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

I recently returned from a national planning conference in Detroit with a perspective I didn’t expect to bring home.

Detroit is a city of contrasts and lessons. In 1920, it was the fourth largest city in the United States, fueled by innovation, industry, and opportunity. At its peak, nearly 1.8 million people called it home. Today, that number is closer to 650,000.

That kind of change is hard to comprehend until you experience it firsthand.

While there, I had the opportunity to travel along the first concrete-paved highway in the country, Woodward Avenue, and to move through neighborhoods that reflect a wide range of economic conditions. In a matter of minutes, you can see remarkable reinvestment alongside deep disinvestment. You can see what happens when a city grows rapidly, and what happens when that growth is not sustained.

But Detroit is not just a story of decline. It is also a story of resilience. There are signs of reinvention everywhere: historic buildings being restored, new businesses opening, and a renewed sense of identity taking shape. The city is actively redefining itself, block by block.

Here in Poulsbo, we are in a very different position. We are growing—and with that growth comes the need to adapt. Some changes are easier than others, but they are all guided by a shared goal: to keep Poulsbo a sustainable, welcoming, and vibrant place for everyone. One of the more challenging decisions in response to that growth has been the move toward implementing paid parking in the Anderson Parkway (aka Waterfront parking lot).

In addition to visiting Detroit, I also spent time learning about the city of Birmingham, a city that has taken a deliberate approach to preparing for growth. Birmingham invested early in its parking and street connectivity system, creating a mix of paid on-street parking and well-placed public parking structures. Just as importantly, it reinvested in its streets, shaping a downtown that is not only functional, but inviting and easy to navigate.

While Poulsbo is smaller in scale, the approach feels familiar.

We are taking thoughtful steps to manage our most in-demand parking areas so that spaces remain available for customers and visitors, while also planning for how people move through downtown in the future. This includes improvements to 3rd Avenue and Front Street, two key corridors that shape how residents and visitors experience our waterfront and historic core.

At the same time, we are exploring additional ways to improve access without relying solely on parking. Concepts like a local shuttle or connections to nearby parking areas are part of a broader conversation about how to make downtown more accessible, especially during our busiest times of year.



What stands out across all of these experiences is that successful communities must plan and prepare for growth as well as the future. I am proud to be a part of a city that is making thoughtful and deliberate choices to shape its future. 

Impact Fees: What They Are and What’s Changing

As Poulsbo continues to grow, the City is taking a fresh look at how new development contributes to the infrastructure that supports our community. This spring, the City Council is reviewing updates to the City’s impact fee programs, tools that help fund parks, transportation improvements, and, being proposed for the first time, fire protection facilities.

Impact fees are not new to Poulsbo. The City has had impact fees in place for parks and transportation since 2011, and those programs are part of the Poulsbo Municipal Code today. These fees are charged one time, at the time of development, and are used specifically to help pay for the additional infrastructure needed to serve new growth.

Why Impact Fees Exist

At their core, impact fees are based on a simple idea: growth should help pay for the infrastructure it requires. When new homes or commercial buildings are constructed, they increase demand on parks, roads, and emergency services. Impact fees help ensure that new development contributes its fair share toward those costs, rather than shifting the burden to existing residents.

In Washington, impact fees are governed by state law (RCW 82.02.050–.090 and WAC 365-196-850), which sets clear rules about how they can be used and calculated. Fees must be:

• Tied to system improvements that benefit the broader community;
• Based on adopted plans;
• Proportionate to the impact of the development paying the fee.

They cannot be used to fix existing deficiencies or pay for ongoing maintenance and operations.

What’s Changing: A Focus on Proportionality

One of the most important drivers of this update is a recent change in state law. In 2023, the Legislature strengthened the requirement that impact fees be proportionate to the impact of development, including a specific direction that residential fees must account for differences in housing size. In practical terms, this means moving away from “flat” fees and toward scaled fees, where:

• Smaller homes and apartments pay less
• Larger homes pay more

This approach is intended to better align fees with actual demand placed on public systems and to support housing affordability, particularly for smaller units.

A Closer Look at the Proposed Updates

The City’s updated rate studies look ahead to growth through 2044 and use adopted service standards to determine what infrastructure will be needed to serve that growth.

For parks, the update reflects the inceased cost of acquiring and developing new park land needed to maintain the City’s adopted level of service. The analysis identifies millions of dollars in growth-related park investments, with fees adjusted based on housing size rather than a single flat rate.

For transportation, the City continues to use a “cost per trip” model, which ties fees to how much traffic a development is expected to generate. The updated rate remains similar to today’s, reflecting updated project costs and growth assumptions.

The most notable addition is the proposed fire impact fee program. Currently, the City does not collect impact fees for fire protection. The proposed program would help fund capital investments, such as fire stations, apparatus, and equipment, needed to maintain emergency response times as the community grows. These fees would be based on building size and actual emergency response demand data, ensuring that costs are allocated fairly across different types of development.

What About School Impact Fees? While Washington law allows impact fees to be used for schools, they are only implemented if requested by the local school district. At this time, the North Kitsap School District has not requested a school impact fee. This is because recent growth in the area has not resulted in an increase in overall school enrollment, and therefore has not created a need for additional school capacity funded through impact fees.

Policy Choices Still Under Consideration

While the technical rate studies establish the foundation for impact fees, the City Council still has several policy decisions to make. These include whether to phase in fee increases over time, whether to offer exemptions or reductions for certain types of development (such as affordable housing), and when fees should be paid during the development process. These choices are important because they influence both how infrastructure is funded and how development costs are experienced in the near term.

Timeline for Review

The City Council began its review of impact fees in April with an overview of the legal framework and current programs. A second workshop scheduled for May 13 will focus on the details of the updated rate studies and the proposed fire impact fee.

Based on that discussion, the Council is expected to consider next steps, including potential adoption of updated impact fee ordinances, on June 3, although additional discussion may occur if needed.

Looking Ahead

Impact fees are just one piece of how the City plans for growth, but they play a key role in ensuring that infrastructure keeps pace with new development. As Poulsbo continues to grow under its Comprehensive Plan, these updates are intended to keep the City’s funding tools aligned with current costs, legal requirements, and community priorities.

Community members are encouraged to follow the process and stay informed as the City Council considers these updates.

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 were held in April:

• Suquamish Opioid Treatment Program Building. Renovation of existing commercial into a medical office containing an opioid treatment, primary care, dental care and counseling services on behalf of the Suquamish tribe.

Above: Approved Kitsap Gastro and Liver Clinic Building Design.

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.

What is that project up by the Animal Emerency and Specialty Center?

Subdivision of 7.69-acre property in the College MarketPlace (Olhava Master Plan) development into 66 lots and 10 tracts providing for fee simple ownership.

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 April PED staff reviewed/responded to:

• 25 Business Licenses
• 6 Public Record Requests
• 2 New Single Family Residences
• 3 Single Family Addition or Deck
• 3 Signs
• 1 Commercial Tenant Improvement

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.

May 12 - Cancelled



May 26 - Cancelled (as of today, but subject to change)