The Director's Chair

Have you ever thought about building a second residential unit on your property but got stalled out trying to decide on the style and the selection of an architect? What if you could choose from architecturally designed plans that could be easily modified to suit your preferences and were also inherently energy efficient? Lastly, what if you could use those plans free of cost and the permitting approval process was streamlined? If any or all of these options sounds good to you, you will be happy to know that you can now choose from a variety of architecturally designed plans that are permit ready from the City of Poulsbo, Bainbridge, Port Orchard, Bremerton and portions of Kitsap County. The use of the plans are free, unless modifications are proposed or necessary. A building permit is still required for their use, and in the City of Poulsbo, the cost of the permit has been reduced due to the plans already receiving approval from our building official.



Currently, the city is offering four plan sets with the smallest, the Lille, at 480 square feet and the largest, the Blakely, at 800 square feet. Two larger plans sets (1,000 square feet) are set to be released this fall. Each plan has been designed as a passive house, which is an energy efficient standard that reduces a building’s carbon footprint. 

The City partnered with these jurisdictions with the hopes of making the plans more likely to be used due to familiarity with banks, builders and realtors. The construction of these units will hopefully provide an affordable housing alternative for those looking to house children, parents, grandparents or to have supplemental rental income. These units cannot be used for short-term rentals, or air b and b’s.

This effort was coordinated and financially supported by Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council. This is the only known permit ready program that has been adopted by a County and all its cities.

Want to know more? Check out our website: Permit Ready ADUs | City of Poulsbo

Comprehensive Plan Update:

City Council Public Hearing - June 18

The Comprehensive Plan is central to land use and infrastructure planning under the Growth Management Act. The Plan expresses a vision for the City in its goals and policies and serves as a guide for future development. It identifies those characteristics the community desires to retain, reinforce, and achieve as the City grows; it establishes the policies to realize the goals; and it identifies the resources necessary to provide services to the residents and businesses now and in the future. The 2024 Update will plan for the next 20 years of population, employment, and housing unit growth. Poulsbo is required to plan for 5,646 new residents, 4,000 new jobs, and 1,977 new housing units between now and 2044.

The City Council Public Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, 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.

Project documents can be viewed here.

Spring 2025 Code Amendments:

City Council Public Hearing - June 18

The proposed amendments are presented in 3 categories:

• Comprehensive Plan. Amendments directly in response to the Draft Comprehensive Plan policies. Per the Growth Management Act, development regulations must be updated in alignment with the Comprehensive Plan. Failure to update regulations can lead to legal challenges or loss of state funding for infrastructure projects.
• Clean-Up. Amendments are part of the PED Departments on-going effort to make land use regulations more usable by correcting errors, eliminating text ambiguities, and codifying internal policies.
• Legislative. Amendments reflecting changes in state law. 

The City Council Public Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, 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.

Project documents can be viewed here.

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 were held in June:

• Dahl Glass. New 13,800 SF building. 
• integrity Roofing Warehouse. New warehouse in existing parking lot.
• NK School District. Variety of projects at multiple campuses.

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.

Now Under Construction - 4th Ave Apartments

The 4th Avenue Apartments project is a new multi-family development in Poulsbo consisting of two 3-story buildings, each containing 36 units, for a total of 72 apartment units. The site includes a parking for 126 total vehicles, including carports, along with ample bicycle storage. The development will also offer recreational amenities, such a reflection garden, courtyard seating areas with BBQs, walking paths, and each unit includes a private outdoor patio or balcony. Pedestrian pathways connect throughout the site, and landscaping includes perimeter plantings, street trees, and parking lot vegetation. The project also includes frontage improvements on 4th Avenue, including new curb, gutter, and sidewalk.

The 13.06-acre site retains 84% of its total area in tree retention or landscaping, with a significant portion preserving existing tree stands and slopes, far exceeding the city's minimum tree retention standards. Wetlands on-site were identified and adequately buffered, with all development occurring outside those regulated areas. The architectural design incorporates deep roof overhangs, varied façade treatments, and Craftsman-inspired detailing to meet city design standards. The project was approved in February 2023, and construction commenced in early June 2025.

Above: 4th Avenue Apartments Project Location

Above: 4th Avenue Apartments Architectural Rendering

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 May PED staff reviewed/responded to:

• 33 Business Licenses
• 12 Public Record Requests
• 8 New Single Family Residences
• 1 Accessory Dwelling Unit
• 1 Tree Cutting and Clearing Exemption
• 1 Shoreline Exemption

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.

June 10 - Cancelled

June 24 - Cancelled