[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6246079,"mediaKeyId","3220306-8341c1a5624c31ef4228b58ed3c24fec","parentId",3220306,"title","Planning Commission adopts 2025 administrative code edits to Titles 16 and 17; changes include tree-canopy cross-references and parking standards","audioSeconds",2107,"startMs",7814000,"endMs",9921000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3220306-8341c1a5624c31ef4228b58ed3c24fec&start=7814&end=9921","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3220306-8341c1a5624c31ef4228b58ed3c24fec/thumbnail_7814000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6246079/Kitsap-County/Washington/Planning-Commission-adopts-2025-administrative-code-edits-to-Titles-16-and-17-changes-include-tree-canopy-cross-references-and-parking-standards","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6246079-4c554495cde32832aaa950c5d1dd0e9f/orig.mp4?Expires=1773709007&Signature=GNPfft4nk1efmHMTKD6YIfrM2rXNdJR5X4~UltwQv-Mxhguap03JoFpW2b8e19wDPN7rcW0ZCJI8fph3QSICV8FSGqLW0mu0GxHJRsH05A7FJkFT22mHQEj2HxfUcmdqw0sbpJNYMzLMwoBQ9zEGxA21aXNNSzePNx1n0NvpAbzzakTFxfo9Od2MU6fO7gv0GICESUNCq2pi7WGLsTUt9ey6aWFtKKuGROCND~hl0WkVs2QLUUVIPlTUtiJkCsbz54XCokiToTL1-RMpH96-l2SdryBZ5LaZUU51FffFRc8JNPxNJGXuBa-gzDAcUsIj60xp5li0nOy5qKjP2zFDhA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Kitsap County, WA","date","2025-05-06T00:00:00Z","article","Kitsap County Department of Community Development (DCD) staff briefed the Planning Commission on May 6 about the 2025 administrative code edits to Title 16 (land division and development) and Title 17 (zoning). Long-range planning supervisor Colin Poff presented proposed housekeeping and clarifying changes and answered commissioners’ questions before the commission deliberated and recommended adoption.

The administrative edits are limited in scope but address several items the department said were inadvertently omitted during prior updates or required legal alignment. Key updates the commission considered and recommended include:

- Tree canopy references: add cross-references so subdivision and landscaping submittal requirements show consistency with the county tree-canopy ordinance (KCC 17.495) where applicable.
- Definition clarifications: modify the county definition of “school” to explicitly include outdoor schools and add an illustrative parenthetical listing to cover Montessori and Waldorf-style private educational organizations.
- Compact-parking dimensions: correct a discrepancy so compact parking stall length matches the parking chapter’s 16-foot standard.
- Outdoor storage and screening: re-add a previously dropped “storage of vehicles and equipment” use and require outdoor storage in rural industrial and rural commercial zones to be screened from public view by a 25-foot vegetative buffer (rural-compatibility standard) and to meet exterior lighting standards.
- Drinking establishments: make drinking establishments a permitted use in the Kingston UBC (downtown) zone (clean-up from prior comprehensive-plan discussions).
- Heavy industrial uses: update certain heavy industrial uses (heavy manufacturing, recycling centers and transshipment facilities) to require a conditional-use permit and public hearing, consistent with recent state legislative direction about public notice for substantial industrial changes.
- Garage setback conflict: correct a conflict in the code so a 10-foot setback applies to garages rather than no setback language that was left in error.
- Parking counting: align county code with state law on counting enclosed and unenclosed parking toward minimum parking requirements (garages and unenclosed parking both count per the state law referenced by staff).
- Landscaping location: move landscaping standards from the density/dimension chapter into the dedicated landscaping chapter (17.500) while retaining a cross-reference.
- Sign code clean-up: replace obsolete “CO” references with current “C” commercial-zone designation.

Commission discussion covered applicability of tree-canopy standards, how 25-foot screening buffers would work where adjacent properties use the same rural-industrial zoning, and whether Montessori/Waldorf language could be misread as a legislative exclusion (the commission amended the school definition with an explicit parenthetical to avoid ambiguity). Commissioners also asked staff to improve presentation clarity and to preserve clickable code cross-references in the online code viewer.

The Planning Commission moved to begin paragraph-by-paragraph deliberations, accepted the staff recommendations with the one amendment to the school definition language, and voted to forward the administrative code edits for the Planning Commission findings-of-fact process. Staff said the next steps are final findings on May 20 followed by Board of County Commissioners work study and public hearing and potential adoption by the Board.

