More time given to rebuild Coco Palms

LIHUE (AP) — The Kauai County Council is giving Coco Palms Resort developers more time to obtain building permits and begin restoring the storied hotel made famous by Elvis Presley.

Coco Palms has sat in ruins since Hurricane Iniki lashed Kauai in 1992. It’s the only major hotel that never reopened after the storm.

The Council on Wednesday, by a 6-1 vote, approved a bill that would keep, for another two years, a rule exempting redevelopment projects from some county setback and height ordinances created in the decades since the hurricane.

The bill allows for “a legally nonconforming structure to be reconstructed to its condition prior to Hurricane Iniki.”