HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-10-12 Gabrial Isaiah Aponte SupportFrom:OXO BSB
To:Planning LPC Testimony
Subject:Anti-A.I.
Date:Monday, October 12, 2026 10:54:28 AM
My name is Gabriel Isaiah Aponte, I am 21 years old, and I live in Fern Forest. I amsubmitting testimony in strong support of Bill 170 and urging the Leeward Planning
Commission to recommend a stronger definition of "hyperscale data center" before sending itback to the County Council.
The original bill defines a data center using subjective language that a developer's attorney canargue 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 isthe 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, fireprotection systems, security systems, electrical substations, generators, and redundant power
supplies; and which requires or is designed to require 20 megawatts or more of electricalcapacity 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 whosecombined electrical demand meets or exceeds 20 megawatts. This term includes facilities
commonly described as large-scale, hyperscale, neocloud, and artificial intelligence datacenters and colocation campuses. This term does not include telecommunications facilities
regulated under Section 25-4-12, hospital or government data systems, university educationaland 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 languageensures 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 theprohibition meaningful and durable.
As a 21-year-old living on this island, I am deeply concerned about what our home will looklike for my generation and those that follow. Hawaii's ecosystems are incredibly fragile, and
our communities are already suffering from a critical shortage of clean, accessible drinkingwater due to widespread pollution and aquifer depletion. AI hyperscale data centers require
millions of gallons of water daily just for cooling, alongside immense energy demands thatwill further strain our electrical grid and drive up our already nation-highest utility bills.
Introducing these resource-heavy industries into an isolated island environment risksirreversibly damaging our native ecosystems and exacerbating our water crisis for short-term
tech expansion.Our island cannot afford to get this wrong. Please recommend the strongest possible version of
this bill.Mahalo,
Gabriel Isaiah AponteFern Forest, HI