HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-20 'Iwalani Harris Support
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From: Iwa H
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Written Testimony for Bill 170 for the Leeward Planning Commission meeting on 9/24/2026
Date: Sunday, September 20, 2026 12:48:24 PM
Attachments: Harris_Bill 170 Testimony.pdf
Aloha,
I am submitting written testimony for Bill 170 to be added to the Leeward
Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, 9/24/2026.
Mahalo for your time,
"Collect Beautiful Moments!"
Iwalani (Iwa) Harris 937-5054 (cell)
Date: September 24, 2026
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: West Hawaii Civic Center, Council Chambers Building A, 74-5044 Ane
Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona
Committee: Leeward Planning Commission
Measure: Bill 170 Relating Data Centers
Testifier: A. ‘Iwalani Harris
Position: Support of Bill 170
My name is ‘Iwalani Harris and I live in Hilo. I am writing in support of Bill 170 and
asking the Leeward Planning Commission to recommend additional strengthening
changes and having clearer language before sending it back to the County Council.
The original Bill 170 language uses subjective phrases like "industrial-scale operation"
and "beyond that typically accessory or incidental to office, commercial, or public
institutional uses." Those phrases don't set a clear line, and a well-resourced
developer's attorney can argue around them either way. I'm asking the Commission to
recommend replacing that subjective language with an objective, enforceable standard:
a specific electrical-demand threshold, measured in megawatts, that applies to a single
facility and to any campus of multiple facilities built under common ownership or control,
so a developer can't dodge the rule by splitting one large project into several smaller
buildings.
Lastly, I am asking the Commission to reject the planning department's
recommendations because it's getting ahead of the fact that we havenʻt even defined
what data centers are. Hiring a consultant from the contiguous U.S. to give those
recommendations is premature and does not come from an island lens!
The ‘ōlelo no’eau (Hawaiian proverb), “Mōhala i ka Wai ka Maka o ka Pua” conveys the
idea that water is the essential catalyst for life and growth. Just as water nurtures and
sustains the blossoming of flowers so, too, does it nurture and sustain our people. This
wisdom resonates deeply, as our islands’ very existence depends on the abundance
and purity of wai (fresh water). It is a reminder of the profound connection between the
ʻāina (the land; that which feeds) and the people. We do not have unlimited resources,
living on islands. We need to consider the impact these potential data centers have on
our ‘āina, our lāhui, our keiki.
Our island's closed water system, fossil-fuel-dependent grid, and already strained
infrastructure cannot support data centers. Please recommend the strongest possible
version of this bill to the County Council because Data Centers/Facilities do not belong
here in Hawai’i.
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.
Respectfully,
‘Iwalani Harris, Hilo resident