Hawaiʻi County Council Forwards Data Center Bill To Planning Commissions

The Hawaiʻi County Council's Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Economic Development recently conducted its initial public hearing on Bill 170, a legislative proposal aimed at regulating data centers on Hawaiʻi island.

Following public testimony, largely in opposition to the development of artificial intelligence manufacturing facilities on the island, the committee voted to advance the bill to the Hawaiʻi County planning commissions. Introduced by Councilmember Heather Kimball, Bill 170 seeks to differentiate general data processing facilities, which are currently permitted in industrial-commercial mixed-use zoning districts, from larger-scale 'data centers.' The bill explicitly states that its purpose is not to encourage or permit data centers but to affirm that they are an unpermitted use within the County, consistent with existing zoning code interpretations.

Councilmember Kimball emphasized that the County Code's principle is that anything not explicitly listed as permitted is, by default, unpermitted—a standard practice in zoning across the nation. The proposal comes at a time of increasing national concern over data centers' substantial consumption of water and energy resources and their impact on local communities. Hawaiʻi County Planning Director Jeff Darrow noted that no data center permit applications are currently pending before the planning department. The committee is awaiting discussions by the Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions before scheduling further hearings on the bill.