Hawaii County committee forwards Bill 46 with unfavorable recommendation over water-supply shortfall

The Committee for Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions of the Hawaii County Council voted to forward Bill 46 to the full council with an unfavorable recommendation after members said the parcel proposed for rezoning in Naalehu lacks the required water supply.

Bill 46 would change the zoning for a roughly 6,920.3-square-foot portion of a 25,955-square-foot parcel at 95-5591 Maimalua Highway in Naalehu from Single-Family Residential (10,000 sq. ft.) to Village Commercial (CB-10). The applicant is LA Services Incorporated; the planning department and the Windward Planning Commission recommended against the change. The planning director said the Department of Water Supply (DWS) has concluded it cannot supply water to the rezoned portion without major, dedicable infrastructure improvements.

Planning Director Jeff Darrow told the committee the application seeks a unified zoning designation for the entire property following parcel consolidation but that “there is no current plan for development or construction.” Darrow said the proposed rezoning “does not meet the minimum concurrency requirements for water as set forth in Hawaii County Code section 25-2-46(m).” He added that DWS advised it could not supply water for the request without “significant improvements” that would need to meet county dedicable standards and be costly.

Darrow described the kind of infrastructure the county typically requires when DWS cannot supply service: a dedicable system that could include two wells, a 100,000-gallon tank, elevation and distribution requirements and other infrastructure. “The cost of it is extreme. It's in the millions,” he said, and said those improvements are generally meant for larger projects.

Councilmember Villegas said he would not support sending the bill forward because both the planning department and the Windward Planning Commission recommended against it. “I see no reason why we would, send this forward with a positive, so I won't be supporting this today,” Villegas said. Councilmember Galimba said the parcel could be an appropriate commercial location in land-use terms but agreed with the water-supply concern, saying “to do a change of zone and not have the water to back it up is unwise.”

Committee members moved to forward Bill 46 to counsel with a favorable recommendation; the motion, made by Councilmember Cherry Nava and seconded by Councilmember Galimba, failed on a roll call that produced nine opposing votes. The clerk recorded that the committee will forward Bill 46 to the full council with an unfavorable recommendation.

No representative for LA Services Incorporated spoke at the committee meeting, and the planning director noted the applicant has not provided a specific development proposal for the rezoned area. The Windward Planning Commission voted to forward an unfavorable recommendation at its April 3, 2025 hearing; the planning director cited that recommendation in presenting to the committee.

Because the committee forwarded Bill 46 with an unfavorable recommendation, the matter will move to the full Hawaii County Council with that recommendation; no date for full-council consideration was specified at the committee meeting.