Kaua‘i County officials are ready to hire a Honolulu consultant to develop a land use design plan to enhance Lihu‘e town’s distinct character. The plan would also help the orderly development of surrounding areas, a top county official told business
Kaua‘i County officials are ready to hire a Honolulu consultant to develop a land use design plan to enhance Lihu‘e town’s distinct character.
The plan would also help the orderly development of surrounding areas, a top county official told business folks Thursday.
When drafted and implemented the plan is expected to help draw businesses back to the town core and to revitalize Lihu‘e town, the commercial, political, financial and social hub of the island.
At a meeting of the Lihue Business Association at the Puakea Golf Course clubhouse in Lihu‘e, Kaua‘i County Planning Director Ian Costa said a contract is expected to be signed with Phillips Brandt and Reddick by June 30.
“We are close to executing the contract,” Costa said.
The landscape architect and urban planning firm has worked with government officials in developing plans for the Gateway Beautification Project on roads by the Lihu‘e Airport and for the renovation of the Lihu‘e Cvic Center.
The consultant also worked on projects undertaken by Grove Farm, the largest land developer in East Kaua‘i.
Implementation of the Lihu‘e plan — which is being funded with government and private funds — will help revitalize the core area of Lihu‘e town, and give direction on future uses around Lihu‘e, Costa said.
“I hope this plan will provide a uniform look and function, so it feels like a unified town,” Costa said after the meeting. “I am excited about the Lihu‘e plan.”
With regard to the plan, Costa said he wants to see things “done comprehensively,” and that “it doesn’t mean all the buildings will look the same.”
The plan will look at population growth, possible rezoning of properties and other issues as ways to accommodate growth, if it occurs, in Lihu‘e and surrounding areas, Costa said.
“Revitalization needs to get going to get the town core going again,” he said.
Incorporated in the plan will be the Lihu‘e Civic Center plan, which calls for bold options, including multi-level parking in Lihu‘e and the closing of Eiwa Street, located between Hardy and Rice streets, to motorist traffic for use by pedestrians.
Kaua‘i County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura called for the closing of the road for such a purpose when she was mayor from 1988 to 1994.
Former Mayor Maryanne Kusaka also spoke of such an option for the street, citing similar reasons.
If the Lihu‘e plan is to be implemented successfully one day, government officials and private business folks have to work together, emphasized Keith Nitta, a senior planner with the Kaua‘i County Planning Department. “That concept has to be massaged.”
Doing so will help defray the cost for the work that is planned ahead, Nitta indicated.
To get as much input as possible to ensure the plan works well, Costa said he envisions all vested parties will participate in its drafting, including members of the Lihue Business Association and the Nawiliwili Watershed Council.
He said he plans on meeting with the groups and the public to get their ideas on the plan, adding “I am sure we will be meeting quite often.”
Costa said development challenges existed when Amfac Company and Grove Farm Company developed master plans for thousands of acres they separately owned around Lihu‘e, Hanama‘ulu and Kipu at one time.
But such challenges evaporated when Steve Case, former chairman of CEO America Online Inc. and AOL Time Warner, acquired Grove Farm and bought the Amfac land.
Costa said the land holdings of Amfac are massive, and include those by the Lihu‘e Airport and in Hanama‘ulu, Molokoa, a subdistrict of Lihu‘e, and Ahukini.
Nitta said the Lihu‘e plan would help guide development along Kuhio Highway and Rice Street, areas by Tip Top Restaurant, the airport and land behind the Wal-Mart store.
The relocation of the Kaua‘i Police Department and the courthouse to Kapule Highway “adds a little twist,” Nitta said.
Mike Furukawa, vice president of Grove Farm, said the best plan can be developed, but asked whether it will address the nagging problem of traffic congestion on county roads and Kuhio Highway.
The state highway is the main thoroughfare through Lihu‘e town and is under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Transportation.
“I hope that we get DOT very involved, to improve traffic circulation,” Costa said.
Costa said he has aggressively sought funding from the Kaua‘i County Council to develop the Lihue plan and plans for other areas on the island.
“The plans are long overdue, and it has certainly been my mission (to have them drafted by government before they can be implemented).”
The meeting was attended by more than 20 business folks, including councilman Mel Rapozo and Jonathan Chun, an attorney and a former Kaua‘i senator, and Richard Minatoya, an attorney and former council member.
Also attending was Mark Tanaka, an executive with the Lihu‘e-based Kaua‘i Realty Inc., among the largest real estate companies on the island.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
