Land Board is sued over permits for former Coco Palms site

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / SEPT. 8
A community group is suing the state Department of Land and Natural Resources over permits it granted for the site of the Coco Palms Resort, photographed from Kuhio Highway. The resort, made famous by movies such as “Blue Hawaii,” starring Elvis Presley, has been a contentious eyesore since Hurricane Iniki destroyed it 30 years ago.

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / SEPT. 8

A community group is suing the state Department of Land and Natural Resources over permits it granted for the site of the Coco Palms Resort, photographed from Kuhio Highway. The resort, made famous by movies such as “Blue Hawaii,” starring Elvis Presley, has been a contentious eyesore since Hurricane Iniki destroyed it 30 years ago.

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A civil complaint recently filed by a community group against the state Land Board claims the board failed to comply with environmental review law and violated public-trust duties when it recently granted annual revocable permits to a defunct company to build a new hotel at the former Coco Palms Resort property on Kauai.

The complaint was filed by I Ola Wailuanui against the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, Coco Palms Venture LLC and others, claiming they did not conduct an environmental review of three parcels that are state public-trust lands. The complaint also alleged the board violated constitutional public-trust duties to protect and preserve Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights.

The complaint was filed weeks after the Land Board voted in October to renew revocable permits to Coco Palms for three parcels of state public-trust lands on the former resort property in Wailua.

The parcels make up less than an acre of the 48-acre Coco Palms property where developers want to build a new 350-room hotel.

During the meeting, the Land Board agreed to vote on the permits again this spring after they received numerous written testimony opposing the planned development.

I Ola Wailuanui, which is led by Kauai residents, is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief concerning the board’s action.

There are historic sites, potential iwi kupuna and natural resources on and near the land, said attorney Bianca Isaki, who represents I Ola Wailuanui.

Isaki said the board granted permits to Coco Palms Venture without conducting an environmental review. “They have an added duty to really look at this,” Isaki said of the board.

Isaki also noted that Coco Palms Venture doesn’t appear to exist.

In the complaint, the community group indicated the company doesn’t have a valid registration with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

According to the department, Coco Palms Ventures LLC was a Hawaii limited-liability company in 2004 and converted to a Delaware LLC in 2006. The business registration, however, was revoked in 2017 for its failure to file annual reports for three years.

Based on the information, Coco Palms “is no longer a valid company,” the complaint said.

During a phone interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Isaki said the community group believes the Land Board erred in granting the revocable permits to Coco Palms.

In response to a Star-Advertiser request for an interview with the board concerning the civil complaint, a spokesperson said they cannot comment on pending civil complaints or board actions.

According to attorney Bill Yuen, who is not involved in the civil complaint, RP21 Coco Palms LLC currently owns the property. Yuen represents the company in a separate matter relating to county permits for the Coco Palms property.

An October Land Board report indicated Coco Palms is changing ownership and that paperwork will be updated with new information on the owner.

A December story in The Garden Island newspaper reported that RP21 Coco Palms, led by Utah-based Reef Capital Partners, is transferring the title to a new development team led by Victor Kimball and Mitchell Burton, who are also based in Utah.

Coco Palms has remained shuttered since 1992 after it sustained extensive damage when Hurricane Iniki battered the island.

Over the years, plans by different developers to build a hotel on the property fell through.

I Ola Wailuanui, which opposes development of a hotel at the Coco Palms property, wants to purchase the property to build a cultural center.

Puali‘ili‘maikalani Rossi-Fukino, a member of I Ola Wailuanui, described the property as one of the most significant places on Kauai, with an immense amount of history.

Rossi-Fukino, assistant professor of Hawaiian studies at Kauai Community College, said the group’s goal is to transform the property into a cultural center where people can gather and learn about Hawaiian culture.

Native Hawaiian burial grounds are located at the property. The community group also noted that two fishponds, a taro field and a coconut grove are among features within the property grounds that they want to restore and preserve.

“We’re not trying to turn this site into something that’s profitable for a small minority,” she added. “We’re trying to turn this place into something that’s going to be beneficial for the majority of the island.”