Staff recommends variance to allow home closer to road, encroaching 44 feet into rural wooded setback at Kearney Lake

The Kitsap County hearing examiner admitted staff exhibits and heard testimony April 10 on a request to reduce a 100-foot rural wooded setback so a single-family home can be built on a 1.6-acre parcel at Kearney Lake.

Jeff Smith, a planner with the Department of Community Development, told the examiner the applicants, identified in the record as Ed and Lynn Bridal, seek a front-yard setback of 56 feet to allow an approximately 1,600-square-foot footprint with a septic system and driveway. "My name is Jeff Smith. I'm representing Department of Community Development today," Smith said, summarizing staff's review and recommendation.

The request would encroach 44 feet into the rural wooded setback created by county code and is being reviewed under Kitsap County variance criteria. Smith said the site slopes toward the lake, has about 20 percent slopes in places and contains shoreline and…