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Port Orchard staff preview pre'application site on Bethel Road; developers propose mixed commercial and potential residential rezoning
Summary
City planners briefed the committee on a pre'application for a commercial project north of China Sun on Bethel Road that could include fast food, a car wash and retail, with discussion of rezoning the rear parcel for housing and wetlands buffer constraints.
City staff described a pre'application review for a proposed development along Bethel Road during the Economic Development & Tourism Committee meeting on Feb. 14. The site is immediately north of the China Sun restaurant and adjacent to the Hidden Hills apartment site, staff said.
Sean Raja, associate planner, said the current pre'application proposal shows a mix of fast'food, car wash and retail uses in the front portion of the property, with conversations ongoing about rezoning the rear portion to allow residential uses. "They are thinking about... rezoning the back half of the property to see what they can do by adding maybe some residential in the back area and keeping the commercial in the front area," Raja said. He emphasized the pre'application was informal: "This is just a pre application meeting. Nothing is set in stone. They have not applied for this."
Jim Fisk, principal planner, and Nick Bond, community development director, walked committee members through site constraints. Fisk noted a wetlands area with a 60'foot buffer at the rear of the site; Bond said some pads in the Port Orchard Industrial Park are active but that waterfront industrial property is largely utilized. Bond also said Hidden Hills' owner has discussed replacing proposed apartments with fee'simple townhomes, a shift that would require review of city design standards and middle'housing code changes currently scheduled for June.
Committee members asked about neighboring Crawford Lane and whether the pre'application included problematic properties along Crawford; staff said the pre'application parcel is between Crawford Road and China Sun and does not include Crawford Road properties, but staff had flagged potential noise impacts from placing a car wash next to residential streets.
Staff said the applicant has submitted questions by email and may make a formal application in the next month or two. The presentation was informational and intended to give early design guidance; no permit or rezoning decisions were made by the committee.
