BREAKING NEWS!

Posted 8/5/2026

Koloa-Court-8-12-26

Aloha,

The future for Koloa will be argued before the Honorable Judge Stephanie R.S. Char next Wednesday August 12, 2026 at 1:00 pm. See below for the Court address and Zoom link if you are unable to attend the hearing but want to watch. Our challenge/Appeal of the two development permits granted by the Kauai County Planning Commission will be argued by our excellent legal team. Mike Serpa’s attorneys will present argument as well. When Judge Char granted our request for a Stay Order, stopping any construction under the permits that we have appealed, she advised that her Decision would be issued shortly after next Wednesday’s hearing. Judge Char told us that she would be considering the full record and arguments of counsel before making a final ruling.

The Stay Order, stopping any construction, will remain in effect pending her Decision and may be permanently stopped if she rules in our favor. Following her Stay Order, Serpa’s attorneys filed a Motion asking her to Reconsider the Stay Order. They were not successful.

Needless to say, with a $100 million project at issue, the safety of Koloa’s residents, its traffic flow, its historic rural quaintness and several endangered species at risk, the arguments from our team will be very compelling. Koloa means a lot to all of us. Your attendance in person at the hearing is highly recommended. We need the Court to know how passionate people are about the threats to our quaint historic town and its residents. 

If it is not possible for you to attend in person, please sign in on Zoom as the Court takes note of how many people attend by Zoom as well as those that come in person. 

We remain confident that the law is in our favor which is why were successful in obtaining an Order to Stay the construction. As mentioned in earlier emails, the two permits we are appealing to the Court as erroneously granted by the Kauai Planning Commission are: 1) a Class IV Zoning Permit and 2) a Project Development Use Permit. The Class IV Zoning Permit is required when a developer plans to construct 51 or more dwellings in one project. The County Planning Department and Commission failed to obtain a Comment/Report from Public Works, Engineering, Traffic, Kauai Water Department and State Department of Health as required by County ordinance before granting the permit. The Planning Director documented that these agencies had been asked to submit their reports. Before they did so and rather than following up on the Planning Director’s call for the reports, the Planning Director calendared the matter for hearing and the Planning Commission granted Serpa the Class IV Zoning Permit without the information legally required. The second permit we have appealed that Serpa relied on to  construct his $100 million project on 9.4 acres, the Project Development Use Permit (PDU), is not a permit available for private commercial residential development. Rather, the PDU is reserved for projects that are State and Federally funded because such projects receive exemptions on density, housing type and set backs. The ordinance itself states that it is only for projects with State and Federal funding, an ordinance to encourage the development of lower income or work force housing. Serpa’s development is strictly commercial with no constraints on the sales price and is designed for what he calls Gap housing, not provided for in the statutes or ordinances associated with this permit. Gap housing is her term and is not defined in any State or County ordinance. The Arguments to the Court should be exciting to say the least. I hope you can attend. Feel free to share this email.

Oral arguments are set for August 12, 2026 at 1:00pm. To attend in person, courtroom information listed below: 

Courtroom
The Honorable Judge Stephanie R.S. Char
Puʻuhonua Kaulike Building (Fifth Circuit Court)
3970 Kaʻana Street, Līhuʻe, HI 96766

Each party will be afforded a 30-minute time limit and rebuttal will be limited to 15 minutes. Please see below for the zoom information: 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://courts-hawaii-gov.zoom.us/j/5468791234
Meeting ID: 546 879 1234

Mahalo nui,

Bridget Hammerquist, President
Friends of Maha`ulepu, a 501(c)(3)
Kia`i Wai o Wai`ale`ale, Co-founder
PO Box 1654
Koloa, HI 96756
Donate
friendsofmahaulepu.org
friendsofmahaulepu@hawaiiantel.net
(808) 742-1037 home
(808) 346-1973 cell

Posted 7/26/2026

Pass the smell tests???

Aloha,

Pass the smell tests?? No, it’s not about our failing waste water treatment plants. This email is about our County Chief Traffic Engineer, Michael Moule who failed to respond to the Planning Director’s request for a study and report on the roads, traffic conditions and safety for Koloa and its residents before the Planning Commission approved development permits for Mike Serpa and SK Investors, LLC. As you will see in the following, his report was mandatory prior to permit approval. Somehow he never got around to conducting any traffic evaluation in Koloa for the Planning Commission to consider. Our Planning Director failed to require him to submit the requested study in direct violation of Kauaʻi County’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) Chapter 8, Article 3, §8-3.1.