HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-21 Nadia Ranne Testimony
From: Nadia Schomer Ranne
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Testimony - Ban Hyperscale Data Centers
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026 3:41:07 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission,
Please support the intent of Bill 170. Please support creating a real definition of "data center," distinguished from the existing
"data processing facility" definition. Please reject the Planning Department's recommendation, which would open a
permitted-use pathway for smaller data centers rather than close one.
I am writing to support the intent of Bill 170 and asking the Leeward Planning Commission to
recommend additional strengthening changes before sending it back to the County Council.
Bill 170's current 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 a clear, objective definition of "data center," distinct from the county's existing "data processing facility"
definition.
I'm also asking the Commission to reject the Planning Department's recommendation to add
smaller data centers as a permitted use. That change would open a legal pathway for data centers here rather than close one, with no discretionary review of grid impact, water, noise, or
anything else.
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.
I request that Hawaii County (and our entire state) ban hyperscale data centers. Our islands cannot support hyperscale data centers. The risks and costs are too great.
Mahalo,
Nadia Ranne Keaau, Hawaii