Foes of Wal-Mart project seek 'meaningful review' of impact
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Opponents of the double-decker Wal-Mart store on Ke'eaumoku Street have filed an appeal in state court asking that a "meaningful review" be done of the project's impact on the neighborhood and environment.
Construction on the 317,000-square-foot Wal-Mart and Sam's Club at the Ke'eaumoku "superblock" is nearly complete and opponents acknowledge in their complaint that they cannot stop the project. But in their appeal, filed yesterday in Circuit Court, opponents are asking that a judge overturn a city Zoning Board of Appeals decision to uphold a conditional use permit for the project.
The appeal was filed by Citizens Against Reckless Development; Doris Nakamura, who lives near the project; and the United Food & Commercial Union Local 480. The complaint was filed by attorney K. Bartlett Durand Jr. on behalf of the group.
The complaint names as defendants the Zoning Board of Appeals, the director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, and Wal-Mart. City officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The city granted Wal-Mart the conditional use permit Aug. 9, 2002, and opponents had 30 days to file an appeal with the ZBA, the complaint said.
But, opponents claimed in the complaint, the city and Wal-Mart representatives did not notify the public of the permit approval until Sept. 9, the day the appeal period ended.
The opposing parties filed an appeal with the ZBA anyway, but the board rejected the motion because it fell outside the appeal period. In its latest motion, the opponents want the ZBA's decision reversed.
"This appeal does not ask the court to order the stores closed or the project torn down," the opponents said in their complaint. "Rather, by this appeal, appellants merely seek the opportunity denied to them by the process so far: the chance to obtain a meaningful, public review of the project's impact on the environment and the neighborhood by the Department of Planning and Permitting."
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
