HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-10-12 Ryan Goldman SupportFrom: Ryan Goldman
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Bill 170 Testimony
Date: Monday, October 12, 2026 3:13:39 PM
Aloha,
My name is Ryan Goldman and I live in Waikoloa Village. 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 for your time and attention to this.