City presents comprehensive plan city services element, details levels of service and next steps

City planning staff presented the city services element of Bremerton’s comprehensive plan at the March 19 meeting, reviewing statutory context, levels of service (LOS) for municipal functions and next steps in a multi-month adoption process.

Garrett Jackson, the staff presenter, said the comprehensive plan update is a 20‑year development strategy that must comply with the Washington State Growth Management Act and regional guidance including Puget Sound Regional Council’s Vision 2050 and Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council countywide planning policies. He told the council that planning commission recommendation and council review of the full comprehensive plan are scheduled to begin in April and that draft materials and public comments are posted on bremerton2044.com.

Jackson listed adopted and proposed levels of service used to guide capital planning: a 6‑minute response time LOS for fire and emergency services; an objective of 1.8 sworn officers per 1,000 population for law enforcement (staff reported Bremerton is currently at about 1.4 officers per 1,000); a parks access standard guided by a 10‑minute walk to park goal; a vehicle roadway LOS minimum of E (with WSDOT highways set at D) and multimodal metrics in the transportation element; water demand standards from the city’s water system plan (50 gallons per equivalent residential unit average daily demand and 300 gallons per ERU peak); and a public buildings planning metric of roughly 1,600 square feet per 1,000 population (excluding police facility needs).

Jackson said wastewater and stormwater LOS statements were revised to be measurable and tied to the city’s permit obligations. For wastewater, the proposed measurable LOS is to manage the city-owned municipal sewer system in compliance with requirements of the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit; stormwater LOS similarly ties to the Western Washington Phase II municipal stormwater permit. Jackson noted each service area maintains a six-year capital facilities plan as required by the Growth Management Act and pointed interested residents to the city’s 2025 construction projects map and links for public comment (wastewater plan comment period closes March 29; parks and recreation plan survey open through April 30).

Jackson also summarized that Bremerton is designated a metropolitan city by the Puget Sound Regional Council and that downtown and the area near the Bremerton Airport are regionally significant growth centers. He invited further questions and said staff will return with the full comprehensive plan and a planning commission recommendation in April.