Hawaii's First Walmart Supercenter Put on Hold

Walmart originally planned to convert its Lihue, Kauai, store into Hawaii's first Walmart Supercenter. Unfortunately for them, the Kauai County Council banned all "big box" stores shortly after the opening of the island's first Costco warehouse. This ban blocks any new stores that go beyond 75,000 square feet. Walmart then said they would fight the ban by arguing that their permit from their original opening allowed them to expand. However, it seems that even this isn't enough to get them permission to expand their store.

Earlier last week, the Kauai County Planning Commission met and agreed that Walmart did not have the ability to renovate its store into 185,000 square feet from its current 120,000. The new space would include a larger grocery area with more food items.

It is possible that Walmart can overturn the planning commission's ruling by meeting their requirements. These requirements include conducting a traffic study that would examine how a larger Walmart would affect the roads and traffic conditions of the area. There are several residential neighborhoods surrounding Walmart, including several blocks of housing directly across from Walmart's main entrance.

One worry is that if Walmart expands, the current intersection and road system would become far more clogged. Because Walmart is situated centrally within Lihue, the island's main commerce and business district, an increase in traffic congestion in the area would have a large impact on the other businesses surrounding Walmart, including the island's main hospital and airport.

Walmart argues that their original building permit allows them to expand, and the company's Public Relations department assures Kauai's residents that the company believes it will be successful in expanding. In a survey of the island's residents, the majority supported a Walmart expansion, citing lower prices and more choices as the main reasons for wanting Walmart to expand.