HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-21 Vanessa Floyd Testimony
From: Spider Woman
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather; Inaba, Holeka; Kagiwada, Jennifer; Villegas, Rebecca; Galimba, Michelle M.; Onishi, Dennis;
Hustace, James; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt; Alameda, Christian (Kimo);
generalpla@hawaiicounty.gov; Planning WPC Testimony; Planning Internet Mail; Darrow, Jeffrey W.; Morrison,
Bethany J
Subject: Testimony Bill 170 & Planning Department input
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026 11:51:05 AM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department,
My name is Vanessa Floyd and I live in Kea'au. My testimony addresses both the Leeward Planning Commission and the Planning Department because you are asking the community for
input on the same concerns simultaneously.
I am asking our planning commissioners to reject the Planning Department’s recommendation,
which prematurely revises regulations before defining what a data center is. Their proposal currently lacks substantial safeguards. We must work to clarify definitions before defining
regulations.
I support the intent of Bill 170, section 1, and urge the Leeward Planning Commission to
recommend a stronger definition of "data center" that distinguishes data-center processing. The original bill defines a data center using subjective language that a developer's attorney can
easily argue around in court. I am asking the commission to recommend an objective, airtight definition grounded in what the facility physically contains and how much power it draws.
Specifically, I am asking the commission to recommend this language:
"Data center" means a facility used for the industrial-scale operation of computer systems and
associated equipment [for the processing, computing, transmission, or dissemination of digital data] that requires supporting infrastructure beyond that typically accessory or incidental to
office, commercial, or public and private institutional uses[.], including a single facility and any campus of multiple facilities under common ownership or control whose combined
electrical demand meets or exceeds 5 megawatts.
I have been following news on the continent about these data centers literally invading
communities that never saw them coming. They gobble up land, water, and electricity and pollute those precious resources and jack up utility rates to boot. People report minimal water
pressure and tap water turned disgusting brown. They also report 24/7 noise that disturbs people and animals, and destroys property values. I can't imagine a single Hawaii resident
being OK with this sort of community degradation on any level.
This is our chance to be proactive before we're faced with impossible choices and invasion from corporate interests that care nothing about our quality of life or precious 'āina. Please
vote to move Bill 170 forward with the amendments requested here.
Mahalo,
Vanessa Floyd
Kea'au