No ordinance adoption by the Board took place at this meeting; the commission’s action was a recommendation to proceed through the adoption track.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Kitsap County Planning Commission - 05-06-2025","oneSentenceSummary","Kitsap County’s Planning Commission on May 6 approved recommending a package of 2025 administrative code edits to Titles 16 and 17, addressing tree-canopy cross-references, parking definitions, outdoor-storage screening, and other clarifications.","taxTitle","Kitsap County, Washington","taxId",7830,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6246084,"‘Year of the Rural’ update: conservation groups urge Kitsap to protect farmland as parcel sizes shrink",1970,3994000,5964000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3220306-8341c1a5624c31ef4228b58ed3c24fec&start=3994&end=5964","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3220306-8341c1a5624c31ef4228b58ed3c24fec/thumbnail_3994000.jpg","/articles/6246084/Kitsap-County/Washington/Year-of-the-Rural-update-conservation-groups-urge-Kitsap-to-protect-farmland-as-parcel-sizes-shrink","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6246084-a2dadd4fdc3bdb5c4c692c7c61a001c3/orig.mp4?Expires=1773709007&Signature=D2x-CyRTQ9s1YJ2JmHawZH45vr7CwDmb4qBch2ro~l81xcjFtMrCdbET~yGlOVuzNmMSqT9MmI7XSmMewhdQMgaz~tDxjM~-PgIwzvXTMdditOOHKAK6tUlrsgzr2RPrhjcOe4T2uUx3BFuGE91E~euOvzpW2UXt4Jw4hvlfJulYSSZrYNAe~2AUaZf5WyeIh5zaEiltI6EocUCJnG4eZJAAHkBofR~kGwtmlcr3pDJE~7tbG4jj3uLN~nkSn~TEH3fPuWV6Cm5g1NPR1Nl~aRd6aREGr5gqvOuhFVvKoD6mBi8SBofG7SHurJL~0RACXjRfgZMffYaaJiOShsIk~Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Long-range planner Heather Cleveland presented an update on the Year of the Rural project to the Kitsap County Planning Commission on May 6 and introduced a farmland-preservation briefing by Diane Fish of the Kitsap Conservation District and the Kitsap Farmland Preservation Coalition.

Fish summarized farmland history in Kitsap County, described partner conservation projects and said the coalition’s analysis shows substantial farmland loss and conversion over recent decades. She urged decision-makers to evaluate land-use and policy proposals through a farmland-preservation lens during the Year of the Rural.

Fish and staff cited data from historical county records and the 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture. Fish said Kitsap contains roughly 8,800 acres of prime farmland (16,000 acres if drained), 68,592 acres of prime farmland if irrigated, and 89,336 acres designated farmland of statewide importance; the combined figure discussed in the presentation was about 183,074 acres (roughly 72% of Kitsap land area) in those categories, acknowledging that the total covers urban and unincorporated areas.

Fish described how policy choices in past decades — notably implementation of the Growth Management Act — and infrastructure and market shifts (for example, processing and slaughterhouse closures) reduced commercial-agriculture capacity. She said Kitsap lost roughly 15,000 acres of farmland over the last 20 years and that the number of farms larger than 50 acres dropped from 57 to 18 in the same period. Fish cited encouraging signs in the 2022 ag census showing growth in farm sales categories and more farms reporting higher sales, but warned that housing costs and infrastructure gaps make land access and long-term investment difficult for new farmers.

The presentation reviewed preservation tools: land-use zoning and agricultural zoning (which Kitsap currently lacks), conservation easements and purchase/transfer-of-development-rights programs, participation in the state Current Use taxation program, and local strategies to improve farm economic viability. Fish noted practical constraints in Kitsap — for example, limited enrollment in current-use programs and the fact that Kitsap’s existing TDR activity focuses on wetland mitigation rather than agricultural preservation.

Cleveland outlined the Year of the Rural timeline and deliverables: a 30% draft of the rural-and-resource-lands chapter in June 2025, a 60% draft with a public comment period in September 2025, and work on rural reclassification requests, chapter updates and potential development-code amendments with planned adoption by December 2025. Staff said reclassification requests submitted to the docket generally propose higher-density rural zoning and that the department will present docketing recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners in June or July.

Commissioners and conservation-district representatives discussed local examples — Peterson Farm, the Dogfish Creek collaborative (formerly Bledsoe Farm), Babcock Farm and other conserved properties — and practical supports such as farm plans, technical assistance, and outreach to new and beginning farmers. Diane Fish recommended community engagement (farm tours, buying local campaigns) and policy choices that preserve working landscapes. Fish told commissioners, “No farms, no food,” and invited commissioners and staff to the county farm tour on August 10 and to visit the coalition website at preservekitsapfarms.org.

