The Director's Chair

Welcome 2025! This year kicked off with two of our staff members receiving title changes based on their increasing job duties and performance as approved in the 2025-2026 biennial budget. Nikole Coleman was promoted from Senior Planner to Planning Manager and Tiffany Simmons was reclassified from Planning Technician to Planner/GIS Coordinator. Nikole has been successfully leading the department's legislative work plan including the Comprehensive Plan update and the upcoming Critical Areas Ordinance update. Tiffany has leveraged our GIS efforts with the launching of two interactive GIS maps. Please congratulate them on their incredible work and contributions to the department's legislative work plan and improved access to information in map form.

The Department plans to present its 2025 work plan to the City Council on Wednesday, January 15th. In addition, we will be bringing forth two items included on our 2025 work plan, including an ordinance to extend the unit lot subdivision ordinance and a proposed fee schedule update.

The unit lot ordinance was adopted as an interim, one-year zoning regulation in March 2024. Unit lots (aka ‘condo lite’) provided an immediate opportunity for fee simple ownership of townhomes and other missing middle housing types. Since its adoption, the city has had one project to utilize the process with multiple inquiries. The extension is proposed for another 6 months with anticipation of adopting land use regulations following the adoption of the Updated Comprehensive Plan.

Additionally, the department will bring forth a resolution for discussion to amend the planning fees. It has been the department’s practice to increase fees every two years to reflect the previous years salary increases. Planning fees were last adjusted in 2022. Also that evening, the Engineering and Building Department will propose fee adjustments for the same reasons. The Council is requested to move these fee adjustments to the consent agenda on February 5th. 

The work plan will also include milestone discussions with the City Council regarding the downtown parking implementation changes that could include a transition to paid parking in portions of our downtown. To learn more about this effort, please visit our newly released parking implementation webpage.

After four years in the making, with city leadership input, numerous public outreach events and Planning Commission and City Council thoughtful input and reviews, the department will be releasing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement analyzing the four growth alternatives of the proposed Comprehensive Plan. This milestone will launch the plan into its 30-day comment period as we gear up for public release and adoption. See the article below for more details. 

Comprehensive Plan Update:

Release of Draft EIS Scheduled for January 17

The City of Poulsbo is updating its Growth Management Act Comprehensive Plan consistent with the Growth Management Act (GMA; RCW 36.70A). The plan is designed to help the City meet its long- term vision for land use and growth management in incorporated city limits and associated unincorporated urban growth area.

In accordance with GMA, the 2024 Update addresses and 2044 horizon year, and considers new population, housing and job targets, changes to the future Land Use map, a fair share of affordable housing, housing policy amendments to address racially disparate impacts, and supporting investments in parks and multimodal/active transportation, utilities, and public services. The comprehensive plan is also required to be consistent with the Kitsap Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs), and with regional plans such as the Puget Sound Regional Council’s (PSRC’s) Vision 2050 which contains the Multi-County Planning Policies (MPPs).

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) studies four land use and growth alternatives for the city and UGA. Alternatives assume growth consistent with PSRC’s Vision 2050 and the Kitsap CPPs: 5,646 new persons, 4,000 new jobs, and 1,977 new housing units. 

• Alternative 1: No Action, Current Adopted Plan
• Alternative 2: Adopted Plan + Missing Middle Housing Emphasis
• Alternative 3: Growth focused within SR 305 Corridor Center
• Alternative 4: Growth focused within SR 305 Corridor Center + Increase to density in Residential Medium and Residential High zoning districts

The City of Poulsbo will be releasing the Draft EIS on January 17, 2025. Comments will be due by 4:30 PM on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.

The Draft EIS will be available on January 17 on the project website here.

You can also sign up for the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update email list here.

Notice of City Council Public Hearing:

Extension of Interim Unit Lot Subdivision Ordinance

On March 6, 2024, the Poulsbo City Council passed Ordinance No. 2024-03 approving a 12-month interim zoning ordinance allowing for unit lot subdivisions. The City is authorized by state law, including RCW 35A.63.220 and 36.70A.390, to expeditiously adopt interim zoning ordinances while permanent regulations are developed, vetted, and processed through the City’s standard legislative procedures. Pursuant to RCW 35A.63.220 and 36.70A.390, the City Council is authorized to extend the interim development prohibition as long as a public hearing is held, and findings of fact are made. The public hearing will be the opportunity for the City Council to hear public comment and consider extending the interim ordinance.

The City Council Public Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, January 15th, 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. 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.

For more information visit the webpage here.

Check out the Unit Lot Subdivision handout here.

Notice of Hearing Examiner Public Hearing:

Olympic Overlook Prelimionary Subdivision

Olympic Overlook is a 22-lot Preliminary Subdivision on 5.51 acres utilizing lot averaging standards.

The Hearing Examiner public hearing is scheduled for Friday January 17th, 2025, at 10:30 AM or soon thereafter. Public meetings are being held as a hybrid virtual/in-person meeting at the web address and call-in number noted below and at Poulsbo City Council Chambers, 200 NE Moe Street, Poulsbo, Washington. This call in number: 1 253 215 8782 and meeting id: 889 2131 2324 are provided for virtual attendance, in addition to this webinar link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88921312324

The application file may be examined online by going to https://ci-poulsbo-wa.smartgovcommunity.com/Public/Home > Applications > and search for permit # P-07-15-24-01. If you are unable to access the file, please call the staff contact for options.

Attention: Sweep of Temporary Signs

At the direction of Mayor Erickson, Public Works staff will conduct a sweep of illegal temporary signs starting Monday, January 27th.

What are temporary signs? Any sign, banner, pennant, valance or advertising display intended to be displayed for only a limited amount of time. Temporary signs are not allowed to continually advertise goods, services, or events on a site. You can review the Temporary Sign handout here.

Not sure if your sign is considered illegal? Email the PED staff at plan&econ@cityofpoulsbo.com or call 360.394.9748.

Need to locate your sign after January 27th? Call Public Works at 360.779.4078.

Pre-Production

A Pre-Application Conference is a meeting between a project team and staff conducted prior to the submission of a detailed application. Nearly all projects change after the pre-application conference and prior to application submittal. Typically, projects at this stage are very preliminary. The following pre-app conferences are scheduled for January:

• Poulsbo Christensen. Preliminary Plat and Planned Residential Development for 73 single-family homes. Applicant - JK Monarch
• Front Street Apartments. Proposed 80 units apartment complex on Front Street, outside of the Shopfront Overlay.
• Kenai Property. Subdivision of 5.2 acres for 31 single-family homes.

Above: Poulsbo Christensen Preliminary Plat and Planned Residential Development.

Above: Sandstone Ridge Preliminary Plat and Planned Residential Development.

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 December PED staff reviewed/responded to:

• 21 Business Licenses
• 2 Public Record Requests
• 8 New Single Family Residences
• 1 Retaining Wall/Rockery
• 1 Single-Family Addition
• 2 Tree Cutting and Clearing Exemptions