Kitsap commissioners approve amended Arborwood development agreement after months of public negotiation

Kitsap County commissioners on May 12 approved a resolution extending and modifying the 2010 Arborwood development agreement with Pulte Homes of Washington Inc. and Taylor Morrison Northwest LLC, after a public process that included staff negotiations, applicant presentations and eight public commenters.

The agreement updates stormwater requirements to current county standards, requires arborist risk assessments and buffer protections for perimeter areas, establishes new sewer maintenance bonding and reimbursement terms related to Lift Station 82, increases the number of homes eligible for automatic sprinklers before a fire-apparatus road is required, and sets a five-year baseline extension with phased "tripwires" that can unlock further extensions as work proceeds.

The development agreement (DA) governs how the Arborwood project — a multi-phase residential development southwest of Kingston — will proceed. Department of Community Development director Ray Fleisham told the commission the board directed staff in February to negotiate changes that would bring stormwater facilities up to current standards, tighten phasing and clearing/grading language, address fire-safety options, and clarify time-frame extensions and monitoring. After several months of negotiation between county staff and the applicants,…