Advocate for Equity and Environment

LOCAL ISSUES AND GOVERNMENT ACTIONS,

MEETINGS YOU MAY ATTEND

TO ADVOCATE for EQUITY and the ENVIRONMENT

Poulsbo: The proposed Manufactured Home Park preservation overlay zoning to prevent Poulsbo’s three existing MHPs being sold for market-rate housing or commercial use, as an amendment to the city’s Comprehensive Plan, has been approved by Poulsbo Planning Commission, and is being recommended to the City Council. There will be a final public hearing on June 18th.

Poulsbo: The Hostmark Apartments—the affordable-housing complex on Hostmark St., was at City Council this week. The current owner put it up for sale in 2022; a national corporation called Related Housing now has an option to purchase it. Affordability for residents is secured through 2039, and RH is looking to extend that to 2059. While the current owner has made cosmetic repairs to the homes, RH is looking to do major renovations such as plumbing. The current wait list for occupancy remains in place. RH is asking the city/county for $3 million in affordable-housing funds to complete the transaction. Poulsbo City Council wants further information submitted, and it will then be back on their agenda.

State Public Lands: The FIRVANA timber sale (60 acres of mostly forest in Kitsap’s Gold Creek Legacy Forest) has been re-paused by Public Lands Commissioner Upthegrove. Sale was initially paused in Jan. 2024 as part of a temporary moratorium on logging mature, structurally complex forests; the state Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) then reevaluated the status of Firvana and deemed it “in decline.” (Comment: this is beautiful conserved forest; the judgment “in decline” is highly questionable—there is apparently some tree root rot in this area, a natural stage in a forest’s life cycle.) The Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and Kitsap Environmental Coalition submitted SEPARATE comments, along with the Center for Responsible Forestry, and concerned citizens as well. Kitsap County Board of Commissioners also submitted comments in opposition to the Firvana timber sale and have also nominated Gold Creek Legacy Forest for permanent protection under the 2025 National Climate Solutions budget proviso.  Stay tuned.

Kitsap County Parks - PROS Plan (PROS = Parks, Recreation, and Open Space)

The KEC and others have submitted comments to the draft 2025 plan, including the following in order to better preserve the natural habitat of all of our parks including those designated as Heritage Parks. Many feel that the PROS plan’s current emphasis on recreational use and development, while giving due lip service to conservation, threatens our precious remaining natural parklands. Comments focus on these goals:

-        Prioritize the preservation of natural spaces and habitats utilizing regeneration and restoration practices in all parks.

-        Provide pedestrian-only trails throughout the KC Parks system.

-        Support and enhance the volunteer Park Stewardship program, including stewardship groups for each park.

-        Maintain Port Gamble Heritage Forest’s status as a Heritage Park; do not convert it to a regional park.

-        Improve community involvement in decision-making; including Park Stewards and Stewardship groups in planning and enhance public participation through rigorous community outreach, Q&A sessions, and extended public comment periods. KC Parks needs to engage in a real conversation with Kitsap residents.

The next step is a BOCC public hearing on June 23 in Port Orchard and on Zoom.

North Kitsap United/Bond Road project

Raydient NK LLC’s rezone request, as submitted to the County, focuses specifically on whether certain land in North Kitsap should be zoned for 20-acre (rural wooded) or 5-acre lots (rural residential), not on broader ideas like clustered housing, a YMCA, or sports facilities that Raydient has discussed in separate conversations with the community. The County is evaluating zoning based on preserving rural character, rural lands capacity, Comprehensive Plan policies, conversion of forestry, and decrease of forest cover, and not on any tradeoff or agreement. While Raydient has proposed to the public a quid pro quo—offering land for public use in exchange for zoning changes—this is separate from the current zoning analysis. Clustered housing isn’t achieved through a rezone and would require a later developer’s agreement or a performance-based development. All applications receive an initial review using criteria related to consistency with 2024 Comprehensive Plan goals, growth targets, etc.

On June 9, a recommendation to “update the docket” will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners. This recommendation will include which of the 17 rezone requests should move forward. The Board of County Commissioners would then decide if they will adopt a final docket resolution in June/July.

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