BLNR to decide on Coco Palms land parcels issue

The Board of Land and Natural Resources is expected to make a decision on leases for Coco Palms land during its meeting on Friday, April 26, as both the developer and a community group trying to stop the hotel development are competing for rights to the Wailua property.

The Friday meeting surrounds two state parcels, measuring 0.12 and 0.855 acres, which are connected to the Coco Palms Resort.

Utah-based developer Reef Capital Partners plans to use the parcels for parking, landscaping, management, and other construction operations at the site. However, its Chief Financial Officer Jon Day has said the decision will not impact plans to complete construction of the 350-room hotel over the next two years.

“We are applying to the BLNR to be able to use those parcels as part of the resort going forward, just as they’ve always been used,” Day said. 

“Whether the BLNR will grant that to us I don’t know, I certainly hope so. I think it’s certainly in the community’s best interest if they do. But we do not need those parcels to complete the restoration of the Coco Palms. We’ll restore the Coco Palms and open it in 2026, either way.” Demolition/construction at the property has been active since early this year.  

The nonprofit community organization I Ola Wailuanui has also applied for the parcels. The group strongly opposes the new hotel due to the siteʻs environmental and historical significance, and envisions turning the property into a Hawaiian cultural and educational center, and agricultural park.

Mason Chock, I Ola Wailuanui’s vice president, said the Friday hearing is part of a year-long effort to leverage the community’s interest in the area, protect natural resources, culture and history, and educate the community.

“We want to and need to be able to work with all perspectives and interests related to the surrounding properties,” Chock said, emphasizing that the group would take an “inclusive approach” to managing the parcels. 

The BLNR made the decision to terminate the revocable permits, which had been assigned to a previous developer and now-defunct entity Coco Palms Ventures LLC, at a board meeting in August 2023, following allegations of several land use violations, including failure to maintain the premises, failure to submit annual reports, failure to pay property taxes and cutting down palm trees without consent.

A third parcel is also involved in the matter but was decided on during a Dec. 15, 2023, BLNR hearing, when the board issued both Reef Capital and I Ola Wailuanui joint right access to the smallest parcel – measuring approximately 460 square feet – for one year. 

A decision on the other two parcels was deferred to allow more time for the board to consider I Ola Wailuanui’s application. 

A recent post on I Ola Wailuanui’s Instagram account asks supporters to submit testimony for the upcoming agenda item, stating the “BLNR hearing will determine the future of Wailua.” 

“I think thatʻs a broad, sweeping statement,” Chock said of the Instagram post, noting he hadn’t seen it himself. “I will say, does it play into the future? Absolutely.”

“It activates community in order to not only have access but to have a relationship with ʻaina that has been lost or not cared for previously, particularly in the last 30 plus years,” he said, referring to Coco Palms destruction by Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

Kauaʻi Now also spoke with Bridget Hammerquist, the president of Friends of Maha’ulepu, another nonprofit group against the development. 

Last month, Hammerquist and other members of Friends of Maha’ulepu were denied standing in their petition to the County of Kauaʻi Planning Commission, which sought to revoke Reef Capitalʻs zoning and variance permits.

Hammerquist has appealed the decision, and it has been ordered to an administrative hearing by the planning commission. She claims “every building permit that the developer has is expired,” and that it will be very easy to prove standing in court. 

Hammerquist, who was in the midst of submitting testimony in support of I Ola Wailuanui, was happy to hear that Reef Capital had stated the parcels would not significantly impact their plans for the new hotel. “Then there’s that much more opportunity for I Ola Wailuanui to qualify for them,” she said.

The meeting will be held after Kauaʻiʻs heavy rainstorm earlier this month, which caused significant flooding in the Wailua area and swamped the area around Coco Palms. Photos and videos of the flooded site began circulating on social media following the storm, with one Instagram video calling the property “Coco Ponds.” 

The two community groups frequently cite concerns about the property being prone to flooding due to its location across the street from Wailua Beach.

However, in an email response, Reef Capitalʻs communications person Shane Peters said there was “no major impact at the site from rains.”

“There should also be no impact to the project timing as there’s weather days factored into the schedule.”

On April 26, Peters confirmed that Reef Capital is on track to complete the approximately $400 million project in 2026, and that Day has flown to Honolulu to appear in person for the BLNR hearing.

The agenda for the hearing is available here, and the YouTube live stream of the hearing can be watched here.