LIHU‘E — An attempt to reconsider the three-year extension granted to Coco Palms two weeks ago was denied Tuesday, leaving various permits intact and some community members disappointed. The motion to reconsider the county Planning Commission’s 6-1 vote on April
LIHU‘E — An attempt to reconsider the three-year extension granted to Coco Palms two weeks ago was denied Tuesday, leaving various permits intact and some community members disappointed.
The motion to reconsider the county Planning Commission’s 6-1 vote on April 28 came on the heels of three letters received by the commission, including one from Commissioner Hartwell Blake, who had voted for the extension originally.
“The projected demolition and construction guidelines could function as benchmarks to be considered in the three-year extension period. They could provide indicators to the commission, the (Planning) Department, the public and the applicant of the progress being made by the applicant,” Blake wrote in the letter.
“As the 2013 deadline approaches, there would be less conjecture vis-a-vis the applicant’s continuing viability and its ability to complete its project.”
The extension gave Coco Palms a completion date of Jan. 25, 2013. Owner Phil Ross said construction, as currently planned, would take 26 months and demolition would take eight months.
So for construction to be completed by the deadline, demolition will likely have to begin by March 2010.
“The reason behind my request for a motion to reconsider is to add measurable standards into the performance-based conditions, so if the commission is faced with the issue of extending permits again, we have something on which to base our action rather than just on whether we like the presenter or not, or have become impressed with the presenter, the applicant’s efforts or not, or are just sick and tired of driving by the wreck and ruin of what happened in 1991,” Blake explained Tuesday.
“At some point in time, you can’t just keep on extending, extending and extending. It’s like giving your child chance after chance after chance after misbehaving,” Blake said. “At some point in time, it becomes necessary to stop the bleeding and start all over again, and that was the purpose for my motion to reconsider.”
Joining Blake in voting for the motion were Commissioners Herman Texeira, who also voted for the extension two weeks ago, and Caven Raco, who was the lone dissenter at the time.
The other four commissioners voted to uphold the extension.
“(Ross) has until Jan. 25, 2013 to finish things. We didn’t specify by March 2010 all the buildings have to be demolished. We didn’t map it out with him,” said Commissioner Camilla Matsumoto in explaining her vote, adding that she was concerned a storm could delay a barge carrying materials and force developers to miss their deadline. “I’m not an expert on building, but … we have to keep that in mind that sometimes it’s not that easy.”
The extension, which was granted despite little visible progress to the dilapidated historic hotel fronting Kuhio Highway in Wailua, marks the latest chapter in the long history of the world-famous Coco Palms. The landmark has gone uninhabited and all but untouched since Hurricane Iniki dealt the oceanfront icon a devastating blow in 1992.
