Kitsap Planning Commission previews 2025 long-range docket, flags sea-level, rural and permitting priorities

The Kitsap County Planning Commission on Jan. 21 heard a staff briefing on the Department of Community Development's (DCD) proposed 2025 long-range planning docket, which includes a sea-level rise vulnerability and risk assessment, a comprehensive review of rural lands and character, new siting criteria for alternative energy projects and changes to how boundary line adjustments are handled.

Scott Deener, manager of the planning and environmental programs division, told commissioners the sea-level rise vulnerability and risk assessment will "identify the potential for losses or damages due to flooding due to sea level rise and coastal erosion" and is expected to be completed in mid-2025 and adopted by reference into the comprehensive plan. He said the study could lead to code changes and actions ranging from modified development standards to, in extreme cases, road vacations where protection is infeasible.

Why it matters: the long-range docket establishes the county's work program for comprehensive-plan updates and targeted code changes that affect land use, infrastructure and public services across Kitsap County. Many items will require subsequent public outreach, planning commission recommendations and Board of County Commissioners action.

Major docket items and staff summaries

- Sea-level rise vulnerability and risk assessment: Deener said the report will characterize loss risks to uplands and assets and be used in future planning and code updates. He gave an example where a public road may be impossible to bulkhead and could require vacation, affecting access for adjacent residents and utilities.

- "Year of the Rural": DCD will prepare a new chapter on rural lands'economics and character to inform changes to the comprehensive plan and development code. Deener said the effort will revisit material from outreach in 2010 and 2011 and will examine requests deferred from the 2024 comp-plan process, including a north-county proposal of roughly 400 acres that could amount to a master-plan-style development.

- Alternative energy siting: staff will develop criteria for solar and battery energy storage facilities (BES). Deener noted Puget Sound Energy's interest in siting projects near substations and flagged public-safety concerns raised by lithium-ion battery fires and the potential for toxic plumes in a fire.

- Boundary line adjustments (BLA): DCD intends to propose planning-based standards for BLAs "so when boundary line adjustments are done, they're done with good planning concepts," Deener said. He emphasized staff are not proposing a full ordinance that would create a new, multi-step application process; instead staff described an over-the-counter check to confirm parcels remain buildable and code-compliant after adjustments. That topic prompted public comment and commissioner discussion.

- Silverdale Subarea Plan and redevelopment code: staff will update Silverdale's subarea plan to strengthen its designation as a regional growth center and consider consolidating multiple commercial design districts. A related redevelopment code project will examine how to handle small commercial properties that are underparked when new tenants move in and the cost implications of frontage improvements.

- Mineral resource overlay (MRO) removals: property owners have asked to remove MRO zoning where mining is no longer feasible; staff said removals would not alter state aggregate resource mapping maintained by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

- Parks, recreation and open-space plan adoption: DCD expects to bring the county's updated parks plan into the comp-plan docket for review.

- Other code topics: short-term vacation rentals (paused pending further data and board direction), protections for manufactured-home and mobile-home parks, and code changes to improve access to child care were all included on the docket list.

Permitting, staffing and process changes

Commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about permit processing times. In public comment, Bill Palmer said his own permit applications had waited "three, four years" for a decision and urged that the permit-processing system be fixed before undertaking some long-range items; he also said he was "totally against" model ordinances for BLAs that create lengthy review timelines.

Deener acknowledged permit delays and described recent and forthcoming changes intended to speed reviews. He summarized Senate Bill 5290 (passed in 2023) as imposing statutory review timeframes on Type 1/2/3 land-use permits (Deener referenced a 60/101/170-day framework during the meeting). He also described a new permit-review-efficiency program, the "red-yellow-green" map, which will color-code properties by likely critical-area constraints (red = significant critical-area constraints; yellow = possible constraints; green = minimal constraints) to help applicants prepare complete submissions.

Staffing: Deener said DCD has 92 budgeted positions and roughly 10 vacancies (about a 10% vacancy rate), with long-range planning particularly affected: "our long-range planning staff is down by 33% because there's only three planners when fully staffed," he said. Deener said the board authorized six new positions in current planning to address rising permit volume but that recruiting has been difficult.

Appeals and legal matters

Deener reported two appeals to the county's Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO): the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe appealed arguing the county did not adopt the site-potential-tree-height method for some buffers; the Kitsap Environmental Coalition also appealed, citing process concerns and claims DCD is too permissive with variances and exceptions. The Growth Management Hearings Board has asked parties to consolidate settlement discussions.

Public engagement and next steps

Deener described tailored engagement plans for each docket item, including targeted outreach to marginalized and disadvantaged communities and local workshops in places such as Kingston and Port Gamble. He said all docket recommendations will return to the Planning Commission as formal recommendations and then to the Board of County Commissioners for final action, with many items targeted for adoption together by December 2025 per Growth Management Act requirements.

Votes at a glance

- Election of chair: Alan Beam was nominated and elected chair by voice vote (motion nominated by Richard Shattuck; second by Jonathan Tudan). Approved by voice vote.

- Election of vice chair: Commissioner David Vliet self-nominated and was elected vice chair by voice vote (second by Jonathan Tudan). Approved by voice vote.

- Adoption of agenda and minutes: The commission adopted the meeting agenda and approved the Oct. 15, 2024 minutes by voice vote.

Commissioners and speakers (selected)

- Alan Beam, vice chair, Kitsap County Planning Commission (elected chair during the meeting) - Scott Deener, manager, Planning and Environmental Programs Division, Kitsap County Department of Community Development (DCD) - David Vliet, Planning Commissioner (elected vice chair) - Jonathan Tudan, Planning Commissioner - Richard Shattuck, Planning Commissioner - Adrienne Hampton, Planning Commissioner - Aaron Murphy, Planning Commissioner - Tammy Bowen, Planning Commissioner (joining remotely) - Bill Palmer, member of the public (commenter) - Beverly Parsons, member of the public (commenter) - Marla Powers, Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe staff (commenter)

Ending: The commission closed the meeting after the staff briefing and public comment and will follow a 2025 schedule of workshops, hearings and planning commission reviews as DCD advances the docket toward Board action later in the year.