by Brynn Grimley, Kitsap Sun (4/8/2010)

The Department of Community Development has been looking at removing county commissioners from the appeal process of hearing examiner decisions. Staff is also studying mediation and how it might reduce appeals and/or save time and money. So why does this matter to you? Well the county is looking to change county code. Depending on which way they go, it could impact you if you ever appeal a hearing examiner decision...

by Brynn Grimley, Kitsap Sun (4/1/2010)

Well I'm going to bore you some more with land-use jargon. I realize this is not the way to win over readers, but land use discussions do tend to be important for folks, but usually not until they are directly impacted. I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet because really, besides a planner or developers, I'm not sure how many people care for zoning and regulation-speak...

by Brynn Grimley, Kitsap Sun (3/21/2010)

The board of commissioners will discuss two ordinances at a meeting Monday night. One removes the board from the appeal process and the other keeps commissioners in, but strengthens their role. Both include a requirement that mediation be offered to disagreeing parties. The hope is a resolution might be met through mediation before entering into the often expensive and time consuming appeal process.

by Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners (3/11/2010)

In a strongly worded set of comments, the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners challenged the Puget Sound Regional Council's latest transportation plan as being non-responsive to the needs of a growing Puget Sound Region.
The PSRC's Transportation 2040 Draft Environmental Impact Statement presents five alternative scenarios for developing the region's transportation infrastructure to accommodate the demand's anticipated out to year 2040. None of the alternatives addresses the primary concern of the people who use the system, which is congestion relief.
Studies by reputable experts have shown that constructing as little as 700 new highway lane miles would completely eliminate congestion over the next 25 years, at a fraction of the cost of the planned public transportation projects. This, however, is not the approach being taken by the PSRC
Instead, the PSRC is on a different track. They believe the solution to congestion is to limit vehicle miles traveled. Their plan is a utopian vision that assumes people can be forced to abandon the convenience of their automobiles, be forced to live in dense urban areas, and be made to ride public transportation.
Much of the PSRC planning is driven by the assumption that greenhouse gasses, particularly carbon dioxide, must be severely reduced to protect society from the effects of climate change. This ignores an increasing body of science and the consensus of tens of thousands of reputable scientists that this theory of global warming is not valid, and that the warming that has occurred is simply part of a natural pattern of warming and cooling extending over hundreds of thousands of years.
The Kitsap Alliance calls upon the PSRC to produce a document that addresses the actual transportation needs of the region's citizens - specifically a plan which will eliminate highway congestion while allowing people the freedom to choose to drive their vehicles where and when they want without punitive tolling, excessive fuel taxation, or other purposely-intended restrictive controls. KAPO's comments to PSRC are posted on our RESEARCH page.

by Steven Gardner, Kitsap Sun (3/6/2010)

State Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, is proposing a bill that would require cities and counties to notify property owners when their properties will be considered for rezoning. Tim Matthes, president of the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners, said it’s an issue of fairness. If a property owner requests a rezone, the cost of mailing notices to neighbors is built into DCD fees. “It just purely makes good sense. Anybody that would have something possible to lose or possibly to gain should be notified,” Matthes said. “If it’s good enough for the goose it should be good enough for the gander.”

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (12/20/2009)

Kitsap County planners say next year will be the “year of rural Kitsap.” A 2010 work schedule drafted by long-range planners is loaded with rural issues — such as zoning codes for industrial development, rules for “rural wooded” lands, policies for tiny “legacy lots,” and more. Several urban issues also are scheduled for review...

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (9/9/2009)

Shoreline buffers spelled out in a 2005 update to Kitsap County’s Critical Areas Ordinance have been overturned by the Washington State Court of Appeals. The lawsuit was brought against Kitsap County by the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners along with two Kitsap residents, William Palmer and Ron Ross.

