PORT GAMBLE — Since 2004, residents living around Port Gamble Bay have kept tabs on an application for a dock so large, they feel it would change the face of the waterway entirely.

They’ve been vocal opponents, but are now concerned their numerous letters and phone calls haven’t been heard by Kitsap County officials as the plan moves forward.

“It’s not a good idea,” said Port Gamble resident Chuck Holland. “If you look at the bay, it’s got a real narrow mouth, and it’s a teardrop shaped shallow bay that doesn’t allow for a lot of flushing out.”

In the past, applicants Charles and Sondra Peters, who are seeking to install a 220-foot dock, have used a temporary floating dock and invited yacht clubs for parties, Holland said. He’s concerned with a permanent dock, there would be too much pollution from boats in a body of water that doesn’t clear out easily.

“The hard time I have with it is how one person can affect an entire body of water with a huge dock,” he said. “It will disrupt the bay’s usage and pristine condition and the quiet of the area. This is not Port Madison or Port Ludlow, it’s quiet here.”

Other residents feel the same way, and are pitching in to help pay a $200 appeal fee, said Port Gamble resident Gwenn Thomas. She said she hasn’t heard of anyone in favor of the dock, and many who live in the area are prepared to fight its construction. Concerns were raised again when the county issued a Determination of Non-Significance Feb. 8 after reviewing the State Environmental Policy Act checklist the Peters submitted. This indicates the county is ready to proceed with the application, but many residents feel it means the dock permits will be granted.

Organizations and private citizens wishing to comment or appeal the decision on the DNS have until Feb. 26 to do so.

“I think there’s been a false perception that the county is promoting this project,” said Kitsap County Department of Community Development shoreline planner Lisa Lewis. “All comments should be in by Feb. 26, and the county has not formulated a formal recommendation, we can’t yet. The next step after Feb. 26 is the staff report, which we make only after everything has been considered.”

“The dock certainly has not been approved yet. We’re in the process of seeking permits and we’ve been that way since 2003,” said project applicant Charles Peters. “I’m aware there are some concerns, a variety of them, that I’m not specifically addressing at this point. A public hearing would be the time to do that.”

“I’m against the pier wholeheartedly,” said Port Gamble resident Lorraine Godbolt. “It’s just not the dock itself, it’s the boats as well that would come along with the dock.”

To have more than the two boats specified on the applications tie up at the dock, Peters would necessitate a Washington State Hydraulic Project Approval and county notification, Lewis said.

“That was not the intent presented by the Peters when I met with them,” she said. “That would be considered separate from this plan.”

In the meantime, Thomas, Godbolt, Holland and other neighbors are again voicing their displeasure and concerns over the proposed dock’s potential environmental and community impacts.

The county is being as careful as possible because it realizes this is an emotional issue and people are upset about it, Lewis said.

“I don’t know anyone who’s for it,” Holland said. “It’s a sad thing that the county ruled this as non-significant.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about the dock project, or wanting to comment on it, can contact Lewis at (360) 337-4967.