Public commenters press staff on EIS responses and permitting delays

During two public-comment periods, community members raised concerns about the environmental review record and the county's permitting process.

Mister Palmer said he reviewed comments submitted to the final environmental impact statement and found no staff responses; he also said a letter he submitted on behalf of the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners did not appear in the comment list. "I think it's a deficient analysis on the part of staff, when they put together the final environmental impact statement," Palmer said, calling the omission "a black mark on the whole process."

Planner Eric Baker responded on the record that the DEIS comment-response matrix (Appendix E) records both comments and staff responses and indicated commissioners could see the Kitsap Alliance entry on page 36. Later in the meeting Palmer reiterated concerns that expanding regulations (tree ordinance, increased critical-area buffers) create barriers to expedited permitting; Baker acknowledged those impacts in some contexts but argued that many urban areas already have protections that limit net loss of developable land.

Doug Heyman, another public commenter, urged the commission to consider "the missing middle" and housing types affordable below high-end single-family construction, warning that focusing only on expensive single-family units will not meet demand.

What to watch: The dispute centers on whether the FEIS adequately records and answers public submissions and whether additional regulations will impede expedited permit-processing reforms; staff said a consultant and internal process changes are underway to speed permitting.