HILO — On Oct. 7, 2025, the Hawaii County Council received a presentation from the Planning Department on Chapter 5 of the draft general plan, the “Thriving, Diverse and Regenerative Economy” chapter, which sets goals and policies for workforce development, small business support, agriculture and the visitor industry.

The chapter lays out an overarching goal that “our economy is diverse, regenerative, and innovative,” and lists objectives and actions to expand workforce training, support small businesses, strengthen ag production and value-added industries, and promote a regenerative visitor industry that balances cultural and natural resource protection with visitation.

Planning staff said the chapter frames the county’s role mainly as enabling market conditions through land-use policy, infrastructure design and targeted programs rather than directly building private businesses. “What is the county’s role in economic development?” Bethany Morrison, long‑range planning division, asked after outlining the chapter’s approach and goals.

Key items in the draft

- Workforce and small business: Objective 43 (improve access to education and training), Objective 44 (increase growth and health of small businesses) and related policies call for expanding apprenticeships, streamlined regulatory processes and liaison services between county staff and private-sector businesses.

- Innovation and island brand: Objective 45 calls to “promote a distinctive brand for the island of Hawaii” and to develop a marketing strategy aimed at housing, workforce and regulatory conditions to attract emerging industries.

- Agriculture and ag tech: Objective 46 focuses on increasing access to land for active food production and includes actions to develop agricultural‑technology research and a crop‑suitability tool that would include existing and projected water demand. The chapter also proposes studying building‑code amendments and structural testing to allow use of locally produced building materials.

- Visitor industry and ag tourism: Objectives 48–49 encourage visitor industry investment that connects visitors to communities and cultural practices, and promote actions such as informational signage for significant sites, streamlined permitting for community festivals and state CIP funding for visitor‑support facilities. Planning staff noted that agricultural tourism is already recognized in county code and that many farms supplement income with on‑site retail and tours.

Council questions and concerns

Council members pressed staff on several themes during discussion:

- Data centers and artificial intelligence: Council member Heather Kimball cautioned that data centers “consume an incredible amount of energy,” can require significant water and noise mitigation and have prompted other jurisdictions to revive fossil‑fuel generation. Council member James Eustace urged the council to contemplate artificial intelligence as a possible “complete disruptor,” saying, “it could be a complete disruptor as well, and that's artificial intelligence.” Council member Rebecca Villegas said she shared “the interest in finding a way for how we gird ourselves, to be protected from potential inundation” by such large new uses.

- Housing–jobs mismatch and land‑use centers: Staff pointed to the plan’s mapping of urban and regional centers intended to concentrate infrastructure, housing density and commercial services so jobs are closer to where people live. Morrison used Hawaiian Paradise Park in Puna as an example of a community with many residents but few local jobs, producing long commutes; the plan notes an average commute time on the island of 26.8 minutes and highlights a mismatch between population and job centers.

- County role and partnerships: Multiple council members asked which departments would carry out actions such as feasibility studies for tax abatements or industrial development bonds. Planning staff said department responsibilities are listed in a table in the draft but that the current administration’s staff had not yet signed off on detailed implementation assignments. Staff repeatedly emphasized the need to collaborate with state agencies (for example, Department of Agriculture and Department of Land and Natural Resources) on state lands, and to work with county Research and Development and Human Resources for workforce initiatives.

- Agriculture infrastructure and aquaculture: Planning staff described a history in which most agricultural park development has been led by the state and noted existing aquaculture activity centered in Hilo and at NELHA (Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority) on the Kona side. Staff recommended partnering with state and nonprofit stakeholders to identify infrastructure gaps and feasibility for ag‑related building materials and ag‑tech investment.

Why it matters

The chapter will guide land‑use classifications, CIP priorities and program development for the next 20 years. Its policies could affect where housing and jobs are encouraged, whether agricultural and ag‑tech industries receive county support, how visitor experiences are managed, and how the county prepares for new, large‑scale technology projects such as data centers.

Next steps and public review

Planning staff said the draft chapter and supporting reports are available on the Planning Department website for public review. The council later voted to postpone formal action on the plan to the call of the chair to allow further review and edits.

Ending

Council members signaled support for tightening coordination with state agencies, clarifying departmental responsibilities for implementation, and adding language to anticipate emerging technologies and their infrastructure demands. The draft remains available online for public comment and further council deliberation.