Hawaii County committee amends and postpones Bill 60 after faith leaders raise objections

KONA — The Hawaii County Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development on June 17 amended and then postponed Bill 60, a planning-department–initiated zoning update that would replace existing rules for churches, temples and synagogues with a new "meeting facility" category.

The committee, chaired by Ashley Kerkowitz, voted 9–0 to adopt an amendment that removes the ordinance's hours-of-operation restrictions and clarifies when plan approval, use permits, or special permits are required; the committee then voted 9–0 to postpone further action on the bill to the committee's July 8 meeting to allow more community review.

The amendment and postponement followed lengthy public testimony and discussion. Several representatives of faith communities told the committee the bill as originally drafted would limit religious practice by treating houses of worship differently from comparable secular uses.

"I believe the activities in our buildings before 8AM and after 9PM are crucial to the operation of our faith," said Aaron Aluna, who identified himself as a stake president overseeing congregations in Hawaii County. "But more importantly, they spiritually strengthen our youth and overall membership." Aluna urged the council not to adopt the ordinance as written.

Leonard Tanaka, a longtime local business owner who also identified himself as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said he opposed Bill 60 because it "has a huge negative impact on our personal and our religious rights." Jonathan Roche, speaking for Interfaith Communities in Action and as an associate conference minister of the Hawaii Conference, United Church of Christ, told the committee he believed the bill "is a violation of our religious freedom" and asked the council to withdraw it and engage broader faith-community input.

Claudia Rohrer, a Hilo resident who reviewed the county's draft, said the proposal "is unsuccessfully trying to regulate apples and oranges by creating a catchall category of land use meeting facilities" and argued the draft remained "facially discriminatory" despite revisions.

Planning Department Director Jeff Darrow said the department drafted Bill 60 in response to a federal civil-rights concern and to correct inconsistencies in the county code. "In 2023, the planning department received a number of complaints regarding a Jewish Shabbat in a residential zoning," Darrow said, describing how the department engaged with affected parties and outside counsel while drafting revisions. He said the proposed code would delete references to "community buildings" and to "churches, temples, and synagogues" and place those uses under a unified definition of "meeting facility." That definition would apply where gatherings exceed 25 attendees (exclusive of family members, per a planning-commission recommendation) and occur more than twice per week; depending on the zoning district, that triggers either plan approval, a use permit, or a special permit.

The amendment adopted June 17 removed the bill's previous hours-of-operation language after multiple faith leaders and council members raised concerns that limits could make legitimate sunrise services, late-night vigils and other worship events impermissible. The amendment also clarified that existing, properly permitted facilities would not need to obtain new approvals; previously permitted churches, temples and community buildings would remain governed by their current permits or approvals.

Committee members asked staff to clarify several operational questions before the July 8 meeting. Councilmember Michelle Galimba said she supported removing hours limits for houses of worship but expressed concern that the same change would also apply to secular event venues where late-night noise could affect neighbors; planning staff said conditions such as parking and noise mitigation could be addressed as part of plan approval or through permit amendments when needed. Director Darrow noted that large outdoor concerts and similar events already are asking for plan-approval amendments to address parking and related impacts.

Chair Kerkowitz said she intended to postpone Bill 60 to the committee's July 8 hearing "so that the community has ample time to review the updated version of Bill 60." The committee approved that postponement by voice vote with nine ayes.

The amended draft discussed on June 17 included a planning-commission recommendation to treat the 25-person threshold as "exclusive of family members," and the committee asked staff to circulate the revised language to affected faith communities before the next hearing.

Votes at a glance: The committee adopted the amendment to Bill 60 by voice vote (motion: amend with contents of communication 313.2; mover: Councilmember Holaka Inaba; second: Councilmember James Eustace; outcome: amendment adopted, 9 ayes). The committee then voted to postpone Bill 60 to July 8 (motion: postpone as amended to July 8; mover: Councilmember Holaka Inaba; second: Councilmember Onishi; outcome: postponed, 9 ayes).

The committee meeting began at 12:00 p.m. at the West Hawaii Civic Center and concluded at 12:42 p.m. The item will return to committee July 8 for additional review and any further amendments.