RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Poipu Beach Hotel and Coco Palms Resort properties were severely damaged by Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and have been shut down indefinitely ever since; and

WHEREAS, the Kaua`i properties pose public safety concerns in their disrepair; and

WHEREAS, adjacent to both properties are public lands and prime recreation areas that are valuable public resources; and

WHEREAS, the owners of both properties have had more than ten years to redevelop these properties but have failed to do so; and

WHEREAS, the standing damaged state of both properties are a constant, unpleasant reminder of the destructive effects of Hurricane Iniki to Kaua`i residents and visitors; and

WHEREAS, the condition of the properties transmit significant negative economic messages that impact the property values of neighboring parcels and the economy of the island; and

WHEREAS, the area encompassing the Coco Palms Resort was the ancestral home of Kaua`i's Ali`i since the 13th century and the home of Kaua`i's last reigning queen, Queen Deborah Kapule; and

WHEREAS, the resort's Wailua location is culturally, historically, and spiritually significant because it is close to three of the most important heiaus on Kaua`i as well as the legendary walk of the Ali`i spirits on their path up the mountainside and around the island, the blessing place for Kaua`i's Ali`i--the Royal Bell stone, and many burial sites on and around the property; and

WHEREAS, the Coco Palms was the oldest hotel on Kaua`i and holds the famous 2,000-tree coconut grove, that gained international fame from the 1961 Elvis Presley movie "Blue Hawaii", and began the nightly torch lighting ceremony, which has been mimicked by many other resorts and hotels in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Poipu Beach Hotel is located in the center of Kaua`i's most valuable and heavily used public recreational beach areas; and

WHEREAS, the Kaua`i community has expressed a strong desire to convert both properties to enable public use in order to maximize public benefits and enjoyment of the area; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources in conjunction with the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, develop a broad-based community process and conduct a study for potential redevelopment and potential public uses for the Coco Palms and Poipu Beach Hotel properties on Kaua`i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources recommend an action plan and process in the event that no meaningful movement toward private redevelopment of the properties occurs within the next eight months; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature, not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2004 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of Kaua`i County, the Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Chair of the Land Use Commission, the Director of Public Safety, and the Director of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Report Title:

Redevelopment Study; Coco Palms and Poipu Beach Hotel