This monthly update is published by the City of Poulsbo Planning and Economic Development (PED) Department to highlight news and trends in planning and development. For details on these topics and the department, visit our website.

The Director's Chair

Planning Spotlight: Embedding Planning in Poulsbo

Last month, hundreds of planners from across the state gathered in Tacoma for the Annual Planning Conference to share ideas and innovations shaping the future of our communities. The City of Poulsbo was proudly represented!

Our Planning Manager, Nikole Coleman (pictured below), presented on the innovative housing policies adopted by our City Council and our ongoing efforts to promote and build affordable housing. She joined a three-person panel of planners who are proactively crafting housing policies that increase choice, variety, and opportunity in our communities.

Adding to Poulsbo’s recognition, Mayor Erickson received the Planning Achievement Award for her leadership in advancing planning initiatives at both the regional and local levels.

The conference’s keynote speaker, Jonathan Pacheco Bell, introduced the concept of Embedded Planning — a movement that challenges planners to step out from behind their desks and into the neighborhoods they serve.

Traditionally, planning can be a desk-bound profession, separated from daily community life. Embedded Planning encourages us to “move with intention” — to bring our work to the street-level, to go to the people, to plan in plain language, and to make the neighborhood our office. This approach builds trust, promotes equity, and makes city planning more accessible to everyone.

After the conference, our team gathered to reflect on how we already embed our practice in the community and how we can do even more. This Spotlight is one of the ways we share what’s happening in Poulsbo, along with our daily counter hours, new text us option (360-994-0244) and presence at local events like Summer Nights at the Bay and the Farmers Market.

We also brainstormed new ways to connect — ideas like setting up a rotating office in local venues, hosting “walk and talk” events in neighborhoods, and creating short, authentic digital stories that bring planning to life.

Now, we’d love to hear from you! What else can we do to make city planning more approachable and engaging? Share your ideas (plan&econ@cityofpoulsbo.com) — and this month, we’re challenging you to Share the Spotlight! If you have a friend, neighbor, or family member interested in what’s happening in Poulsbo, please forward this issue and encourage them to subscribe.

Together, we can make planning a shared, community conversation.

Above: Planning Manager, Nikole Coleman, speaking at the 2025 APA-WA Annual Conference.

New Way to Communicate with the PED Department!

Critical Areas Ordinance Update - Phase I

City Council Public Hearing

The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires Washington cities to protect sensitive natural areas like wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat, aquifer recharge zones, floodplains, and geologically hazardous areas. Cities must also use Best Available Science (BAS) when writing these protections and update their rules on a regular cycle.

Poulsbo’s Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO), found in Chapter 16.20 of the Municipal Code, was last updated in 2017. The CAO guides how development is reviewed and ensures protection of these important resources. To balance state requirements with local priorities, Poulsbo is updating its CAO in two phases:

• Phase I (2025): Required Updates. Brings the CAO into compliance with state law and BAS. Key changes include revised stream buffers, updated definitions, and consistency edits.

• Phase II (2026): Local Improvements. Focuses on discretionary changes to improve usability and reflect Poulsbo’s planning goals. Possible topics include buffer averaging, low-impact development, streamlined permitting, and adaptive management strategies. Work is expected to begin in Spring 2026.

The City Council Public Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 5:00 pm, or soon thereafter. Public hearings are being held as a hybrid virtual/in-person meeting at the web address and call-in number noted below and at Poulsbo City Hall Council Chambers, 200 NE Moe Street, Poulsbo, Washington. This call-in number: 1-253-215-8782 and meeting id: 898 4841 6447 are provided for virtual attendance, in addition to this webinar link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89848416447. Oral comments can be made in-person only. Please state your name and limit your comments to 5 minutes unless additional time is granted by the Council. As a rule, the Council will not respond to citizen comments. Written comments can be emailed to cityclerks@cityofpoulsbo.com by 2:00 p.m. the day of the meeting, and they will be distributed to the Council before the meeting. Written comments will not be read into the record.

More information can be found here: https://cityofpoulsbo.com/criticalareasupdate/

2026 Comprehensive Plan Amendments

The City of Poulsbo Planning and Economic Development Department is now accepting applications for amendments to the City’s Comprehensive Plan to be considered during the 2026 annual amendment cycle. The amendment requests can consist of changes to text or maps contained in the City’s Comprehensive Plan, including site specific re-designation requests. Application forms and additional information are available on the City of Poulsbo’s website here. The deadline for submitting applications is 4:30 pm on Monday, November 17, 2025. For more information contact Nikole Coleman, Planning Manager, at ncoleman@cityofpoulsbo.com. 

Above: Proposed Noll Pointe Planned Residential Development.

In Development

The following projects are currently under construction:

Projects under construction for site work (grading, stormwater vaults, installation of sewer lines, etc.) are managed by the Engineering Department. Please contact them for questions or concerns.

Projects under construction for buildings (vertical construction) are managed by the Building Department. Please contact them for questions or concerns.

The Many Roles of PED Staff

Did you know? On top of the larger land use applications, the PED Department staff also responds to public records requests, business license applications, sign permits, tenant improvements, deck permits, grading permits, and code enforcement requests.

For the month of October PED staff reviewed/responded to:

• 27 Business Licenses
• 3 Public Record Requests
• 2 New Single Family Residences
• 2 Single Family Remodel
• 2 Decks
• 2 Commercial Tenant Improvements
• 1 Commercial Addition

Planning Commission Calendar

See below for agenda items for Planning Commission meetings. Please note that agenda items are subject to change. Check the website for the official agenda.

November 11 - Cancelled

November 25 - Cancelled

PED Department Out and About

Above: Planning Department Staff or Spice Girls on Halloween!

Above: Planning Manager Coleman or Leonardo handing out candy at Ghoulsbo 2025!