Kitsap hearing examiner reviews Colby Court 50‑lot subdivision, staff recommends approval with conditions

Hearing Examiner Phil Albrecht on May 22 presided over a preliminary-plat hearing for Colby Court, a proposed 50‑lot single‑family subdivision on about 9.77 acres at 5230 Bethel Road SE in Port Orchard, and received staff, applicant and public-agency testimony before leaving the record open for a short follow-up and promising a written decision within 10 business days.

Staff planner Jenny Kreifels presented the Department of Community Development staff report and recommended approval of the preliminary plat (file 2300730) and the associated critical-area variance (file 2301780) subject to the conditions listed in the staff report. Kreifels said the application, submitted by Agile SBPO 1 LLC, would subdivide two parcels into 50 lots and that the applicant requested the variance to allow construction of a private access road with wetland‑buffer reductions under Kitsap County code provisions.

The recommendation is grounded in the county's technical record, which staff described as consisting of 52 exhibits including a habitat survey, traffic analysis, geotechnical report, stormwater plan, wetland delineation and mitigation plan, and agency comments. Kreifels said the site contains Wetland A (about 0.97 acres, on‑site) and Wetland D (about 310 square feet, off‑site), both classified Category 3 in the submitted wetland report. She said the proposal provides the required 30,000 square feet of recreational open space — above the 19,500 square feet required under urban standards. Kreifels noted the project was processed using the optional SEPA DNS (determination of non‑significance) with the DNS issued March 7, 2025 and no appeals filed.

Applicant representative Matt Weber, a civil engineer with AHBL, said the applicant reviewed the recommended conditions and generally agreed with them, but asked for clarifications to the landscaping buffer table in the staff report and to one condition addressing plan review coordination with the City of Port Orchard. Weber said one discrepancy involves which perimeter buffers apply adjacent to commercially zoned parcels and existing single‑family homes, and he said the applicant plans to build a six‑foot solid board fence where screening is required. He asked that the record reflect that final resolution of any City of Port Orchard review comments be subject to Kitsap County's final determination. "We are in agreement with [the conditions] and we can work with staff to resolve the table," Weber said.

Darren Gurney, current planning supervisor for Kitsap County, told Weber that the area along Bethel Road has been rezoned to commercial in some places and that the compatibility buffers and solid‑screen requirements in the staff table may therefore apply around multiple edges of the site; he said staff would revisit the table and clarify it with the applicant. Gurney said staff expected to firm up the buffer wording within a few days and arranged a post‑hearing coordination deadline: the applicant and staff will circulate agreed wording in writing by the Tuesday after the hearing (with public notice to anyone who requests it), and the examiner set a brief deadline for any additional written public comments.

On environmental and permitting matters, staff and the applicant said they had coordinated site visits and technical review with state and federal agencies. Kreifels said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Suquamish scribe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Ecology participated in the on‑site review. Weber said the applicant had submitted the required JARPA/HPA materials and that the Corps had upgraded the permit process from 401 to a 404 permit; he stated the applicant had progressed toward Corps and Ecology approvals but would not begin construction until Kitsap County issued the site development permit.

Traffic and infrastructure figures in the record include a traffic analysis by Heath & Associates (March 6, 2024) projecting about 41 new AM peak trips and 54 new PM peak trips generated by the subdivision; staff noted frontage improvements along the Bethel Road property frontage are required, with the length described in the record as approximately in the 220–330‑foot range (staff said the frontage length should be double‑checked). The site will receive water and sewer service from West Sound Water District per the staff presentation.

Albrecht closed the hearing after providing directions on post‑hearing procedures. He said the examiner is limited by state law to evidence submitted into the record at the hearing and will issue the written decision within 10 business days. Albrecht also invited anyone who wanted notice of the post‑hearing submittals to request it from the hearings clerk. "Obviously a lot of work has gone into this," Albrecht said. "I think that would be pretty fairly straightforward approval there," and he adjourned the hearing.

Records and next steps: staff recommended approval subject to the listed conditions; the hearing examiner left the record open for the limited purpose of resolving the landscaping‑buffer table language and for written exchange about Port Orchard plan‑review comments, with the parties to submit agreed wording and any further public comment on the short schedule set during the hearing. The examiner will issue a written decision within 10 business days of the hearing.