How can a city founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1907 be termed “a city in its adolescence” and not knowing “what it wants to be when it grows up,” as Mayor Erickson announced in her recent State of the City presentation? (“Poulsbo Beat,” page A1, Jan. 13 North Kitsap Herald).

We humbly suggest Poulsbo is already what it wants to be when it grows up. Our leaders must now cope with the limitations of its existing Comprehensive Plan and geography to sustain the way of life for the citizens who have chosen Poulsbo as their home.

To be sure, all plans must updated from time to time, but the character of the city should remain relatively untouched.

We moved here three years ago because we liked what we experienced: a small village-like town nestled around a bay with a quaint, historic town center steeped in its Norwegian traditions, sparsely populated (less than 10,000 at that time) surrounded by a rural setting sprinkled with small farms. We liked the city’s character, admired by all of Kitsap and beyond. We suspect that’s why most people have chosen to live here.

Whether a low-density “house with a lawn in front” — as Mayor Erickson claims she wants — or a medium-density apartment/condominium can be offered a potential buyer is a function of market and price. With the onslaught of 1,500 homes already in the pipeline under the city’s current Comprehensive Plan, the expectant developers have already determined what product they will be building and what the price will be.

We recognize the difficulty of forecasting population growth, demographic and economic trends in our ever-changing living and working environment. However, timely long-range planning is necessary to the process. The time for adopting “measurable goals for 2017,” as the mayor suggested, has long passed.

Now our leaders must cope with what is already here.

Bill Effinger

Poulsbo

Editor’s note: Effinger served as mayor of Buena Park, California, and member of the Escondido, California Housing Commission.