LIHUE — One key hurdle that Coco Palms Resort developers say is needed to rebuild the iconic Wailua hotel may be cleared by the Kauai County Council today.
This obstacle, leaders from current Honolulu-based developer Coco Palms Hui, LLC say, is Bill 2502, which would repeal the last remaining building ordinance instituted after Hurricane Iniki struck the island more than 21 years ago.
The ordinance allows for “a legally nonconforming structure to be reconstructed to its condition prior to Hurricane Iniki,” according to county documents.
Members of the council’s Planning Commission unanimously approved a bill amendment last week to delay the repeal for two years so that Coco Palms Hui developers can rebuild the Coco Palms Resort within that time.
But the decision was not an easy one for many council members, who saw the move as a calculated gamble.
“There’s a high level of cynicism in the community for good reason, because we’ve heard really good presentations from very sincere people … but when they got into the details, all the commitments they made here didn’t necessarily happen,” Planning Commission Chair Tim Bynum said.
Tentative plans call for the renovation of three guest-room buildings along Kuhio Highway; repair of five other hotel structures, including the Seashell Restaurant, Queen’s Audience Hall and Chapel in the Palms; and rebuild of the remaining structures on the property, including the King’s, Queen’s, and Prince cottages.
Attorney Michael Belles said Coco Palms Hui developers are also working with the Hawaiian Lands Trust and Department of Land and Natural Resources to determine whether four acres on an adjacent 20-acre site can be set aside for a cultural center or pavilion tentatively outlined in current plans.
The remaining 16-acres, Belles said, are designated as preservation and conservation areas.
The first floors of the concrete hotel structures along Kuhio Highway, Belles said, will be converted into closed parking spaces to comply with Federal Emergency Management Agency flood requirements.
Other structures on the property, including the cottages along the lagoon and the chapel will be elevated.
Coco Palms Hui principal Chad Waters said the current purchase agreement between Coco Palms Hui and Coco Palms Ventures, LLC stipulates that the hotel’s title will be changed prior to construction but after building permits are approved.
“We know we’re not necessarily going to make everyone happy,” Belles said. “We’re going to have to compromise, but we do want to rebuild the property that is much loved and cherished by the people who know the Coco Palms, whether they worked there or served there or had family, friends or loved ones who spent any degree of time there.”
Belles also dismissed claims that a delay of the Iniki ordinance repeal would allow Coco Palms Hui developers to skirt health and safety codes, laws and regulations.
The Iniki ordinance, he explained, would primarily exempt the project from county setback and height ordinances approved since 1992.
Coco Palms Hui investors, Belles said, have spent at least $500,000 to date on entitlement plans for Coco Palms since the property was acquired in August.
“It’s a continual bleeding and it’s something where they need some certainty for them, investors, and for the community to know that this thing is going to move ahead,” Belles said. “Right now, the principal obstacle is the Iniki ordinance, because if we don’t get beyond that, it doesn’t make it impossible but it does make it more problematic.”
Moving forward, however, will take time, Belles said.
County building permits issued to the former property owners, Coco Palms Ventures, LLC, in 2007 have been voided and new permits requested by Coco Palms Hui, LLC are now suspended.
“We understand that, we respect that, and we know that we need to have time to sit down with the various county agencies with the supervision of the County Attorney’s Office and make sure that we do things right,” Belles said.
Planning Committee member Ross Kagawa, who introduced the bill amendment for Mel Rapozo, said he is willing to give a Coco Palms rebuilding effort one more shot.
“I want Coco Palms back and rebuilt to the extent that I’m willing to gamble one last time,” Kagawa said. “I have that special feeling that these are the guys to make it happen.”
But not everyone is convinced.
Councilman Gary Hooser said he would like to have more solid assurances.
He suggested that Coco Palms Hui investors and developers create a community fund, maybe $250,000, that would either be returned to the company upon breaking ground or turned over to the county for another redevelopment effort, if this one was unsuccessful.
“The county has been sitting on this ordinance for a long time and people come and so you’re here asking us to gamble on you and extend it for two more years in the hopes that you can do what you believe you want to do,” Hooser said. “I understand that, but there is a little concern, because what we have, essentially, is good people sitting in front of us and stressing that we have a track record and we promise we’re going to do this.”
Bynum said he is willing to give Coco Palms Hui a shot to revive the hotel but feels reluctant to do so based on past efforts.
“The way I see it, it’s straight up — are we going to give Coco Palms one more chance or not,” Bynum said. “This is one mechanism to do it.”
Fellow committee member JoAnn Yukimura said she supports the rebuilding effort but would like to determine whether Coco Palms Hui developers would be required to provide workforce housing — a current law that developers may be required to follow, Belles said.
“I think it holds many possibilities in terms of resources to restore the property and to have it be a viable entity for our community as a place of employment and continuing a legacy,” Yukimura said. “I am aware that this is delaying, in some respects, an ability of the community to step forward with its own vision but it may be possible that we can merge the visions and I am hopeful that process will occur within the next 24 months.”
The bill will be taken up during the council’s public meeting starting at 9 a.m. today in the Historic County Building’s Council Chambers.
