By Jon Rose and Shana Smith

In early November, the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners held two public hearings to solicit public comment about the county’s proposed Shoreline Master Program (SMP). While the plan covers all of the county’s 230 miles of shoreline, Port Gamble and Gamble Bay quickly became a lightning rod for comment and criticism in both hearings.

Unfortunately, many of the facts about the SMP and the proposed development at Port Gamble were obscured during the emotionally charged public testimony. Here are some facts to consider:

FACT: The proposed changes in the SMP draft do not allow Olympic Property Group (OPG) to expand the redevelopment of Port Gamble under the Port Gamble Zoning Code. The proposed changes simply align language in the SMP with language in the current zoning code.

FACT: Development in Port Gamble under the yet to be proposed redevelopment plan does not exceed what’s allowed under the current zoning code. In 2000, Port Gamble was zoned as a Local Area of More Intense Rural Development, or LAMIRD. All of the proposed development in the Port Gamble Redevelopment Plan falls within LAMIRD zoning. Additionally, OPG has been open and transparent about the Port Gamble Redevelopment Plan. The plan has been on public display since 2006 on various Web sites and in public meetings, including one in late June that had nearly 400 attendees and was covered extensively in local, regional and national media. You can see it by visiting www.itsyourbackyard.com.

FACT: Water quality and shoreline health in Gamble Bay has improved over the past 10 years and will improve dramatically as a result of the Port Gamble Redevelopment Plan due to stringent stormwater requirements. Pope Resources has already spent millions of dollars on the voluntary cleanup of the town, mill site and historic shoreline landfills and will continue to spend millions more in the coming years on Gamble Bay. Many Kitsap communities, including Silverdale, Kingston, Poulsbo and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe reservation, allow untreated stormwater to go directly into their adjacent bodies of water. Stormwater from Port Gamble will be treated under the Port Gamble Redevelopment Plan.

FACT: Approval of the SMP by county commissioners does not “green-light” the redevelopment of Port Gamble — far from it. The plan will undergo multiple levels of review, scrutiny and comment from government agencies, stakeholder groups and the public at-large through the EIS process before it’s approved and any permits are issued.

— Jon Rose is president of Olympic Property Group. Contact him at jon@orminc.com. Shana Smith is Port Gamble town manager, Contact her at ssmith@orminc.com.