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<br /> <br /> REPORT OF THE POLICY <br />COMMITTEE ON PLANNING, <br />LAND USE, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT <br /> <br />DATE: June 16, 2026 Re: Comm. No. 710/Bill No. 126 <br />PLACE: Council Chambers <br /> Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i <br />TIME: 12:02 p.m. <br /> <br />Council Chair and Members <br />Hawai‘i County Council <br />Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 <br /> <br />Your Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Economic Development, to which was <br />referred Bill No. 126, reports as follows: <br /> <br />Bill No. 126, transmitted by Council Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz via Communication 710 <br />dated January 15, 2026, amends Chapter 25, Article 1, 3, 5, and 7, of the Hawaiʻi County Code <br />1983 (2016 Edition, as amended), relating to the special districts. <br /> <br />This bill creates the Downtown Pāhoa commercial (DPC) district as a new special zoning district; <br />establishes new permitted uses. <br /> <br />Planning, Land Use, and Economic Development Meeting of February 3, 2026 <br /> <br />Planning Director Jeff Darrow and Deputy Corporation Counsel Jean Campbell were present in <br />the Hilo Chambers. <br /> <br />Ms. Kierkiewicz shared that this bill would broaden permitted uses in the heart of Pāhoa to <br />include commercial village and certain light industrial uses, and would codify cultural enterprise <br />as a recognized land use category. She emphasized that the bill does not create an improvement <br />district. <br /> <br />Committee Member Heather L. Kimball inquired whether the introduction of specific zoning <br />definitions might exclude those uses from other zones where general commercial activity is <br />permitted. Mr. Darrow affirmed the department’s support for the specificity of the new uses and <br />noted that they are generally consistent with land uses permitted in other zoning districts. <br />Ms. Campbell stated that the new definitions add specificity without limiting existing broader <br />commercial definitions elsewhere in the Code. <br /> <br />Bill No. 126 was referred to the Windward Planning Commission and the Planning Director on <br />February 4, 2026. <br /> <br />On May 27, 2026, Managing Director William V. Brilhante, Jr., via Communication No. 710.1, <br />forwarded a favorable recommendation to the Council from the Windward Planning Commission <br />as recommended by the Planning Director. <br /> <br /> <br /> PCPLUED Report No. 12 <br /> <br /> <br />