HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-10-12 Katherine Gladwin Support
From: Katherine Gladwin
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Bill 170
Date: Monday, October 12, 2026 2:57:19 PM
Dear members of the planning committee,
My name is Katherine Gladwin and I live in Captain Cook. I am writing in strong support of
Bill 170 and asking the Leeward Planning Commission to recommend it favorably, with one
specific strengthening change.
The current bill 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 draw a clear line, and a well-resourced developer's attorney can
likely argue a project around them.
I’m asking the Commission to give a favorable recommendation for Bill 170 AND to
recommend replacing that language with an objective 5 megawatt electrical demand
threshold, the same figure the Hawaiʻi State Legislature itself is already using to study large
data centers in HCR 206 HD1.
The state’s own working group is still studying the full effects of these facilities, but that’s
exactly why 5 megawatts is a solid place for our definition to start: it’s the same line our
own state lawmakers have already agreed is significant enough to study.
Hawaiʻi Island has limited water, a fragile grid, and electricity rates nearly three times the
national average. We don't need to wait for a company to show up with a proposal to know
this is the wrong place for a hyperscale data center. Please recommend Bill 170 favorably,
with a strengthened, objective definition.
Mahalo,
Katherine Gladwin
Captain Cook