HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-29 Konan Wood TestimonyFrom:Kelaki
To:Planning LPC Testimony
Subject:Bill 170 & Planning Department Public Comments
Date:Tuesday, September 29, 2026 9:50:43 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department,
My name is Konan Wood, and I am from Hilo, Hawaii. My testimony addresses both the
Leeward Planning Commission and the Planning Department because you are asking thecommunity 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 definingregulations.
I support the intent of Bill 170, section 1, and urge the Leeward Planning Commission torecommend 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 caneasily 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 andassociated equipment [for the processing, computing, transmission, or dissemination of digital
data] that requires supporting infrastructure beyond that typically accessory or incidental tooffice, commercial, or public and private institutional uses[.], including a single facility and
any campus of multiple facilities under common ownership or control whose combinedelectrical demand meets or exceeds 5 megawatts.
I have seen the damage these data centers have already done in other states; they are clearly nogood for our environment and limited resources.
Mahalo,Konan Wood
Hilo, Hawaii