Planning commission workshops Bremerton city services appendix; staff says city can meet projected growth with planning

The Bremerton Special Planning Commission on Feb. 24 reviewed the city services technical appendix for the comprehensive plan with a presentation from Garrett Jackson, planning manager, and city staff from police, fire, engineering, parks and utilities.

Jackson said the appendix documents levels of service, capital facility needs and six‑year capital-improvement planning for water, wastewater, stormwater, police, fire, parks, transportation, schools and utilities. The presentation reiterated that the city coordinates with the Washington Growth Management Act, the Puget Sound Regional Council and Kitsap County countywide planning policies, and that Bremerton's projected 2044 population is “just under 64,000” with about 58,000 jobs.

Key details and questions - Levels of service: Jackson reviewed adopted standards the appendix uses to evaluate capacity: a six‑minute fire response time; 1.8 police personnel per 1,000 population and 200 square feet of building per officer; a 10‑minute walk‑to‑park standard for parks; transportation LOS metrics (with level D for state routes and E for other city streets); wastewater peak collection and discharge standards; and a water demand standard of 200 gallons per equivalent residential unit per day. - Police staffing: Chief Wolf said the statewide average is higher than Bremerton's current standard, noting Washington's agency staffing trends and that Bremerton's officer count has fallen since 2007. "The state average is somewhere about 2.1 officers per thousand," Chief Wolf said, and he explained Bremerton's historical staffing changes and current headcount. - Annexation and assumptions: Commissioners asked clarification about baseline assumptions in the revenue/annexation analysis. Jackson said parts of the appendix may need tweaking to reflect changes since Kitsap County updated its comprehensive plan in December 2024 and that an annexation calculator is available on the department webpage. He noted annexations have historically been slow and that sewer service and service‑area negotiations can be complex. - Public participation: Jackson noted the wastewater comprehensive plan public comment period (Feb. 27–March 29) and an open Parks & Recreation PROS Plan survey running through April 30.

Outcome and next steps Commissioners asked staff clarifying questions about police staffing comparisons, telecommunication providers, and annexation assumptions. Jackson said staff will follow up on specific map/assumption edits and that the final draft of the comprehensive plan will return to the planning commission in April for review of comments and any proposed adjustments.