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (11/11/2008)

Asked to name the greatest threats to Puget Sound, David Dicks, executive director of the Puget Sound Partnership, said stormwater must be ranked first, followed closely by the loss of habitat. Most of the stormwater pollution comes from small amounts of oil and petroleum products from automobiles. But toxic metals account for about a million pounds annually. Such metals include zinc from roofs and chain-link fences as well as copper from automobile brakes. The Puget Sound Partnership calls to action every level of government, every homeowner and every business manager to turn things around, Dicks said.
See a copy of the Action Agenda at www.psp.wa.gov/downloads/DRAFT_ACTION_AGENDA_2008/Draft_action_agenda.pdf

by Christopher Dunagan (3/12/2008)

Kitsap County commissioners revised the county's comprehensive plan Monday night, hoping that their actions will allow urban-growth expansions to move forward. The expansions were approved in 2006 for Silverdale, Port Orchard, Gorst, West Bremerton and Central Kitsap. They were later invalidated by the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board, which ruled that the county needs to provide sewers throughout the urban-growth areas.

Kitsap County is considering revisions to the residential code to encourage higher-density development and public infrastructure near cities and in unincorporated areas like Kingston and Silverdale. The changes, according to Baker, may produce neighborhoods that resemble those that took shape before the 1950s, with garages facing back alleys and main entrances prominently located along neighborhood streets. "We want pleasant-looking neighborhoods," said Commissioner Josh Brown, expressing his desire to transform the general residential aesthetic of Silverdale.

In the Nov. 6 election taxpayers sent a resounding message to local and state legislators: They do not want to see an increase in taxes anytime soon.

Out of the roughly 112,000 assessments the county conducts annually, about 200 to 300 property owners each year file appeals on their property valuations, potentially triggering a hearing before the county's Board of Equalization. The five-member board appointed by the county's Board of Commissioners includes representatives from all three districts of the county. Assessors must make subjective evaluations on factors such as the quality of a view or how hard it is to build on a property. Ultimately, it does become a judgment call...

The proposed Jefferson County Shoreline Master Program (SMP) update, as currently drafted, is a huge expansion of the shoreline regulatory system. Funded by the Department of Ecology (DOE) and heavily influenced by government, tribal, and environmental organization representatives, it unnecessarily limits future construction of single-family homes – a preferred use under the Shoreline Management Act (SMA) – and reduces existing uses to a disfavored status.
If you are a shoreline or riverfront property owner or a taxpayer in Jefferson County you should be very concerned about these proposed changes to shoreline use!!! Even in the best of times, yet more so during a severe budget crisis, the SMP will have negative economic consequences with no corresponding environmental benefit.

by Bob Benze (7/10/2010)

June 3, 2010: Several points related to the Draft Shoreline Inventory and Characterization report.
June 17, 2010: Looking at Community Visioning and the Overarching Goals of the SMP.
June 17, 2010: Questions, comments, and request for information related to the Draft Shoreline Inventory and Characterization Report.

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (6/5/2010)

Don Flora and Carl Shipley, biologists associated with KAPO, said the Battelle analysis is flawed. For one thing, said Flora, the report fails to show how the presence of man-made structures affects sea life along the shoreline. “The Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners has volunteered our technical services,” said task force member Bob Benze, a KAPO member. “The county has not taken us up on that.”

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (4/7/2010)

Shoreline managers with the Washington Department of Ecology will explain their role in shoreline planning and outline state requirements during a meeting next week. Meanwhile, Kitsap County residents are being asked to complete an online survey to describe what they think about shorelines. Also, a new shorelines task force is preparing for a series of biweekly meetings throughout the coming year.

by Common Sense Alliance (4/4/2010)

The following are comments submitted by Common Sense Alliance on the “Draft White Paper” dated March 4, 2010, that purports to address “common challenges” encountered in protecting the Puget Sound through the shoreline master program process. It is the intent of the Common Sense Alliance to be helpful in our response to the Draft White Paper...

by Common Sense Alliance (4/4/2010)

This paper was developed by Jim Kramer, Carol MacIlroy and Margaret Clancy (independent consultants with experience in shoreline management in Washington State) with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and guidance and support from the Department of Ecology Shoreland Section (Ecology) and local government staff and officials. This paper reflects the views and experience of the three consultants in regard to some common challenges facing state agencies, local governments and other partners in protecting Puget Sound through the shoreline master programs...

This is a wonderful presentation by Attorney Dennis Reynolds. It gives the reader an understanding of what is going on with shoreline property. Even though this presentation pertains to Bainbridge Island, regulators in Kitsap County are all reading from the same game plan.

