan said the intent is to replace each tree that would be taken out, leaving the number of live trees unchanged.
“We are looking at purchasing over 100 new trees … which is an extraordinary amount for a project of this scope,” he said.
Nishek said the trees will probably come from Kauai Nursery.
Looking at the project during earlier stages, Cowan said he questioned what was important about those trees, since there are lots of coconut trees on Kauai. He said the answer was a row of trees giving the plantation-style feel of the area, which is what he wants to recreate.
“It’s going to have the same visual effect from the highway,” he said.
Landscape architect Shelley McCelvey said the store and parking lot were projected as an island to maintain the existing trees. The grading plan was also done in a manner that would preserve the trees. But given the Arborist Report’s findings that the trees would not survive much longer, her recommendation was that the centenary trees be replaced rather than maintained.
“To replace them further down the line would cause a lot of disruption,” she said.
Architect Avery Youn, responsible for the processing of permits, said the outcome of this project is crucial.
“If you don’t do it now, when the project goes away and nothing happens, then all the trees will start dying and nobody will replace them,” he said.
The committee, by a 3-1 vote, accepted the preliminary plans for the property. Committee member Dee Crowell, who is also the county’s deputy planning director, voted against the motion because he wanted to see a more detailed plan.
The committee also voted to transmit their decision to the Kauai County Council, and asked representatives for the project to come back with plans to perpetuate the grove.
