Policy Committee Meeting on Planning Feb 3, 2026
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
21st Session of the Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development
The Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development met on February 3, 2026, to hear public testimony and deliberate on a coordinated package of three bills (124, 125, and 126) aimed at revitalizing downtown Pahoa. The committee heard support from community leaders regarding the potential for economic and cultural growth. The bills focus on establishing a new special zoning district, clarifying design guidelines, and facilitating property rezoning for commercial and light industrial uses. The committee unanimously recommended forwarding all three bills to the Windward Planning Commission and Planning Department for further review.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Robert Golden (Executive Director, Puna Rising Ohana; Acting President, Main Street Pahoa Association; President, Pahoa Lava Zone Museum): Expressed strong support for bills 124, 125, and 126. He testified that the community does not disappear when buildings are damaged, but when policy makes it impossible to belong. He stated he felt the bills were a "icing on the cake" for the accomplishments of Council Chair Kirkowitz and argued the effort opens a real avenue for people to start businesses and make a wonderful life. He emphasized the need to keep Pahoa's historic values and authentic character.
Discussion Items
- Bill 126 (Downtown Pahoa Commercial District): Councilmember Kirkowitz introduced the bill to create a new special zoning district between Post Office Road and Aka'akamai Loop. She clarified that the bill is not an improvement district and involves no special tax assessments on property owners. The bill seeks to expand permitted uses to include light industrial uses and explicitly elevate "cultural enterprise," co-working innovation hubs, and creative media spaces as distinct uses. Councilmember Kimball expressed curiosity regarding whether explicitly listing these uses might inadvertently exclude them from general commercial definitions in other zones.
- Corporation Council & Planning Department Response: Deputy Corporation Counsel Gene Campbell and Planning Director stated that the new definitions are inclusive (interpreting them as "including but not limited to") and will not exclude these uses from the broader commercial definition applicable in other zones. They confirmed the Department supports the new uses and intends to include them in other zoning districts as part of the ongoing comprehensive zoning code update.
- Bill 124 (Rezoning for DPC): Councilmember Kirkowitz explained this is a companion measure to Bill 126 that authorizes the rezoning of specific properties to the proposed Downtown Pahoa Commercial District. She emphasized that the county cannot force property owners to rezone; owners must opt-in. She clarified that real property taxes are based on the actual use of the property, not the zoning designation, so no tax changes occur unless the use itself changes.
- Bill 125 (Pahoa Village Design Guidelines): Councilmember Kirkowitz introduced this bill to clarify the duties, procedures, and selection processes for the Pahoa Design Review Committee. She noted that while the committee is grassroots, there has been a lack of clarity regarding the composition and tenure of its members. The bill aims to increase transparency in how members are vetted and approved, and to establish a 10-year review cycle for the guidelines to ensure they remain modern and applicable.
Key Outcomes
- Bill 126: Motion to forward to the Windward Planning Commission and Planning Department passed with 8 ayes (Council Member Kleinfelder excused).
- Bill 124: Motion to forward to the Windward Planning Commission and Planning Department passed with 7 ayes (Council Members Galimba and Kleinfelder excused).
- Bill 125: Motion to forward to the Windward Planning Commission and Planning Department passed with 7 ayes (Council Members Galimba and Kleinfelder excused).
- Procedural Note: Council Chair Heather Kimball transferred the gavel to Vice Chair Councilmember Galimba during the meeting and later handed it back; Councilmember Kirkowitz served as the primary presenter for the bills as the original chair introduced them.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Oneshi. Welcome to the 21st session of the Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development. Today is Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026. I'm calling this meeting to order at 1.31 p.m. Present for committee today are members Heather Kimball, Michelle Galimba, Rebecca Viegas, Holeka Inaba, Fresh Oneshi, James Hustis, Jennifer Kagiwada. Excuse from today's committee is um Matt Kenneli E. Kleinfelder. My name is Ashley Kirkwitz, Chair and Presiding Officer. At this time, we will take testimony from the public. Mr. R.S.L.I., if you could please check in with our remote sites and Zoom and then folks here in Hilo Chambers. Thank you. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. Noting that we have one testifier via Zoom and one testifier here in Hilo. We'll start with our Zoom testifier, Robert Golden, testifying on bills 124, 125, and 126. Robert, when you're ready to begin, if you could just introduce yourself, you'll have three minutes per agenda item if you clearly transition. If not, it'll be three minutes total. Please feel free to introduce yourself as you begin, please. Aloha. My name is Robert Golden. I'm executive director of Puna Rising Ohana, an organization that is deeply aligned with what these series of bills, 124, 125, 126, are seeking to achieve. And I also stood there during moments of quiet resilience. People gathering anyway, sharing food, art, stories, and hope in borrowed spaces. What I learned is this community doesn't disappear when buildings are damaged. It disappears when policy makes it impossible to belong. That lived truth is why I'm here today in strong support of bills 124, 125, and 126. These bills are not about turning Bajoa into something it's not. They are not about creating conditions for Pahoa already is. I'm once again so happy to be able to come here and uh give my uh Manoa and uh I can't thank our our council member Kirkowitz enough for doing this alone in the eight years of everything that she has accomplished for us. This is like you know, really icing on the cake. Uh I'm the uh acting president of Main Street Pahoa Association, and I'm now the president of the uh Pahoa Lava Zone Museum. So I'm very committed to uh Pahoa. I you know feel it's a part of me. I lived in Capoho for 10 years until the lava came. And uh, you know, I don't know. It's just I I just love Pahoa, and it's just you know really great, you know. Uh it's like nowhere else, and it's one of the few kind of places like that left. You know, when I was a kid, there were places like that, you know. I kind of grew up in, uh, but they're uh so gentrified, and Bohoa is so authentic and you know so historic, and it's just uh so hard for it to uh come back from the the flow. We we've lost so many people uh you know left and downtown is you know really struggled. Um, you know I ended up in Seaview, which is you know, south of everything, and uh most of my neighbors that stayed ended up in uh HBP. So they're very focused on Kau. Uh but uh me and two of my neighbors ended up in uh you know, really red road. So you know, it's and then I was so hopeful that Bohiki, the boat would be the boat ramp would be freed. We'd get the boat traffic back. That would have helped so much. Um but you know that didn't work yet.
openpublica.com