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Council leans toward keeping a proposed east‑side connection on TR‑3 after debate
Summary
After an extended workshop on the comprehensive plan transportation map (Figure TR‑3), staff presented three options to depict a contested east‑side connection; staff and a majority of council members favored Option A (a modified alignment following property lines) to preserve the city's ability to require future connectivity.
Poulsbo planners and the city engineer held a detailed workshop on Dec. 11 about street connectivity and the draft transportation map (Figure TR‑3), including the city's long‑standing policy that new subdivisions provide two points of ingress and egress.
Planner Carla and City Engineer Josh explained the policy history and said the Poulsbo Fire Department defines 'superior emergency vehicle response time' as less than six minutes for medical calls (ideally four) and eight minutes for fires. Staff presented three options for how to depict a disputed connection (project number 11) in the eastern planning area: Option A (maintain a specific alignment modified to follow property lines), Option B (show a general 'connection bubble'), or Option C (remove the line entirely).
City attorneys and engineering staff warned that removing a specific alignment could make it difficult to defend a condition requiring a future connection when a developer seeks subdivision approval. Several council members said inconsistent application in past decades has left the city with suboptimal connections, but a majority supported the city engineer's Option A to retain a defensible alignment while modifying it to avoid existing structures.
Council directed staff to include the chosen depiction in the draft transportation chapter for the comprehensive plan and to publish the draft early in 2025 for public review; a public hearing on the comp plan will follow.
