Commissioners ask for design before backing new State Route 3 access for plateau development

County staff presented a draft letter to the Washington State Department of Transportation requesting support for a new access onto State Route 3 roughly between the Navy Rail Crossing and Logyard Road to serve development on the Belfair plateau. Staff said the plateau area within the urban growth boundary has a single primary access and that local code limits development to approximately 99 lots without a second access. "Without a second actual access, development up there is capped because we've hit the 99 lot limit, for having access in circulation," staff said. Multiple commissioners said they would not support a preliminary letter without a design and traffic-impact analysis. One commissioner said the hill at the proposed location is among the county's most dangerous stretches of highway and urged staff to obtain a proposed design from the developer and the State Department of Transportation before taking a position. "Let's do our responsibility and figure out what it is, what kind of impact that'll have on the community and that traffic going up that hill where all the accidents occur," a commissioner said. Staff said the draft letter seeks a meeting with the developer and DOT to scope potential designs, and commissioners agreed that any county endorsement should be conditioned on seeing the design and safety mitigation proposals. No final agreement to send the letter occurred at the briefing; staff was asked to return with any design scopes that DOT and the developer will consider.