Staff said they will continue outreach with agricultural stakeholders, the Kitsap County Agricultural Alliance and the conservation district and will use GIS mapping and partner data to refine analyses of farmland, soils and water resources as part of the Year of the Rural process.","Kitsap County long-range planners and the Kitsap Conservation District briefed the planning commission on farmland preservation, mapping and outreach for the Year of the Rural project, saying the county has lost roughly 15,000 acres of farmland in two decades and recommending zoning, conservation easements and other tools to retain working lands.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6246090,"Kitsap County presents 2025 Parks, Recreation and Open Space plan update after 447 public comments",2506,434000,2940000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3220306-8341c1a5624c31ef4228b58ed3c24fec&start=434&end=2940","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3220306-8341c1a5624c31ef4228b58ed3c24fec/thumbnail_434000.jpg","/articles/6246090/Kitsap-County/Washington/Kitsap-County-presents-2025-Parks-Recreation-and-Open-Space-plan-update-after-447-public-comments","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6246090-8df53f44a07c1e256c1b9f3d646d831b/orig.mp4?Expires=1773709007&Signature=jJoOxd66LcF4abyq9UMiyCL1dwj1HgfSy70SMZgKJt0M0NoZ4KFPsnYYiyZNcga1UXVfyHodMX8qYCjWd~sMYMhHu-69cSQKXvSrOjY~ugvAAh32SA3OsXnQbtlx7uXuIEgK60rSfTH92T5ma~7k03H-3XRWyRdO4v3FqDATrhHQ-pnSlvC7OqT2MuQmsKyIpwvld67pSm~rBanGY0k755lsyFWmIhbSRxa9B5syJK3JokMSXGJKSeHUj7sr3xgME4R2MtgL0Gjuc3K5Y~HOMGKT-IYnt3dnit9MwnC~AT6V8XJ2p2nmJoi3iJT9zdKYalCVB8EHtnM-EkacKvZVaw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Kitsap County Parks Director Alex Wisniewski and Parks Planner Carmen Smith on May 6 presented a revised draft Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan and a summary of public engagement that produced 447 comments and led staff to make edits before forwarding the plan to the Board of County Commissioners.

The PROS plan is a 20-year strategic document that the county is required to update every six years under state grant eligibility standards; it guides department goals, capital projects and grant applications to the Recreation and Conservation Office. The department told the commission the plan meets Growth Management Act requirements and is structured to inform a six-year rolling capital improvement program.

The plan team said public outreach included three surveys, three district open houses, stakeholder interviews, youth and targeted surveys and Parks Advisory Board review. Carmen Smith summarized the outreach and said, “We received 447 total comments,” and that staff grouped responses by topic and district to guide edits.

Key themes in public comments included athletic-field improvements — particularly artificial turf and lighting at South Kitsap Regional and Veterans Memorial parks — requests for more restrooms and parking, support for inclusive ADA-accessible playgrounds, and calls for stronger natural-resource protections. Beverly Parsons, speaking during the general public comment period, said the PROS draft lacked clarity and consistency with the county comprehensive plan and recommended delaying adoption: “We are suggesting that it would be premature to adopt the 2025 PROS plan as drafted,” she told the commission.

Staff described a set of edits made after the public comment period: housekeeping fixes (typos, mislabeled maps and photos), clarified park classifications and appended a consolidated survey results section, additions to capital projects and reprioritization of some athletic-field projects from a 6+ year timeframe into the 1–6 year window (including Veterans Memorial and Anderson Hill), added projects for the county-owned Village Greens and Rolling Hills golf courses, added energy-efficiency projects, and added several Suquamish-area projects identified in the 2024 comprehensive plan subarea lists. Staff also said completed or duplicate projects were removed from the capital table.

Staff noted the department applied for a programmatic SEPA determination and that the Department of Community Development issued a Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) on April 29; the SEPA comment period was open through the following Tuesday. The planning commission was given a schedule: a public hearing on the PROS plan on May 20, deliberations on June 3, and findings of fact on June 17 before the plan goes to the Board of County Commissioners and the Recreation and Conservation Office for final action.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about volunteer and stewardship programs, trail construction and maintenance trade-offs (“If we build it, gotta take care of it,” Wisniewski said), how project priorities will be set across districts, and whether the plan’s goals and capital projects will be mapped to measurable timelines. Staff replied they will convene a Parks Advisory Board subcommittee to develop a prioritization process and that the department intends to align annual work plans to PROS goals and objectives.

The presentation also flagged implementation challenges: staff told commissioners that recent maintenance studies show a personnel shortfall (staffing was described as insufficient by a staff speaker) and that many capital additions would increase ongoing maintenance demand. Staff said they will consider staffing and maintenance capacity when prioritizing projects, and they noted potential funding sources including grants through the Recreation and Conservation Office and possible revenue-generating facility strategies.

The County’s next steps are to collect SEPA and hearing comments, present the plan at the May 20 public hearing before the planning commission, revise as appropriate, deliberate in June and then forward a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners for adoption and RCO review.","Kitsap County Parks staff presented a draft 2025 Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan, described public engagement that produced 447 comments, and outlined edits and a schedule that moves the plan toward a public hearing, SEPA comment deadline and eventual consideration by the Board of County Commissioners.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Planning Commission adopts 2025 administrative code edits to Titles 16 and 17; changes include tree-canopy cross-references and parking standards

‘Year of the Rural’ update: conservation groups urge Kitsap to protect farmland as parcel sizes shrink

Kitsap County presents 2025 Parks, Recreation and Open Space plan update after 447 public comments