HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-21 Conceicao Farias TestimonyFrom: Conceicao Farias
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
Subject: Testimony Bill 170 & Planning Department input
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026 8:53:10 AM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department,
My name is Conceicao Farias, and I am from Kailua Kona. 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.
Mahalo,
Conceicao Farias, Kailua Kona, HI