HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-10-12 Diane Ware Testimony
From: Diane Ware
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Subject: Bill 170
Date: Monday, October 12, 2026 4:24:22 PM
Aloha Leeward Planning Commission and Planning Department,
My name is Diane Ware and I am from Moku o Ka’u.My testimony addresses both the
Leeward Planning Commission and the Planning Department because you are asking the community for input on the same concerns simultaneously.
I am asking our planning commissioners to reject the Planning Department’s recommendation,
which prematurely revises regulations before defining what a data center is. Their proposal currently lacks substantial safeguards. We must work to clarify definitions before defining
regulations.
I support the intent of Bill 170, section 1, and urge the Leeward Planning Commission to recommend a stronger definition of "data center" that distinguishes data-center processing.
The original bill defines a data center using subjective language that a developer's attorney can easily argue around in court. I am asking the commission to recommend an objective, airtight
definition grounded in what the facility physically contains and how much power it draws. Specifically, I am asking the commission to recommend this language:
"Data center" means a facility used for the industrial-scale operation of computer systems and
associated equipment [for the processing, computing, transmission, or dissemination of digital data] that requires supporting infrastructure beyond that typically accessory or incidental to
office, commercial, or public and private institutional uses, including a single facility and any campus of multiple facilities under common ownership or control whose combined electrical
demand meets or exceeds 5 megawatts.
Mahalo,
Diane Ware Moku o Ka’u
P. O. Box 698 Volcano HI 96785