Contact Mayor Alameda | Veto Hawaii County General Plan 2045
- Abbra Green
- Jun 4
- 5 min read
They Voted Yes. The People Said No.
Bill 66 Passes Despite Overwhelming Public Opposition
On June 3, 2026, the Hawaiʻi County Council voted 5-3 to pass Bill 66, adopting the Hawaii County General Plan 2045, a sweeping 300+ page document that will govern land use, growth, infrastructure, and community development across the Big Island for the next two decades. The vote came despite the Hilo council chambers overflowing with residents who showed up to voice their opposition.
The county committee voted yes and did so knowing what the room looked like.
The Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi stands firmly with the people of this island who showed up, testified, and were ignored. We oppose Bill 66. We are calling on Mayor Kimo Alameda to do what the Council refused to do: listen to the constituents, and veto this bill. The chambers were full. The opposition was overwhelming. The Council voted yes anyway. It is governance by imposition.
What Is Bill 66?
Bill 66 adopts the Hawaii County General Plan 2045, a comprehensive policy document that acts as the legal blueprint for land use decisions across Hawaiʻi Island. It is a foundational document that will shape zoning decisions, infrastructure investments, housing policy, agricultural land designations, and energy mandates for the next 20 years.
The plan had been in development for over a decade and costed the county approximately $1.7 million to produce. The 2045 Plan is a top-down policy prescription with hundreds of pages of mandates, restrictions, and centralized targets that leave little room for individual property owners, rural families, farmers, or community members to chart their own course.
Key provisions of the 2045 Plan include:
Strict land use restrictions designed to confine growth to designated urban areas, limiting what landowners can do with their own rural and agricultural property
"Net-zero" carbon emissions goals and renewable energy mandates built into county planning policy as governing targets
Provisions for mass transit expansion across an island where transit infrastructure has historically been limited and individual transportation is a practical necessity
Climate change adaptation frameworks that could be used to justify further restrictions on land use, building, and development for years to come
Stricter zoning and land use rules, enforced through a planning framework that empowers bureaucrats to override local and individual decisions
What Happened at the Council Chamber
The scene at the Hilo council chambers on June 3 told the whole story. Residents packed the room. Testimony after testimony came from Big Island community members ranging from farmers, to landowners, to small business owners, and long-time residents who stood up to say they did not want this plan imposed on their island.
Those who attended accruately described the plan as a "blatant land-grab," "too prescriptive," and an overreach that failed to reflect what the community actually wants. They were the kind of residents who don't normally show up to county council meetings, motivated enough by their opposition to make themselves heard.
And the Council voted yes anyway.
Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Ashley Kierkiewicz, and Holeka Inaba cast no votes, standing with their constituents. The other five overrode the clear will of the public and passed the bill on its second and final reading. When the chamber is full of no-votes and the Council still votes yes, they are no longer representing the people as their job description dictates.
Elected officials who cannot be moved by the people they represent have stopped serving them.
Why We Oppose the Hawaii County General Plan 2045
The Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi opposes Bill 66 for principled reasons rooted in the values we hold regarding individual liberty, private property, and limited government. Our opposition is grounded in what this plan actually does and who it actually hurts.
1. The Threat to Private Property Rights
The 2045 Plan gives county planners expanded authority to restrict what individuals can do with their own land. Confining growth to urban areas means that families who have held agricultural land for generations may find themselves increasingly unable to use, sell, or develop that land as they see fit. Property rights are a foundational protection for individual freedom.
2. Imposing Energy Ideology Through Land Use Policy
Embedding net-zero emissions targets and renewable energy mandates into a county general plan means that property owners, developers, farmers, and businesses will be subject to planning decisions driven by centrally determined climate targets instead of community needs.
3. Passage Over Overwhelming Public Opposition
Our government is to be accountable and constrained. A council that passes a 20-year policy document despite a chamber full of opponents (with a handful of supporters present at best) is a council that has become tone deaf of the people it serves. The sheer weight of public opposition demanded more than a yes vote.
4. Too Prescriptive & Too Centralized
Even Mayor Alameda has called the plan "too prescriptive" and "too one-sided." We agree. A plan that tells people what they can build, where they can grow, how they must power their homes and businesses, and what their land can be used in the next two decades is a plan that has replaced the persuit of happiness with control.
The Libertarian Party exists because too often government grows beyond its proper role and starts making decisions that individuals and communities should make for themselves. The 2045 Plan is a textbook example: a large, expensive, technically complex document produced largely by planners and consultants, passed by representatives over the objection of the people they represent, that will govern daily life across an entire island for a generation.
Mayor Alameda Has Said He Has Reservations. Tell Him to Act on Them
Mayor Kimo Alameda has publicly stated that he is "not happy" with the plan as-is. He has called it "too prescriptive" and said it needs to "move itself back to more of the middle and not be so one-sided." He has indicated he will neither sign nor veto the bill, effectively passing it while expressing his displeasure.
Expressing reservations is not the same as acting on them. A mayor who doesn't like a bill, and who knows the people don't like a bill, must not let it pass anyway. Mayor Alameda has the power to veto Bill 66. A veto would send a clear message that the people's voice matters, that the County must go back and produce something more balanced, and perhaps most importantly, that the overwhelming opposition expressed in that council chamber was heard.
Take Action Today
Mayor Alameda: You've said you're not happy with this plan. The people of your island aren't happy either. Honor their will. Veto Bill 66.
We'd like to thank everyone who has stepped up to voice their opposition to the plan so far. The bill is now on Mayor Alameda's desk. This is the moment to speak up loud and clear. Contact the Mayor's Office directly and urge him to veto Bill 66. Be respectful and clear. Be consistent and persistent.
East Hawaiʻi 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 96720
Phone: (808) 961-8211
Fax: (808) 961-6553
TDD: (808) 961-8521
West Hawaiʻi 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Bldg CKailua-Kona, HI 96740
Phone: (808) 323-4444
Fax: (808) 323-4440
TDD: (808) 327-6003
It's Easy. When you call or write, you can say something as simple as:
"Mayor Alameda, I'm urging you to veto Bill 66. The people showed up to oppose this plan and their voices were ignored. You've said you're not happy with it either; please act on that. Veto the bill and send it back."
The Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi stands for individual liberty, private property, and government that serves rather than controls. Bill 66 represents the wrong direction for our island. We will continue to speak out, and we ask you to join us.
Comments