Hawaii County committee postpones telecom-antenna ordinance after public calls for testing, transparency

The Hawaii County Council Committee on Economic Development postponed consideration of Bill 194, an ordinance that would revise county rules for telecommunications antennas and towers, until a Feb. 4 committee meeting after public testimony urging emissions testing and greater transparency.

Supporters said the proposal aims to balance connectivity with aesthetics and public information. Naomi Melamed, Hawaii Island representative of Safetec Hawaii, urged a favorable recommendation, saying the measure “does not infringe upon federal or state law” and would increase transparency by “measuring and posting the emissions from cell towers.” Deborah Green, founding director of Safetec Hawaii, told the committee the bill “creates application requirements and standards, including setbacks and an order of priority for siting facilities” and that it is modeled on ordinances in other jurisdictions.

Sponsor Cindy Evans, a former council member and North Kohala resident, described the ordinance as the result of constituent concerns beginning in 2023 and said she had consulted federal and state agencies while drafting the bill. Evans told the committee the measure is intended to improve “transparency and accountability” and to provide residents more information about antenna siting and potential effects.

The ordinance, as read into the record, would amend chapters of the Hawaii County Code to add or revise definitions for telecommunication antennas and towers, expand plan-approval requirements, allow antennas or towers in the industrial-commercial-mixed (MCX) district with planning-director approval, and revise siting, design and operating regulations. A transmittal referenced in the record is communication 985.50 from Managing Director William V. Brohante Jr., dated Dec. 20, 2024.

During discussion, council members and staff noted that federal law constrains local regulation of wireless facilities. Deborah Green summarized those constraints, citing the Telecommunications Act’s preservation of local authority to regulate placement, construction and modification of wireless facilities but noting five limits including non-discrimination among providers and that environmental effects of radiation may not be a basis for regulation. Green emphasized the bill’s requirement for emissions testing to confirm compliance with FCC guidelines, noting that the FCC does not itself conduct emissions testing.

Committee members moved first to forward Bill 194 to the council with a favorable recommendation, then agreed to postpone action so it could be considered alongside a Planning Commission bill on the same subject. Councilmember Kimball made the motion to postpone to Feb. 4; Councilmember Inaba seconded. The committee voice vote was recorded as seven in favor, with Councilmembers Kirkewitz and Connolly E. Kleinfelder excused; the motion to postpone carried.

The committee did not take final action on the ordinance; the item will return for consideration at the Feb. 4 committee meeting, where members said they expect to review related Planning Commission material.

The record includes public testimony from Safetec Hawaii representatives and a statement from former Councilmember Cindy Evans. Committee members asked staff about deadlines and numbering processes related to parallel Planning Commission proposals and directed staff to coordinate timing so both items can be heard together.