Bremerton planning commission members met this week at city hall to review the subarea plan for the South Kitsap Industrial Area (SKIA).
No members of the public attended the open session which effectively served as a recap and update on the years-long effort to bring industrial development to a 3,700-acre area anchored by Bremerton National Airport.
The city released its Final Planned Action Environmental Statement (EIS) for SKIA on March 29. The Final EIS identifies a plan that seeks to create 6,500 jobs over 20 years by adding an additional four million square feet of mixed-use space. Consultants and city officials say that in order to achieve that goal, $75 million in infrastructure improvements will eventually be required. They say that cost will likely be covered by property owners and grants.
SKIA is located south of the Bremerton watershed property and is adjacent to Mason County to the west along State Route 3. The Port of Bremerton’s main offices, airport, and the industrial land are located in this area along with tracts of heavily forested acreage.
The SKIA Subarea Plan deals with land uses compatible with the area’s existing Manufacturing Industrial Center (MIC) designation in Puget Sound Regional Council’s Vision 2040 Plan. The designation requires that the majority of development in SKIA be focused on industrial activities but allows some non-industrial land uses. Services and other uses that would be directed to industrial employers and users. The plan will also consider increased office and retail development in some portion of the SKIA area.
The project is expected to incorporate “green” economic development practices, ensure that future development will result in reduced greenhouse gas emissions, promote sustainable low-impact development and foster environmental stewardship.
An open house on the draft Subarea Plan and Planned Action EIS will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. May 7 in the council chambers at the Norm Dicks Government Center.
