LIHU’E — The Kaua’i Planning Commission yesterday gave unanimous approval for permits to roughly double the size of Po’ipu Shopping Village. The expansion will include a major supermarket, as well as additional restaurant space, which is likely to aggravate current
LIHU’E — The Kaua’i Planning Commission yesterday gave unanimous approval for permits to roughly double the size of Po’ipu Shopping Village.
The expansion will include a major supermarket, as well as additional restaurant space, which is likely to aggravate current parking problems which sometimes see vehicles parked along Po’ipu Road or on the grass between the road and the center.
Additional parking is included in the expansion plan, but Kaua’i County planning director Dee Crowell questioned whether or not the new parking would be close enough to the restaurants or other businesses which generate the need for it.
The commission, in another unanimous vote, agreed to allow a retail center in Nawiliwili to construct a new parking lot. The paved lot will replace a dirt one at Kalapaki Marketplace, adjacent to Anchor Cove.
Cheryl Lovell-Obatake, who lives near the marketplace, expressed concerns about drainage, as she said that area is prone to flooding.
In another matter, the commission denied a petition from Pali Kai Cottage Owners Association Inc. to intervene in proceedings regarding permits for the county to expand the capacity of its Lihu’e wastewater treatment facility adjacent to the Kaua’i Lagoons Golf Club.
The association, in order to intervene, needed to prove that its situation is substantially different than the general public’s. The association argued that the cottage lots sometimes are flooded by treated effluent running off the golf course, and that the plant should be upgraded to produce drinkable water so that it can be used for human needs, and so any excess water flowing into Kalapaki Bay doesn’t damage ocean life.
But the commission didn’t feel the association met that standard. Chairman Bob Kaden said issues brought forward by the association can be addressed adequately through the public-hearing process.
The commission closed the public hearing on the matter, setting up decision-making probably next month on the permits necessary to drill six injection wells required by the state Department of Health to prevent overflows or discharges from the plant.
The project is expected to cost about $4.5 million, said county engineer Cesar Portugal. It would cost at least double that to treat wastewater to the point where it is drinkable.
“It’s just too expensive. We’re talking about big bucks” to turn wastewater into drinking water, Portugal said, adding it would cost between $3 and $5 per gallon.
The county’s environmental assessment concluded there would be no significant environmental impact from the project.
On another matter, the commission referred to the county Planning Department request to revoke permits for Walter J. Smith Jr. to allow kayaks to launch from the north side of the Wailua River. The revocation request came from Peter F. Fisher, Elizabeth Fisher-Lavoie and Jane G. Fisher.
Attorney Ryan Jimenez, representing the Fishers, said the Planning Department ruled illegal the activities of Wailua Kayak & Canoe Inc., but that the commission allowed the activities to continue with conditions.
His clients are asking the commission to remedy what for his clients is an “unacceptable situation” in which vehicles and kayaks sometimes block access to their property.
The Fishers live at the end of Wailua Road at the river’s edge.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
