HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-20 Kathleen Hilliard TestimonyFrom: sarah
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Bill 170 & Planning Department Public Comments
Date: Sunday, September 20, 2026 4:15:40 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department,
My name is [ ], and I am from [ ]. 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 megawat.
Mahalo,
[Kathleen Hilliard