The Bainbridge Island City Council will make decisions on the preferred alternative for the environmental impact statement on the Comprehensive and Winslow Subarea plans at its meeting at City Hall and on Zoom Oct. 1.

A Powerpoint presentation to be shown Tuesday says BI needs to plan for 4,524 people and 1,977 housing units in the future. The draft EIS names three alternatives: no action, building up or building out. Council will decide what it wants the Planning Commission to do in the next step.

Examples include: where and how targets will be met, meet targets within existing boundaries and meet targets in Winslow with some in Island Center and Lynwood. Another example is how and where to meet affordable housing targets; and accommodate targets in Winslow through apartments and in Conservation Areas through accessory dwelling units.

The Powerpoint slides also show information on the Winslow Wastewater Treatment Plant. How much can it handle? Planned upgrades will increase its capacity. To increase capacity even more, expansion at the current site would be required, unless a satellite facility could be located upstream in the sewer shed.

Public comments on the plans are being taken until Oct. 10.

Land use

The land use part of the DEIS includes:

• The Environment and Water Resources Elements that address the protection and conservation of natural systems including BI’s sole source aquifer, the quality and quantity of water, habitat, vegetation and air.

• The Housing Element that identifies strategies to increase the diversity of housing types and the supply of affordable housing on BI.

• The Economic Element that encourages policies to support economic vitality and opportunity for BI residents.

• The Transportation Element to provide mobility and safety for all while respecting neighborhood character and climate resilience.

• The Capital Facilities and Utilities Elements to address the infrastructure needed to serve the land uses.

Taken together, those elements balance BI’s highly held values of environmental stewardship with the needs of its people for housing, health, safety, economic opportunity and access to goods, services, recreation and cultural amenities.

The goal is to shape future growth and redevelopment in a way that retains BI’s character and quality of life.

The Comp Plan goes beyond the Growth Management Act’s minimum requirements. For example, it exceeds the GMA’s water resources component by devoting an entire additional Element to Water Resources. The GMA requires plans to be based on a 20-year horizon, but this plan uses a 50-year/100-year horizon to better account for the implications of climate change and the much longer-term cycles of natural systems and public infrastructure investments.

The Kitsap County 2014 Buildable Lands Report shows that BI has sufficiently zoned land in 2016 to accommodate the anticipated population and employment growth through 2036. So, any increase should further one or more of these public purposes: 1. Shift density from critical areas or farmland to Winslow or other designated centers. 2. Increase the range and supply of housing types and affordable housing. 3. Contribute to public infrastructure or public amenities in excess of what is needed to mitigate the impacts of an individual project’s development. 4. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 5. Plan for the effects of climate change to avoid or ameliorate the impacts.

Housing

The housing part of the DEIS includes:

BI’s 2015 population of 23,390 is predominantly white (91%), well-educated and relatively affluent. The median household income ($92,558) is 1.5 times the Kitsap County average. Almost 60% of residents have occupations with relatively high incomes between $100,457 and $122,618. Another third work in the service sector with median wages between $27,703 and $30,972. Between 200010 BI’s senior population (60+ years increased from 17% to 26%. The “young adult” cohort (between 18 and 34 years old) has declined from 15% to 10%.

In 2016 BI’s housing stock is predominantly detached single-family homes (80% of all units) in a very low-density land use pattern that occupies about 90% of BI’s land area. The average single-family home price is just under $700,000. Multi-family units that constitute 16% of the housing stock are concentrated in Winslow and Lynwood Center. While the designated centers total about 10% of BI’s land area, Rental apartments make up less than 7% of housing. Very few rental units have been built on BI in the last decade, which partly accounts for a vacancy rate of 1.5%, well below the 5% rate typical of well-functioning rental markets.

Almost 34% ofpeople at all income levels who live in owner-occupied housing are cost burdened, meaning they spend over 30% of their income on housing. Almost 40% of people at all income levels who live in renter-occupied housing units are cost burdened. The majority (around 28%) have an annual income below $34,999. This means that as of 2012, 569 renters are cost burdened. Cost burdened households are more likely to have to choose between housing costs and other necessities. Many of the workers have to commute from less-expensive off-island housing, which increases their transportation costs, congestion on Highway 305 and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Puget Sound Regional Council suggests that housing-rich neighborhoods add employment to increase economic opportunities for residents. Market forces alone will not address the urgent housing needs facing BI.