As the year winds down to a close, The Garden Island staff looked back on some of the defining moments of the last year on Kaua‘i.
For another year, our island faced the coronavirus head-on, pushing forward through tier changes that defined how we could gather and navigating rules to mitigate the spread of disease. Now, months into reopening and welcoming tourists, the county faces a surge of COVID-19 cases linked to the omicron variant.
While we’re looking forward to 2022, let’s look back at 2021:
Hanalei Hillside
Perhaps, one of the biggest stories this year included the March-morning Hanalei landslide that buried a portion of Kuhio Highway on way down to Hanalei Bridge.
The part of the slope that fell onto the highway isn’t exactly in the same place as the 2018 landslide that temporarily closed the road.
The landslide, presumably caused by an irrigation tunnel, closed Kuhio Highway in both directions, effectively cutting off the only land access to Hanalei and areas farther north, including Wainiha and Ha‘ena.
With the road closed, residents banded together to create a shuttle system to get people and resources in and out of Hanalei across the river and up to Princeville.
One-lane access opened up less than a week later, with alternating traffic patterns through mid-October. The seven-month access issues had a devastating impact on businesses, which saw a slower recovery rate than other parts of the island.
The return of tourists
Some of the most affected during the pandemic have been business owners.
In February, small business owners banded together to figure out how to survive during the pandemic. At meetings, business owners shared their thoughts on the new bills being discussed on the county and state levels regarding the Safe Travels program.
It wasn’t until May, when the state began allowing vaccinated individuals to bypass pre-travel testing and quarantines for inter-island travel, that we entered a new stage in the visitor game.
It was then we started to see a rental car shortage and the advent of Turo. In 2020, many rental cars had to be sent back to the mainland, so when visitors and tourists began to arrive on Kaua‘i, inventory was slim.
By July, vaccinated travelers from the United States and its territories into Hawai‘i were able to bypass quarantine measures with proof of their inoculation as the state’s Department of Health reported a 57% vaccination rate, with 62% of the population having received one of two doses.
In August, as visitors continued to fly to the state, officials considered another lockdown if the surge in COVID-19 delta variant cases continued to rise.
Throughout the fall, the county began to loosen its restrictions, moving tiers as vaccination rates increased. By the end of November, social gatherings and events on Kaua‘i have been limited to 40 indoors and 100 outdoors. Events with over these capacity limits must have an event coordinator verifying full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result within 24 hours of the event from all attendees.
Now, in December, the county faces the omicron variant, which, early data has suggested, is more easily transmissible. Recent data has shown that the omicron variant is causing more-severe disease and hospitalization in younger children.
Beach access and protecting our resources
State and federal officials urged visitors to behave properly when faced with marine wildlife after recent social media posts depicting interference with critically-endangered Hawaiian monk seals provoked an uproar online, including one video of a Louisiana woman touching a seal on Kaua‘i.
If you’re wondering, guidelines to stay away are 10 feet for sea turtles; 50 feet for Hawaiian monk seals; 50 yards for dolphins and small whales; and 100 yards for humpback whales.
• In Po‘ipu, one local purchased 100 feet of tow rope and placed it several feet above the turtles’ usual basking places on the shoreline when he noticed visitors potentially disturbing the wildlife. After he put the fencing, he noticed beachgoers immediately respected the simple boundary, and soon added modified solar-powered lights to his rope barrier, to illuminate visitors and a nearby turtle-awareness sign while keeping the honu themselves in darkness.
• In January, the Alakoko “Menehune” Fishpond went up for sale for $3 million. By the end of November, the 102-acre fishpond has successfully purchased by nonprofits The Trust for Public Land and Malama Hule‘ia for cultural and environmental stewardship in perpetuity with the support of a $4 million charitable gift from the Chan Zuckerberg Kaua‘i Community Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
The Trust for Public Land negotiated the deal with the landowners and led fundraising efforts. Following the purchase, the land has been conveyed to Malama Hule‘ia for continued cultural and community stewardship. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg do not have any ownership interest in the property.
• In December, the Kaua‘i County Council passed a bill defining undeveloped and developed campgrounds and the areas in which these would be acceptable. A developed campground, with permanent structures and bathrooms for temporary commercial occupancy, would only be allowed on resort-zoned lands.
This was part of a coordinated effort by vocal residents who wanted to stop a proposed North Shore glamping venture.
What’s happening with Coco Palms?
The historic Coco Palms Resort continued to make the news, with its foreclosure auction in July.
The resort sold in “as-is” condition at a public auction on the footsteps of the Fifth Circuit courthouse for $22.231 million to Private Capital Group.
Following the announcement of the auction, I Ola Wailuanui came forward as a working group that has been trying to put together resources to preserve the land to protect cultural and natural resources.
Famed for its celebrity clientele since its opening in 1953, Coco Palms never recovered after its destruction by Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992. Several attempts to restore the iconic property since then failed.
The most recent plans were to take the remaining structure of the property and build a 350-room resort and rebuild cottages on the property, reminiscent of the preferred suites of famed celebrities who formerly walked its grounds.
And while we’re talking about Coco Palms, on average, 32,500 vehicles drive between Wailua River and Coconut Marketplace in Waipouli daily, according to the state Department of Transportation.
In February, the DOT’s Highway Division began construction between Kuamo‘o Road and the Kapa‘a bypass road for a second southbound lane on Kuhio Highway, right in front of the resort.
We’re eagerly waiting for this fourth lane to be added…maybe that’ll help the Kapa‘a crawl.
