Planning and Economic Development
Spotlight
February 2022
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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.
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PED invites you to join a public meeting this month. Due to COVID, all of our public meetings that were normally held in beautiful city hall are still being held virtually on zoom, hopefully making it even easier for you to participate.
On February 8, the Planning Commission will hold their first discussion about the Multi-family Tax Exemption (MFTE), a state law (RCW 84.14) that helps cities attract residential development, including affordable housing. The state provides three options including an eight (8) year (no affordable units required), 12 year (up to 20% of the rental and 100% of the owner occupied) and 20 year (25% affordable) voluntary exemption. The exemption applies to the residential portion of the taxes, not the land or any commercial activity with the residential tax shifted to the Poulsbo property owners.
The Planning Commission will ultimately make a recommendation to the City Council on which, if any, program to adopt. If adopted, the voluntary program would be available in designated residential target areas.
The program was recommended in multiple studies the city completed last year including the Housing Action Plan and the Commercial Land Analysis as an incentive tool to encourage multi-family housing and incentivize the construction of affordable housing units. The City has received a grant from the Department of Commerce to pursue the MFTE program as well as other strategies to increase housing options.
The adoption of the program requires two public hearings with the City Council to include 1) the designated residential target area (i.e. where the program will apply) and 2) the adoption of the code by ordinance.
In addition, this month, the Planning Commission will join the City Council at a special meeting tentatively scheduled for February 23, 2022 to kick off the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update. The plan will describe the city’s long-term vision for growth, infrastructure and services for the next 20 years. Throughout the next two years, there will be many opportunities for the community to participate and all are welcome to view this first discussion between these two groups.
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The following projects are currently under review with the PED Department:
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Noll Terrace Critical Area: Under technical staff review.
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Viking Fuel Tank Install ACUP: Notice of Application to be issued 2/7.
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Westry Village SPR: Notice of Application issued 2/2.
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Lincoln Cottages PRD: Revisions submitted 1/26, under review.
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4th Avenue Apartments SPR: Notice of Application issued 1/20.
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Musick Multifamily SPR: Request for revisions provided 1/20.
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Blackmore Multifamily SPR: Request for revisions provided 1/10.
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Winslow Ridge PRD/Plat: Request for revisions provided 12/14/21.
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Oslo Bay SPR: Staff prepping SEPA documents and staff report.
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Crystal View Division 2 Final Plat. Approved by City Council 1/19.
Keep up to date with active land use projects by visiting our website.
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Above: Conceptual Landscaping Plan for 4th Ave Apartments North |
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Above: Conceptual Landscaping Plan for 4th Ave Apartments South |
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Under Production - Downtown is Evolving! |
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The Sophie
The Sophie is under construction at the site of the former City Hall on Jensen Way. When finished the project will contain 42 one and two-bedroom units, while also utilizing the “flexible use” provision on the 1st floor for an additional 4 residential units. The project includes a public amenity near the southwest corner on Jensen Way that includes both public seating and stepped landscaping. Additional amenities include a large roof deck and multiple balconies for residents.
The Sophie is named after the Sophie Christenson, which was a four-masted cod schooner built in 1901 and owned by the Pacific Coast Codfish Company, headquartered in Poulsbo (see below).
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Above: The Sophie Christenson. Source: Saltwater People Historical Society |
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Above: The Sophie East Elevation on Jensen Way showing public seating and landscaping. |
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Above: The Sophie North Elevation at Street Level with Proposed Artwork. |
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Vanaheimr
Demolition of the old police station on Hostmark started this week to make way for the Vanaheimr project! When completed, the project will include 1,748 square feet of commercial space, 5 studio units, and 20 one and two-bedroom units. The building is designed with a pedestrian courtyard between the sidewalk and the building that provides step landings that can be used as siting areas, a water feature, and outside seating area adjacent to the retail/commercial space. It is anticipated that this site will function as a civic plaza due to the prime location for parades, races, and other public events. It also provides the main entrance to the required public access along the west side of the site with benches, compass rose paved monument, potential for public art, and for water enjoyment with views to Liberty Bay.
In Norse cosmology, Vanaheimr is a location associated with the Vanir, a group of gods themselves associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The surviving sources for our information on Norse mythology and religion don’t contain any explicit mention of where exactly Vanaheim is located. The sole clue comes from the Lokasenna (“The Taunting of Loki“), one of the poems in the Poetic Edda, which states that the Vanir god Njord went eastward when he went to Asgard as a hostage at the conclusion of the Aesir-Vanir War. Presumably, then, Vanaheim lies somewhere to the west of Asgard.
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Above: Vaneheimr North Elevation. |
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Above: Vaneheimr West Elevation. |
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The Many Roles of PED Staff |
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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 January 2022 PED staff reviewed/responded to:
- 2 Commercial Signs
- 3 Commercial Tenant Improvements
- 1 Single-Family Remodel
- 1 Grading Permit
- 2 Public Record Requests
- 44 Business Licenses
- 1 Sandwich Board
- 2 Consultations
- 2 Code Enforcement Cases
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Long Range Planning Special Feature
Commercial Land Market Analysis
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- Review of demographic and commercial market trends – for Poulsbo and its four primary commercial districts.
- Address future commercial employment potentials – with reference both to regional economic projections and to assessment of changes due to the current pandemic, associated economic downturn and subsequent recovery.
- Identify and evaluate alternative scenarios of prospective commercial space demand – covering the period of Poulsbo’s anticipated 20-year Comprehensive Plan update and to address the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) time horizon extending to 2050.
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2022 Comprehensive Plan Amendments |
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On January 19, the City Council set the docket for the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments.
Chapter 36.70A RCW provides that comprehensive plan amendments can occur no more than once a year with limited exceptions. Any interested person, property owner, citizen and city staff may submit a comprehensive plan map, policy or text amendment. When selected by the city council for further processing, a comprehensive plan amendment shall be processed as provided for Type IV application permits per PMC 19.40.050.
The City received three applications for the 2022 amendment cycle:
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Application P-11-15-21-01 | Site Specific. This application includes a site-specific amendment to the City’s Land Use (Figure LU-1) and City’s Zoning Map. The request is to re-designate and rezone parcel 102601-4-022-2009 (21195 Viking Ave NW) from Residential Medium (RM) to Residential High (RH).
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Application P-11-12-21-01 | Text Amendment. Replace Appendix B-5, and associated sections of the Comprehensive Plan (Chapters 8 and 12), to reflect the updated 2021 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan.
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Application P-11-12-21-02 | Text Amendment. This application includes a text amendment to Chapter 12, the Capital Facilities Plan, to update Table CFP-4 (the City of Poulsbo 6-Year Capital Improvement Projects) to reflect the proposed projects listed in the 2021- 2027 Capital Improvement Projects.
The Planning Commission will be reviewing the applications at a workshop on February 8, with a public hearing scheduled for February 22. Check out the Comprehensive Plan Amendment website for more info.
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Planning & Economic Development
200 NE Moe Street | Poulsbo, WA 98370-7347
(360) 394-9748 | fax (360) 697-8269
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