Hawaii County Council, May 5, 2026
Approved: Bill 146 - Transit Oriented Development funds for 34 Rainbow affordable housing project, 9-0
How this board votes
The County Council approved 94% of 489 recorded land-use decisions this period. Most frequent dissent: James Hustace (23 of 52 recorded votes).
Parsed from the official meeting recordings. Verify against the official minutes.
See the full board record, member by memberWhat happened
On May 5, 2026, Hawaii County approved Bill 146 - Transit Oriented Development funds for 34 Rainbow affordable housing project (9-0).
The Hawaii County Council meeting contained no rezoning or private development entitlements. The most consequential land-use action was approval of Resolution 516-26, authorizing the Finance Director to negotiate acquisition of approximately 1,967.96 acres known as Kumukahi in Pu…
- Jurisdiction
- Hawaii County, HI
- Governing body
- Final authority
- Date
- May 5, 2026
- Decisions
- 16 zoning decisions
- Outcome
- Approved, 9-0
Free sample: decision 1 of 16
Confirmation of Jason McEwen to Board of Ethics
Council closed file on communication 851 and confirmed nomination of Jason McEwen to the Board of Ethics. Vote 8 ayes, 1 absent (Council Member Galimba).
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Key Decisions (16)
Confirmation of Jason McEwen to Board of Ethics
Confirmation of Kari Clark to Cost of Government Commission
Confirmation of Leonard Luiz to Hamakua CDP Action Committee
Resolution 516-26 - Kumukahi land acquisition authorization, Puna
Resolution 517-26 - Invasive Species Grant to BISC
Resolution 553-26 - Copy machine lease for Public Works
Resolution 554-26 - Grant to La La Kea Foundation
Resolution 555-26 - Return of grant funds
Bill 148 - Designation of Lae Lae Park in Waimea
Bill 150 - Safe Routes to School non-infrastructure grant
Bill 151 - Safe Routes to Waikea School, Kilauea Avenue
Bill 155 - HOME Investment Partnership ARP funds
Bill 144 - Salary Ordinance of 2026
Bill 145 - Housing Choice Voucher Program funds
Bill 146 - Transit Oriented Development funds for 34 Rainbow affordable housing project
Bill 149 - USTA Tennis Court resurfacing
Full write-ups and conditions for all 16 decisions in Pro.
Development Activity (2)
Safe Routes to Waikea School Kilauea Avenue Part 1 Project
Infrastructure
34 Rainbow affordable housing project
Residential
Market Signals (4)
Infrastructure
County is investing heavily in Safe Routes to School pedestrian/shoulder…
Sentiment
Council members raised concerns about geographic inequity in grant-funded infrastructure…
Housing Demand
Continued reliance on federal HOME/ARP ($1.98M) and Housing Choice Voucher…
Other
County committed ~1,968 acres at Kumukahi in Puna to public/conservation…
Who spoke
19 distinct speakers; 14 identified names.
All speaker roles: 6 Councilmember, 6 Witness, 2 Clerk, 3 Staff, 1 Chair, 1 Public.
Identified name roles: 6 Councilmember, 4 Witness, 1 Chair, 2 Staff, 1 Clerk.
Speaker sample: Keone Thompson, Staff.
13 more identified names in Pro: 6 Councilmember, 4 Witness, 1 Chair, 1 Staff, 1 Clerk.
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Meeting audio
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Zoning terms (5)
25 recorded timestamps
- motion to approve (8 timestamps)
- approved (13 timestamps)
- residential (1 timestamps)
- zoning (1 timestamps)
- public hearing (2 timestamps)
Decision moments (16)
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16 recorded decisions. Available full write-ups are included with Pro for Hawaii County.
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