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Staff recommends Alternative 4 as preferred growth plan; commissioners signal support
Summary
Planning staff recommended Alternative 4 (focused on SR 305 and increased medium/high residential density) as the preferred growth alternative; staff said Alternatives 3 and 4 meet the state-required housing units per income band and reported a majority of attendees favored Alternative 4 during an in-room count.
Planning staff recommended that the joint Planning Commission and City Council adopt Alternative 4 — a strategy that focuses growth in the SR 305 corridor and increases medium- and high-density residential zoning — as the preferred alternative to carry forward into the final environmental impact statement (EIS).
"We are recommending growth alternative 4, which focuses in the SR 305 Corridor and residential medium residential high density increases," Nicole, planning staff, said while presenting the draft EIS and alternatives. Staff told commissioners the draft EIS was released January 17 with a 30-day public comment period that closed February 18 and that the final EIS release is scheduled for April 11.
Nicole told the commission that Alternatives 3 and 4 meet the state-required housing units per income band while Alternatives 1 and 2 do not. She noted the difference between Alternatives 3 and 4 is roughly 331 total housing units. After a public engagement exercise during which attendees stood by their preferred alternative, staff reported that "it’s clear that alternative 4 was a preferred alternative for the majority," and said they will proceed with preparing the final EIS assuming Alternative 4.
The staff presentation included a summary of public input (six letters on the draft EIS, roughly 20–30 individual comments) and described follow-up with the Suquamish tribe on critical-areas issues that staff plan to address during a later critical-areas ordinance update. The schedule staff discussed calls for a planning commission workshop and public hearing in late April or early May and a city council workshop and adoption hearing in June.
