HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-10-11 Dernie Waikiki SupportFrom: Dernie Waikiki
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Bill 170
Date: Sunday, October 11, 2026 8:18:39 AM
Aloha!
My name is Dernie Waikiki, I live in the Auhupuaʻa 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.
I am specifically 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.
ʻ
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,
Dernie Waikiki
808-347-2387