Poulsbo planning commission recommends Sandstone Ridge housing subdivision to hearing examiner amid concerns over stream buffer, sidewalks and privacy

The Poulsbo Planning Commission voted June 1 to recommend approval to the hearing examiner of the Sandstone Ridge planned residential development and preliminary plat, a proposal for 87 homes on just over 18 acres east of Knoll Road.

City senior planner Edie Berghof told the commission the project complies with Poulsbo zoning, subdivision regulations and the city comprehensive plan as conditioned. “As conditioned, the project is consistent with and meets the City’s regulations and all other applicable City regulations,” Berghof said, noting tree-retention and open-space requirements and that the SEPA appeal period closed the same day with no appeals filed.

The developer, represented by Craig Steepe of JTM Holdings and other consultants, said the team has planned the subdivision around a recently designated fish-bearing roadside ditch and the related 200-foot critical-area buffer. “We spent the last 1½ years … planning this project, anticipating that, in fact, this is going to be a fish-bearing stream,” Steepe said, describing how the buffer shaped lot and trail placement. The applicant is proposing 87 units; the zone allows up to five units per acre (a theoretical maximum of 90 units on the site), and the applicant said proposed lots meet zoning requirements.

Why it matters: the project will add nearly 90 houses at Poulsbo’s eastern boundary and requires coordination with county road standards and environmental protections for the newly identified stream. Neighbors said the development could change traffic patterns, reduce privacy for properties along the north boundary and remove significant forested habitat; staff said conditions and permits will address many details during engineering and grading…