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (3/13/2010)

All the pieces are nearly in place for Kitsap County residents and planners to begin examining the ecosystem at the edge of the waters encircling the Kitsap Peninsula. Oh, yes, lakes and a few streams are part of the picture. The task force will have the interesting task of figuring out ecosystem functions for various segments of Kitsap County's shoreline. Property rights are in play, but so are public interests in shoreline ecosystems. The final piece of the puzzle is the appointment of a professional facilitator to lead the task force on its quest. That appointment is likely to come in two weeks, with the first meeting in early April.

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (3/11/2010)

A 20-member task force, formed to help draft a new Kitsap County shoreline plan, was appointed Monday night by the Kitsap County commissioners. “We worked really hard to make sure this task force is representative of a large number of interests,” said Patty Charnas, natural resources manager for the county. Nineteen of the members are Tom Nevins, Bob Benze, Art Castle, Michael Maddox, Dan Fallstrom, Jessica Coyle, Jim Aho, Linda Atkisson, Dave Nelson, Jennifer Forbes, Ken Parker, Mike Ingham, Zachary Halls, Carrilu Thompson, Susan Cruver, Michelle Filley, Rebecca Mars, Sunny Wheeler and Mike Ellis.

by Rodika Tollefson (3/6/2010)

Bainbridge Island broker Doug Nelson hopes to turn his lawsuit against the city of Bainbridge Island into a class-action suit. Nelson, who owns RE/MAX Unlimited on the island, filed a lawsuit last June in Kitsap County Superior Court to force the city to vacate an environmentally sensitive area declaration on his title (or compensate him instead for taking the land) and to rule the declaration illegal...

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (3/6/2010)

To clear up confusion over land-use rules dealing with shoreline properties, the state Legislature has passed a bill saying local governments should use their “critical areas ordinances” until shoreline plans are updated. ... The latest bill is the third attempt by the Legislature to integrate the Growth Management Act and the Shoreline Management Act, Hodges noted. Twice the courts have intervened. There has been a jurisdictional game of ping-pong going on here...

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (2/28/2010)

Shoreline planning throughout Kitsap County is beginning to move into public view, and reports describing shoreline conditions will be released in a few weeks. Kitsap County and all four cities — Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo and Port Orchard — are following a similar schedule, organizing public outreach efforts and coordinating their efforts...

For information on each jurisdiction's Shoreline Management plan, visit the following Web sites:
Kitsap County: http://kitsapgov.com/shoreline/
Bremerton: www.bremertonshorelines.com
Bainbridge Island: www.ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us/2011_smp_update.aspx
Port Orchard: www.cityofportorchard.us/shoreline
Poulsbo: www.cityofpoulsbo.com/planning/planning_shoreline.htm

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (12/30/2009)

What could become one of the largest ecosystem-restoration projects in the history of the United States has been inching forward since 2001. The goal is to restore natural functions to key shoreline habitats throughout the Puget Sound region — an effort that could ultimately cost several billion dollars.

An independent scientific review of the East Kitsap County Nearshore Habitat Assessment and Restoration Prioritization Framework shows, unequivocally, that the data underlying the report fails to demonstrate any meaningful connection between man-made alterations to the shoreline and the nearshore ecosystem functions – a finding that flatly contradicts the Nearshore Study authors' contention that “The Nearshore Assessment builds a scientifically defensible framework for assessing the potential effects of changes to nearshore ecological functions caused by human modifications to nearshore habitats.” A review of the Bainbridge Island Nearshore Assessment produced similar results. These reviews bring into question the justification for any nearshore restorations, or the need to impose any shoreline buffer zones in the upcoming Shoreline Master Program (SMP) updates...

by Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun (11/14/2009)

Don Flora of Bainbridge Island conducted a statistical analysis on data he pulled from two related studies regarding shorelines around Bainbridge Island and along the east side of the Kitsap Peninsula. Both studies involved analyses by Battelle Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim. Flora's analysis found no statistical relationship between “stressors” caused by human construction and “ecological function,” measured by natural factors. Flora acknowledges, however, that his findings do not mean that man-made structures are harmless. It simply means no effects were measured.

A state-required shoreline master program update -- which increases residential building setbacks from marine waterways and river and stream buffers -- will affect all landowners in the county regardless of their distance from the water. Jefferson County Assessor Jack Westerman III said on Wednesday that the shoreline regulations, if approved as drafted, will have an effect on taxes for everyone in the county.