Draft Community Plan supported by GHAAC

The Greater Hansville Community Plan preliminary draft was endorsed by the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council at its July 14 meeting. Kitsap County’s Department of Community Development has been working with area residents for nearly two years to develop the plan. If approved, the document will guide growth-related decisions for the area and become a component of the Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan.

“We are still sorting a large stack of comments,” said DCD associate planner Pete Sullivan of the public comment meeting held June 28. The public comment period for the plan ended July 10. Of the 76 attendees at the June meeting, he said, 62 were not affiliated with GHAAC.

Responding to these figures, North Kitsap Commissioner Steve Bauer said, “Participation in the open house is encouraging, as it suggests GHAAC’s communication circle is growing, and that DCD’s use of post card noticing has become an effective outreach tool.”

The GHAAC endorsement is a milestone accomplishment for the plan, Sullivan said, noting the council is made up of citizens representing neighborhoods, community organizations and the general public to provide feedback to county government during community planning and public processes.

“I can report that policies affecting hunting, tourism, the Hansville zip code and village core have emerged as top concerns,” he said, adding that those concerns would be reviewed before the final draft is presented to the county planning commission at a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Aug. 18 at the Greater Hansville Community Center.

The nod from GHAAC, he said, indicates county efforts are in synch with concerns of local residents. It allowed county staff to prepare a final document and proceed on schedule. If the plan is approved by the planning commission at its regular meeting in September, it will then be recommended to the Board of County Commissioners for inclusion into Kitsap’s masterplan for next year.

Commissioners could review the plan as early as October, but must conclude their review by the end of December for it to be included in the next budget year.

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