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Bremerton planning commission recommends centers-based Alternative 2 for 2024 comprehensive plan
Summary
The Bremerton Planning Commission voted 6–0 on Dec. 16, 2024, to recommend Alternative 2 — a centers-based approach — as the preferred alternative in the DEIS for the 2024 comprehensive plan; commissioners asked staff to clarify Mineral Resource Overlay language before finalizing documents.
The Bremerton Planning Commission voted 6–0 on Dec. 16, 2024, to recommend Alternative 2 — a centers-based approach focusing growth in downtown and designated centers — as the preferred alternative in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the city's 2024 comprehensive plan update.
Garrett Jackson, planning manager with the city of Bremerton, told the commission the plan must conform with Washington's Growth Management Act and regional guidance such as Vision 2050, and he said the city is "forecasted to grow to just under 64,000 people, which represents an approximately 46% increase from 2020 Census numbers, and a 32% increase in the number of jobs." The DEIS evaluated three alternatives: a no-action alternative (not viable), Alternative 2 (staff recommended centers approach), and Alternative 3 (similar to Alternative 2 but incorporating several property-owner zoning requests).
Jackson said the DEIS comment period ran Oct. 18–Dec. 2 and the city received 40 formal comments; staff provided a matrix with the full comments and city responses in the meeting packet. Comments addressed housing density and types, tree canopy and open space protections, ADA-accessible housing, historic preservation, design standards and view preservation, parking requirements, active transportation improvements, and concerns about shoreline permitting and the Port Blakely area.
A substantive point of discussion was the Mineral Resource Overlay. Jackson proposed a targeted wording change to BMC 20.460.80 to clarify that the policy does not intend to prohibit all development on sites in the overlay where reclamation or permitting processes may be ongoing. Commissioner Peterson and others raised concerns that the existing phrasing could be read to permit development to proceed without completing reclamation; Jackson responded that Department of Natural Resources and city approval processes would still apply, and that the proposed language tweak is intended to avoid unintentionally preventing development where extraction is not present or reclamation and development would proceed under established approvals.
Several commissioners asked staff to refine the overlay language for clarity; Jackson said staff would incorporate tweaks into the final EIS and return a clean copy for commission review. Commissioners also discussed the timing for property owners seeking rezoning if Alternative 2 is selected; Jackson said annual comprehensive plan amendments are available and property owners could apply as early as 2026.
On the roll-call vote to select the preferred alternative, Commissioners Browning, Coviello, Powell, Peterson, Vice Chair Tift and Chair Wofford voted in favor, producing a unanimous 6–0 recommendation of Alternative 2. The commission's recommendation will be part of the materials staff uses to prepare the final plan and environmental documents for subsequent review by the commission and eventual consideration by the Bremerton City Council.
The commission closed the public portion of the meeting and moved into its business meeting; staff noted scheduling changes for January and the meeting adjourned. Next regular meeting: Jan. 27, 2025.
