SB3221

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the Coco Palms Resort location in Wailua on Kauai's eastern shore is of historical importance.

The ancestral home of Kauai's alii (royalty) since the thirteenth century, the area around the mouth of the Wailua river was an important royal center where high chiefs and chiefesses conducted business and entertained visitors. The area includes a group of sites now designated as the national historic landmark known as the Wailua Complex of Heiau. Within this complex are some of the oldest heiau, which is a place of refuge and birthing of chiefs, in Kauai.

In the mid-1800s, the area encompassing the Coco Palms Resort was the home of Kauai's last reigning queen, Queen Deborah Kapule. At the turn of the century, agricultural pursuits in the area included the copra and coconut plantation planted by William Lindeman in 1892 and numerous rice and taro farmers. The two thousand-tree coconut grove within the resort, which is the largest of only three similar groves in the entire State, was originally planted with coconut tree nuts imported from Samoa by Mr. Lindeman in 1896.

The Coco Palms Resort originally opened on January 25, 1953, taking advantage of the expansion of the tourism industry resulting from the introduction of air travel. Under the visionary and promotional eye of Grace Guslander, the Coco Palms Resort grew consistently, reaching 416 rooms by the 1970s.

In 1961, the Coco Palms Resort became famous as the location of the finale wedding scene in Elvis Presley's film, Blue Hawaii. As Kauai's oldest hotel, the Coco Palms Resort stands as a model of the travel-trade history, a history only now beginning to be appreciated as a notable component in the study of Hawaii's past.

When Hurricane Iniki damaged the resort in September 1992, the Coco Palms Resort was shut down indefinitely as repairs proved too costly during a period of recession. Having been left to decay for over a decade, the Coco Palms Resort property and the adjoining coconut grove are neglected and currently in extreme disrepair.

The legislature also finds that the Coco Palms Resort site currently contains approximately 12.63 acres zoned RR‑20 (resort) and 19.29 acres zoned open, and includes adjacent lands owned by the State and leased by the Coco Palms Resort owners. The latter includes the historic coconut grove, the former tennis courts, and a small segment at the entry to the property. Mauka of the property is conservation land which extends back into the valley and consists of extensive wetlands.

Recently, cancellation of development plans caused by a real estate market downturn combined with many development challenges, resulted in the property being placed back on the market. Proposed residential development of department of Hawaiian home lands' property in the immediate area has created additional interest in converting the Coco Palms Resort property to a public, historical, and cultural preserve.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds for the board of land and natural resources to acquire the land commonly referred to as the Coco Palms Resort located on the east side of Kauai, Hawaii. The acquired lands are to be used as a public resource and a public or nonprofit entity shall be selected to manage and operate a public historical park and cultural education center that would serve to preserve and benefit the native Hawaiian culture.

SECTION 2. The board of land and natural resources shall secure public and private partnerships, enter into negotiations, and in partnership with other public and private non-profit entities acquire the land commonly referred to as the Coco Palms Resort located on the east side of Kauai, Hawaii. The acquired lands are to be utilized as a public resource and a public or nonprofit entity shall be selected to manage and operate a public historical park and cultural education center that would serve to preserve and benefit the native Hawaiian culture.

The board of land and natural resources shall communicate with and seek partnerships to support the purchase and operations by entering into discussions with major public and private nonprofit organizations, including but not limited to:

(1) The office of Hawaiian affairs;

(2) The department of Hawaiian homelands;

(3) Kamehameha Schools;

(4) The county of Kauai;

(5) Members of the Kauai state legislative delegation;

(6) Appropriate federal officials and agencies;

(7) The Kauai Public Land Trust; and

(8) The Kauai Planning and Action Alliance.

The board of land and natural resources, working in conjunction with the before mentioned entities shall also conduct community outreach meetings designed to ascertain community needs and desires with regards to this project and to formulate a citizens advisory group composed of native Hawaiian practitioners familiar with the history of the area, residents of the Wailua and Kapaa area, and those residents who have historically been associated with the Coco Palms Resort as former employees, and Kauai state legislators. The citizens advisory group shall develop recommendations on the long-term vision, goals, operational nature, and scope of a community-based, Hawaiian-centered, public historical park and cultural education center facility.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $500,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for the planning and preparation necessary for the purchase of the Coco Palms Resort and the development of the location into a community-based, public historical park and cultural education center facility that will preserve and benefit the native Hawaiian culture.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the board of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. The director of finance is authorized to issue general obligation bonds in the sum of $10,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary is appropriated for fiscal year 2008‑2009 for the purpose of providing matching funds for the purchase of the Coco Palms Resort and the development of the location into a public historical park and cultural education center that will preserve and benefit the native Hawaiian culture.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3221
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII