HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-29 Mikela Wood TestimonyFrom:Kelaki
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:Tuesday, September 29, 2026 9:49:36 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department,
My name is Mikela Wood, and I am from Hilo, Hawaii. My testimony addresses both theLeeward 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 proposalcurrently 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, airtightdefinition 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 digitaldata] that requires supporting infrastructure beyond that typically accessory or incidental to
office, commercial, or public and private institutional uses[.], including a single facility andany campus of multiple facilities under common ownership or control whose combined
electrical demand meets or exceeds 5 megawatts.
Our resources are limited and need to be protected if we are looking to have a bright future.
We observe how these established data centers are already negatively affecting theenvironment in the places they've been build.
Mahalo,Mikela Wood
Hilo, Hawaii