By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
The state Land Use Commission has delayed its scheduled approval of a 250-unit low-density resort development at Kapalawai in west Kaua‘i while its staff ensures that the language of its decision conforms with state Supreme Court rulings on Hawaiian rights and practices.
Commission acting director Bert Saruwatari said the panel was poised to act Friday, but referred its 116-page report to a deputy attorney general to ensure that cultural impacts are properly addressed in the document. The 154-acre resort will be back on the commission agenda at its March 8-9 meeting in Kona, Hawai‘i, he said.
Commission members expressed concern about Kapalawai’s compliance with the Hawai‘i Supreme Court Ka‘upulehu decision, which set aside a commission decision for having failed to adequately consider protection of customary and traditional Hawaiian rights of access and use of that Big Island property.
The court ordered the commission to identify cultural, historic and natural resources, determine a development’s impact on traditional Hawaiian rights, and determine whether and how such rights should be protected.
Cha Smith, executive director of Kahea, an alliance of Native Hawaiian cultural and environmental groups, said the Kapalawai site may be so significant historically that it should be preserved for public use instead of becoming a private resort.
The property includes at least two springs and the ancient Kekupua fishpond, and is the site of a 104-year-old former home of the Robinson clan, which has extensive land holdings on Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau.
"It’s real representational of an era in Hawai‘i. It should be turned into a cultural park to benefit the county and the state. It should be bought" for public use, Smith said.
Attorney Michael Belles, who represents developer Destination Villages LLC, said the proposed conditions for the project address many of the cultural, historic and environmental concerns.
The developer has agreed to preserve the fishpond and to establish a 100-foot buffer around it.
He said he anticipates that habitat for native bats, moorhens and coots found around the pond will be preserved.
All existing structures, including the original Robinson home, will be preserved, as will an old stone Portuguese oven and all known prehistoric structures, Belles said.
Beachgoers and surfers who seek the popular Pakala surf break will have vehicular access, restrooms and 54 stalls of paved parking with room for another 50 vehicles in overflow parking areas, he said.
Surfers now park on Kaumuali‘i Highway and walk down a narrow trail through kiawe trees to reach the shore.
The developer plans to build 250 cottage units on lawns around the restored Kapalawai home, each of which would have a view of the ocean.
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