HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-21 Gabrielle Provencher Testimony
From: Gabrielle Provencher
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Testimony for bill 170
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026 9:45:00 AM
My name is Gabbie and I live in Kailua- Kona. I am writing to support the intent of Bill 170
and asking the Leeward Planning Commission to recommend additional strengthening changes before sending it back to the County Council.
Bill 170's current language uses subjective phrases like "industrial-scale operation" and "beyond that typically accessory or incidental to office, commercial, or public institutional
uses." Those phrases don't set a clear line, and a well-resourced developer's attorney can argue around them either way. I'm asking the Commission to recommend a clear, objective
definition of "data center," distinct from the county's existing "data processing facility" definition.
I'm also asking the Commission to reject the Planning Department's recommendation to add smaller data centers as a permitted use. That change would open a legal pathway for data
centers here rather than close one, with no discretionary review of grid impact, water, noise, or anything else.
We already pay some of the highest rates of electricity in the nation. The electrical bills keep going up and up due to our outdated energy grid. Having any kind of data center will make
living in Hawai'i even harder for us working class people. After a year of tropical storms and hurricanes it is evident we need to strengthen our grid. Not add more to it. Our resources
are precious and we cannot afford to waste water for the means of data. It feels ridiculous to even think we would choose to put this over our own environment and people. Please for our
generations to come do the right thing to ensure no centers are built here on our beautiful island.
Our island's closed water system, fossil-fuel-dependent grid, and already strained infrastructure cannot support data centers. Please recommend the strongest possible version of
this bill to the County Council.
Mahalo,
Gabrielle Provencher
REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON • RS-86391
75-5782 Kuakini Hwy, #C-2D, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
• konahawaiirentals.com
gabbietheagent@gmail.com 808.313.2745 808.329.1010
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