Coco Palms developers will face stiff challenges

LIHUE — Restoration of the nearly 50-year-old Coco Palms Resort is proving to

be a challenge for the California developers hoping to convert the hotel for

timeshare use.

Not only will conversion from hotel to timeshare require

extensive construction work, but Native Hawaiians have expressed concerns about

sensitive archaeological sites and the state transportation department

continues to explore plans to build a bypass road through the property.

The

Planning Commission last Thursday extended a public hearing on development

permits sought by Lincoln Consulting Group until the Commission receives

various archaeological reports about the site.

Testimony will continue at

the Thursday, Jan. 27, meeting beginning at about 1:30 p.m. in the Lihue Civic

Center.

Speaking at last week’s hearing, Lincoln Consulting’s Jim Reed said

he hopes to prove to Kauaians that rebuilding Coco Palms is more important than

routing a new Kapa’a bypass road through the property.

Two of the proposed

routes would effectively kill resort development plans.

He said his

company’s plans for the resort will attempt to recognize the legendary

ambiance. “Our desire is to create a destination resort of beauty once

again.”

Lincoln Consulting plans to tear down most of the existing hotel

and build several new buildings to convert the property to a 232-unit timeshare

resort.

In the process, construction workers are expected to unearth

ancient Native Hawaiian bones and burial sites, said architect Avery Youn, who

is the authorized agent for Lincoln Consulting.

There is one known burial

site on the property, Youn said.

That site is actually a re-interment site

for about 80 burials discovered on the property during a 1973 reconfiguration

of hotel buildings, said Cheryl Lovell-Obatake, chair of the Kaua’i and Ni’ihau

Island Burial Council.

Lovell-Obatake also expressed concern regarding

three potential routes for the Kapa’a bypass road. A road through the coconut

grove, or skirting the grove, would impact that historically significant area,

she said.

Another proposal would widen Kuhio Highway between the property

and Wailua Beach to six lanes (it’s three now), and push the highway very close

to the known existing re-interment site, she said.

In her testimony at the

public hearing and later in a telephone interview with The Garden Island, she

expressed other concerns.

“To me, the land is very delicate, because of its

flood conditions.” she said. “I’m kind of concerned about sewage as

well.”

Restoring the fishponds, auwai (ancient irrigation ditches) and

making use of the coconut grove for a coconut celebration or other festivities

should be explored, she said.

Kapaa resident Nani Rogers questioned the

rush to get permits for the project saying that the new owner hasn’t yet gained

title to the property.

“It seems like there’s a rush. Is there a rush on

this?” she asked.

Rogers urged that reconstruction be done in a “pono”

(right, correct) manner, and hopes a kupuna advisory committee she is helping

to form will be consulted regarding land-use issues and the Coco Palms.

“I

believe this process is walking on shaky cultural grounds,” she continued,

asking what will happen to portions of the property when one state lease

expires in 2006.

“He (Youn) says it’s state lands. I say it’s Hawaiian

lands.”

She pleaded with the owners to try to preserve as much of the

historic property as possible.

Entertainer Larry Rivera opened last

Thursday’s hearing with a song about the Coco Palms. Rivera said the grounds of

the hotel used to be the home of Kaua’i Native Hawaiian royalty.

Rivera,

who will celebrate 50 years with the Coco Palms next year (he still plays music

for and arranges several weddings a month on the property), said when the hotel

was open it hosted an average of 500 weddings a year.

Rivera favors the new

resort plans, as he has seen firsthand how valuable the Coco Palms has been to

the island. Further, he opposes an expanded road in front of the Coco Palms, a

road through the coconut grove, or a road around but near the hotel.

Such

plans would “forever destroy a historic area,” and whoever is proposing such

plans doesn’t have the heart of Kaua’i in mind, he said.

Youn told

commissioners that he understands the Coco Palms site is a sacred, special

place, and a known burial site for Native Hawaiians.

The hotel, if still

open, would be celebrating its 47th anniversary on Tuesday, Jan. 25, Youn

said.

The Coco Palms site is made up of six different parcels, three leased

from the state, and three others that the company is in the process of

buying.

Currently, Youn said, there are no funds available to build a

bypass road and it may be another 20 years before money is approved.

Steve

Kyono, state DOT Highways Division Kaua’i district engineer, said the Kapa’a

bypass road project has been around since the 1960s, and won’t go away

soon.

Beverly Apana Muraoka, representing the Christine Apana Family Trust,

which owns land immediately north of the project site, expressed concerns about

how construction fill work will impact her family’s property, especially in

times of heavy rains and flooding.

Youn assured her mitigation efforts will

be undertaken to protect her family’s property.

Liberta Lilia Hussey Albao

expressed support for the reconstruction plans.

She worked for former hotel

owner and manager Grace Guslander for 21 years, at the Hanalei Plantation and

Coco Palms, as wedding coordinator, in accounting, and in various other

departments and capacities.

Buddy Peters, whose kayak company stands to

benefit from a re-opened Coco Palms, spoke in favor of the project.

He

added that the construction work will mean jobs for many of his friends who

live in the Wailua-Kapaa area.

Reginald Manaku, an Anahola Native Hawaiian

and timeshare company principal broker, said having the Coco Palms as a

timeshare property will mean job security for hotel workers, as occupancy rates

remain high regardless of ups and downs in the economy.

Timeshare is here

to stay, he said. It’s an international business with 4,500 timeshare resorts

around the world, he said.

“This would be a great economic shot in the

arm,” he said. He agreed, also, that having kupuna involvement is a good idea,

and may help developers to heighten cultural awareness.

The $60 million

reconstruction project is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs, and

around 200 permanent jobs once the property re-opens, Youn said.

Besides

the archaeological work already in progress regarding the site, an

archaeological monitoring plan will be installed into the property’s long-range

operating scheme, Youn said.

A Wailua or Coco Palms museum is planned for

the resort, something many Native Hawaiians testified in favor of.

Robert

Iopa, an architect with the Honolulu firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, said

his firm’s founder, Robert Wimberly, did conceptual drawings for the original

Coco Palms.

And Jerry Allison was an integral part of the design team

which designed what became Coco Palms, Iopa said.

Plans for the renovated

resort include a new entrance further mauka up Kuamu’o Road, and a meandering,

weaving entry road going through the coconut grove to a new porte-cochere.