West Kauai businesses, Gay and Robinson workers and Makaweli residents gave their support to a proposal by Kapalawai Resort LLC to build the biggest resort in West Kaua’i – the subject of a county Planning Commission public hearing yesterday. At
West Kauai businesses, Gay and Robinson workers and Makaweli residents gave their support to a proposal by Kapalawai Resort LLC to build the biggest resort in West Kaua’i – the subject of a county Planning Commission public hearing yesterday.
At the hearing at the Lihu’e Civic Center, only two people had criticism for the proposed 160-acre resort in Makaweli.
Longtime West Kaua’i resident and Hawaiian Judy Naumu-Stewart said documentation she has shows the Robinsons don’t have title to the land.
But Kaua’i attorney Michael Belles, representing Kapalawai, said title reports filed with government agencies that reviewed the proposal indicate the Robinsons are the true owners. He offered to assist Stewart in obtaining a copy of the report.
Bruce Pleas said he would rather see the resort put in a more appropriate area – mauka lands where there are plantation camps.
The current site, which contains a Hawaiian fishpond, a possible Hawaiian burial and a Portuguese oven, is culturally and historically unique, Pleas said.
Because the Robinson Family has kept the land private for many decades, the site has become a rare repository of Kaua’i history, Pleas said.
The Robinsons are a pioneer kama’aina family and owners of Ni’ihau and 50,000 acres in West Kaua’i, making them the largest private landowner on the island.
Should Kapalawai Resort be give the green light on the project, the resort would become the island’s first true eco-tourism-oriented resort, would create more than 200 jobs that could go mostly to qualified West Kaua’i residents and give an economic boost to West Kaua’i, project supporters say.
The Kaua’i County Planning Commission officially closed the public hearing, but will receive written comments for another seven days.
The commission could reach a decision within a month after the county Planning Department has drafted a final report and recommendation.
Kapalawai Resort is seeking final approval for a special management area permit, a project development use permit and a class IV zoning permit for a 250-unit resort with restaurants, a pavilion, lu’au grounds, a museum, bar, swimming pools, spa, sport courts and a club house.
Warren Robinson, chairman of the board of Gay and Robinson and chairman of the board of Robinson Family Partners, which is leasing lands to Kapalawai for the proposed resort, said the project, if it flies, will enhance the economic viability of projects undertaken by the Robinsons.
These includes sugar cultivation, the growing of a new crop to sweeten sugar, stevia, cattle ranching, the sale of bagasse, the byproduct of sugar cane, and the possibility of developing a waste-to-energy project that could help lengthen the life of the Kekaha landfill, Robinson said.
“It is something that we need,” Robinson said of the resort project.
Robinson Family Partners leases land to Gay and Robinson, which uses the land for agricultural purposes. As a way to generate more income, Gay and Robinson has leased the land to Kapalawai Resort for its proposed resort project.
Lewis Geyser, who came up with the idea for the resort, said if approved, it will be a true eco-tourism project that will enable residents to interact with tourists and enable tourists to find out what life was like living on a plantation.
Support for the project also came from Alan Kennett, president and manager of Gay and Robinson, Mark Nellis, president of the West Kaua’i Business & Professional Association, Scott Ezer of Helber, Hastert, Fee, a Honolulu land use planner, which upgraded project plans, including those dealing with landscaping, botanical surveys and archeological inventories.
Support also came from youths connected with the Waimea Boys and Girls Club led by Lisa Dunford. The youths included Ulu Schmidt, Samantha Vaivao, Lauren Keller, Cheri Kua and Cassie Koerte.
The project site could face a bleak future if county permits are not approved, Belles contended.
The land will remain in an unkempt condition, the Robinson Family home, which is planned to be converted into a museum, is unoccupied and is deteriorating significantly, requiring up to $1 million in repairs and a venerated and unique Hawaiian fishpond is overgrown and needs restoration, Belles said.
But Stewart said the project should not move forward unless it can be shown the Robinsons have clear title to the land.
The description in a royal patent for the land is actually the description of land on Molokai, Stewart claimed.
“It kind of affects me, because to come this far in planning, and everybody is praising, this is a good plan. But the clear title the land is what we have (to have),” Stewart said.
Last December, the Kaua’i County Council unanimously approved a zoning ordinance allowing for the development of the resort.
The state Land Use Commission also approved the change from agricultural to urban zoning for the site.
Belles also the developer has every intention of standing by its promises made to the public and government agencies.
