HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-21 Dylan Velez Testimony
From: Dylan Velez
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 4:27:38 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department,
My name is Dylan Velez and I am from Hāmākua, Hawai’i. 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,
Dylan Velez