HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-10-10 Janali Torres Support
From: J
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Testimony for Bill 170
Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026 6:54:35 AM
Aloha!
My name is Janali and I have ʻohana that live in the Ahupua’a of Kealakekua. I am submitting testimony in strong support of Bill 170 and urging the Leeward Planning Commission to recommend a stronger definition of "hyperscale data center" before sending it back to the County Council. The original bill defines a data center using subjective language that a developer's attorney can argue around in court. I am asking the commission to recommend a definition that is objective and airtight, grounded in what the facility physically contains and how much power it draws.
Specifically I am asking the commission to recommend this language:
"Hyperscale data center means any facility or campus of facilities whose primary purpose is the housing, operation, or co-location of computer servers, networking equipment, and associated cooling, power, and support infrastructure, including but not limited to servers, network equipment and appliances, telecommunications equipment, data storage systems, systems for monitoring and managing infrastructure performance, environmental controls, fire protection systems, security systems, electrical substations, generators, and redundant power supplies; and which requires or is designed to require 20 megawatts or more of electrical capacity at full build-out. This definition includes a single facility and any campus of multiple facilities on contiguous or adjacent parcels under common ownership or control whose combined electrical demand meets or exceeds 20 megawatts. This term includes facilities commonly described as large-scale, hyperscale, neocloud, and artificial intelligence data centers and colocation campuses. This term does not include telecommunications facilities regulated under Section 25-4-12, hospital or government data systems, university educational and research facilities, or business offices in which servers are incidental to the primary use." The 20 megawatt threshold creates a bright line that cannot be disputed. The campus language ensures a developer cannot game that threshold by building multiple smaller facilities side by side on adjacent parcels under common ownership. Together these two elements make the prohibition meaningful and durable.
Please help protect our āina, keiki and future generations and do what you truly believe is Pono. Please recommend the strongest possible version of this bill.
Mahalo Nui, Janali Torres Ahupuaʻa of Keaʻau