Hawaiʻi County Data Center Rules

Hawaiʻi County’s debate over data-center development centers on Bill 170, which seeks to distinguish industrial-scale facilities, including AI data centers, from conventional data-processing uses in county zoning rules.

The discussion involves where such facilities could be sited, whether they should require special-use permits and public hearings, and how definitions can distinguish hyperscale campuses from telecommunications infrastructure and ordinary computer-based operations. Residents and officials have raised questions about potential electricity and water demand, noise, wastewater, utility costs, and infrastructure burdens, alongside possible economic benefits. The subject connects local land-use decisions with the county’s capacity to review and regulate large facilities.