HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-21 Jeanne Wheeler Testimony
From: Jeanne | Wheeler
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: Bill 170 & Planning Department Public Comments
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026 6:25:42 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department:
I am a lower Puna resident writing with big concerns - from having dealt with data centers in other parts of the country. My testimony addresses both the Leeward Planning Commission and the Planning Department, because you are asking the community for input on the same issues simultaneously.
I ask that our planning commissioners please reject the Planning Department’s recommendation, which prematurely revises regulations before defining what a data center actually is. Their proposal currently lacks substantial safeguards - we must work to clarify a definition BEFORE defining the respective regulations.
I support the intent of Bill 170, section 1, and so ask that the Leeward Planning Commission please recommend a stronger definition of "data center" to distinguish 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 ask the commission to please recommend an objective, airtight definition - grounded in what the facility physically contains, and how much power it draws.
Specifically, I would like the commission to recommend this language as follows:
"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.
I’ve witnessed some very disturbing affects on public health and surrounding environment in many communities on the mainland - please let’s work diligently to avoid any such problems here!
Mahalo, Jeanne Wheeler, Pahoa, 96778