Kauai Lagoons Resort Company moved one step closer to building resort and residential units on its property by the Lihu’e Airport with its zoning boundary amendments approved by the Kaua’i Planning Commission Tuesday. The action will enable the developer to
Kauai Lagoons Resort Company moved one step closer to building resort and residential units on its property by the Lihu’e Airport with its zoning boundary amendments approved by the Kaua’i Planning Commission Tuesday.
The action will enable the developer to follow through on its revised master plan for 452 acres, including relocating the proposed site for the former “Running Waters Hotel” site slightly to the west within the property.
The commission’s action at a meeting at the Lihu’e Civic Center also allows for the development of 750 residential or hotel type units, with more if approved.
When built out, the project will add to the inventory of resort units on the island and further strengthen Kaua’i’s tourism industry, county officials said.
Kauai Lagoon’s zoning boundary amendment requests will now be sent to the Kaua’i County Council for review and possible approval.
The commission’s action also allows the developer to:
– Relocate a golf clubhouse.
– Explore future commercial and industrial opportunities.
– Reconfigure the Kiele Golf Course.
– Accommodate additional opportunities for residential and resort development.
– Place the golf course within the county’s “open district,” better reflecting the appropriate designation for existing golf course uses.
For the 450-acre project site, the previous zoning designated 56 acres for residential use and 377 acres for agricultural use and placed another 19 acres in the “open district,” usually sloping land that is not usable for development.
The commission’s action designated 34 acres for resort use, 14 acres for residential use, 442 acres in the open district, 16 acres for commercial use, 2 acres for limited industrial use and 13 acres for other industrial use.
The commission also designated the land for resort and residential use as visitor destination areas, allowing for time share projects, a county planning report indicated.
During a public hearing conducted by the commission, Chevron Products Company representatives asked the commission to approve its request for a special management area use permit for improvements to an existing five-acre fuel storage facility at Port Allen in ‘Ele’ele.
The company said the improvements are needed to improve the loading of fuel into trucks, to reduce vapor emissions and to upgrade an existing electrical system.
The proposed improvements include:
– A new 24-foot high, one lane fuel loading rack that will occupy a 55 by 35 feet by an existing two-lane loading rack.
The rack will be covered by a steel canopy and contain piping, valves, meters, a drainage system, overflow equipment and emergency equipment.
The existing load will be dismantled when the new one is up and running.
– Construction of new vapor combustion unit in an existing storage area. It will consist of a burner with an emissions stack that will be 35 feet high and has an 8-foot diameter and a 300-gallon propane tank.
Vapors that may escape during the loading of fuel into trucks will be transferred to the unit, with in which the vapors will be incinerated.
Richard Rosen, an environmental specialist with Chevron, said an existing facility put out 126 tons of emissions last year. The new unit will reduce the amount to less than a 1,000 pounds, Rosen said.
The system, he said, would easily meet federal and state requirements for air pollution control.
– An electrical control building to distribute electricity to major electrical equipment.
The County Planing Department recommended the project be approved, noting the improvements are compatible with the existing facilities, and are near industrial, commercial and agricultural projects.
There was no public opposition to the project.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext.225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
