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Planning Commission approves findings of fact for proposed Boundary Line Adjustment code, sending record to county commissioners
Summary
The Planning Commission approved findings of fact for a proposed Boundary Line Adjustment (BLA) code after staff described outreach to surveyors and realtors and scheduled a public hearing for June 8. Commissioners stressed the vote documents the record and that the ordinance and checklist will be posted for public comment ahead of the BOCC hearing.
The Kitsap County Planning Commission voted April 7 to approve the commission’s findings of fact for the proposed 2026 Boundary Line Adjustment code, moving the record to the Board of County Commissioners and scheduling a public hearing for June 8.
Long-range planner Garrett Beaulieu told the commission the findings "are not a document of any public testimony; it is a document specifically to affirm what the decision was at a previous meeting," and he recapped that the March 17 deliberations had resulted in a 4–4 tie, so the earlier motion did not pass. Beaulieu said staff has made minor wording edits, recorded 42 public comments to date, and incorporated many of the commission’s recommended amendments into the draft ordinance that will go to the board.
A member of the public, Mr. Palmer, criticized the findings during public comment, saying the document "doesn't reflect any of the testimony that was given at the last public hearing." Garrett responded that the findings document the commission’s record of motions and deliberations; county staff and one attendee also described recent targeted outreach: a March 26 meeting with the South Puget Sound chapter of the Land Surveyors Association of Washington (nine attendees, a majority favoring a formal code) and an April 1 meeting with the Kitsap County Association of Realtors (largely opposed on the basis of added regulation and cost).
Beaulieu said the draft ordinance and a checklist will be posted to the Boundary Line Adjustment project webpage about 2½ weeks before the June 8 public hearing, with an official comment form. "We'll post the draft ordinance along with a comment form," he said, and comments will be accepted through June 9 or as directed by the board. If the board schedules deliberations, those are expected in June or July with tentative adoption possibly in late July and implementation in the fall.
Commissioners debated procedural aspects of the vote. County staff and counsel emphasized that approving the findings is about documenting the record of the March 17 proceedings — "approving basically the findings of fact" — and not a final endorsement of the policy. After clarification and a re-roll of the vote to ensure the record was accurate, the commission approved the findings to forward the matter to the Board of County Commissioners.
Next steps: staff will post the draft ordinance, checklist and comment form to the Boundary Line Adjustment web page approximately 2½ weeks before the June 8 hearing and will share draft materials with commissioners ahead of posting; the Board of County Commissioners will receive the findings and consider the draft ordinance at a later public hearing and deliberations.
