Pahoa Downtown Rezoning Bills Postponed for Further Refinement

Three bills designed to create a new "Downtown Pahoa Commercial" zoning designation hit a pause Wednesday when the Hawaiʻi County Windward Planning Commission voted unanimously to defer them, with Planning Director Jeff Darrow and Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz jointly requesting additional time to refine the package before it advances.

Bills 124, 125, and 126 would convert stretches of Pahoa's Main Street from Village Commercial and Single-Family Residential designations into the new downtown commercial category, codifying permitted land uses, building-height standards, and architectural-density requirements. The bills would also refine the existing Pahoa Village Design District guidelines, an effort proponents say is meant to preserve rather than erase what makes the town distinctive.

The case for moving forward drew testimony from Amedeo Markoff of the Mainstreet Pahoa Association, who called the measures a "necessary forward-thinking approach to land use, economic resilience, and community self-determination" and said local business and property owners broadly support the package. The legislation has been framed as a recovery tool for a downtown still working through the economic damage of the 2018 Kilauea eruption, the pandemic, and more recent weather disruptions.

But the hearing also surfaced significant hesitation. Eileen O'Hara, executive director of the nonprofit Malama O Puna and a former County Council member, pointed to misreading of the actual bill language as a driver of opposition, suggesting that clarifying ambiguities in the text could dissolve some of the resistance. Testimony raised concerns about unintended consequences for longtime residents, changes to small-property owners' rights, and whether new architectural and density standards might work against Pahoa's character rather than protect it.

The unanimous deferral reflects planners and elected officials seeking broader stakeholder buy-in before committing to a framework that would reshape the legal and physical structure of one of the Puna district's most recognizable town centers. For local businesses already navigating years of uncertainty, the postponement extends the wait for a clearer permitting and investment pathway. How thoroughly the bills are refined during the deferral period will likely determine whether they become a workable model for small-town revitalization in Puna or deepen the divisions that surfaced at Wednesday's hearing.