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Ntv,or ' <br />Ashley L. %ierkiewicz ,y?•w ""*., Office: (808) 96I-8265 <br />Council Member •: Fax: (808) 961-8912 <br />District 4Puna •ashleykierkiewicz@h"aiicountygov <br />cam' <br />•1}!•p�•N�� <br />HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL <br />Hawaii County Building <br />�3 <br />a <br />O C7 <br />25 Aupuni Street • Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 <br />a <br />Z O <br />a <br />--I C- <br />DATE: March 19, 2026 <br />10 <br />C <br />3 <br />=r <br />AT <br />TO: Holeka Inaba, Council Chairperson <br />ty <br />g <br />And Members of the Hawaii County Council <br />N <br />D <br />ts� <br />FROM: KJ 'Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Council Member <br />Chair, Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use & Economic Development <br />RE: About the 2026 General Plan <br />The proposed General Plan 2026 draws directly from the 2045 Draft. The policies, priorities, and <br />years of community engagement reflected in that document form the foundation of what is now <br />before the Council. This memorandum explains how that material was used, what was adjusted <br />and why, and how the 2026 Plan aligns with Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 226 and the <br />Hawaii County Charter. <br />The 2045 Draft contains many valuable ideas and policy directions. It also includes material that <br />goes beyond the statutory role of a general plan. Many of those provisions are worthwhile <br />County objectives, but they are better addressed in other instruments, such as functional plans, <br />departmental work programs, Community Development Plans, or the Capital Improvement <br />Program. The General Plan should not be a catch-all for every worthy goal the County might <br />pursue. <br />_ What a General Plan is Authorized to Do <br />A General Plan establishes land use policy and development guidance. That is both its legal <br />power and its practical limit. Where the 2045 Draft ventures into areas such as carbon accounting <br />systems, fleet electrification programs, or healthcare delivery standards, it enters operational and <br />programmatic territory that a General Plan cannot enforce. <br />Comm. No. �•�'IJ <br />Ref. To: 0so. QG�al> <br />Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Ref. Date tMAR_r 2- LOr 242 <br />Hmvai'i County is an Equal OpportunityProvider and Employer - - - - _ <br />