HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-21 Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian Testimony
From: Tanya Anne
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Cc: Tanya Anne
Subject: Bill 170, Leeward Planning Commission Written Testimony
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026 2:15:08 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department,
My name is Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian and I reside in Pahoa. I represent myself and
my ʻohana with this testimony. I am the author of Leadership for the Soul, a guide for
personal transformation and collective transformation and support the biospiritual ecology
of a regenerative economy for Hawaii Island.
I donʻt know what consultant was hired to created this definition, but it is frustrating and
exhausting to see our public dollars spent to pay consultants who either are not from here,
arenʻt considering the long term effects of their work (or non-work), and/or who have not
done the research on data centers and their destructive effects on families and rural
communities across the U.S.
I do support the intent of Bill 170 as written in Section 1. I urge this Commission to
strengthen the proposed definition of “data center.” Some of the language being considered
is simply too vague. We should be closing every door, window, and entry we can through
which a natural resource-hogging computing facility could claim it does not meet the
definition of a data center and establish itself on Hawaiʻi Island.
Specifically, I am asking the commission to consider this working definition which was
thoughtfully written by activists who have banded together. I hope we can agree upon a
definition that ensures County Council and County management do not knowingly leave
open a loophole for egregious greedy companies to take advantage us and our trusting
nature:
"'Data center' means a facility, or two or more facilities on contiguous or adjacent parcels
under common ownership or control, whose primary purpose is housing, operating, or co-
locating computer servers and associated cooling, power, and support infrastructure, and
whose combined electrical demand at full build-out meets or exceeds 5 megawatts."
This definition provides several important protections. It defines a data center by its function
rather than its label. It specifically identifies servers and associated cooling, power, and
support infrastructure. It aggregates facilities on contiguous or adjacent parcels under
common ownership or control so that one project cannot simply be divided among multiple
buildings, parcels, subsidiaries, or LLCs. And it uses electrical demand—rather than
building size—as an objective, measurable threshold. While I have concerns about land
use, other resources including power and water should also be considered given the
overwhelming public outcry we see across the U.S. concerning these environmentally and
socioeconomically destructive facilities.
We should use our time — yours and the public's — time efficiently: define “data center”
comprehensively, close the loopholes we can foresee, support the intent of Bill 170,
and effectively work toward a ban.
Mahalo for your thoughtful review of public testimonies and your own internal discussions
on how to protect our islandʻs limited natural resources, as well as doing your best to not
waste everyoneʻs time. We are just getting started on these kind of long term vision
discussion regarding local policy on humanity/nature vs. technology.
With respect and aloha,
Tanya
Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian Author, Leadership for the Soul (2026)
Pāhoa, Hawaii ***
Call/text: 808.747.4410 https://dot.cards/seveneyes
I am because We are. We are because I am.