HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-21 Phaethon Keeney Testimony
From: Honokaa People"s Theatre
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; Planning General Plan
Subject: Bill 170 & Planning Department Public Comments
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026 4:52:50 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department, My name is Phaethon Keeney, and I am
from Honokaa. 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.
We recently hosted the relatively balanced film "The AI Doc" at the Honokaa Peoples Theatre with a group discussion afterwards and everyone in attendance who heard the arguments for and against were pretty much in agreement that any Data Center on Hawaii center must be fought with all our strength. 5MW is a generous cutoff, as my partner managed data computing at CFHT observatory, which at it's peak uses less than 70 kilowatts, and the largest current commercial data center DR Fortress on Oahu uses 4.1MW peak, and the Maui High Performance Computing Center (part military) is about 1 or 2 MW. Please keep up the good work and intention of Bill 170 but provide airtight definitions we can be sure of, anything larger than Hawaii currently has for commercial use is a good starting point and 5MW is a clear reference point.
Mahalo, Phaethon Keeney, Honokaa