HANSVILLE — When an April Fool’s sign on the corner of Point No Point Road promised a future of high rise condos and wetland-friendly water parks in Kitsap County’s northernmost town, it was an ironic wake up call for the leaders of Hansville, Eglon and surrounding communities.

That sign leaned against a wall in the Hansville Community Center April 29 as leaders from area groups listened to the HCC Board of Directors propose a comprehensive plan that outlined the future of the Hansville area.

With representatives from 20 community organizations, from breakfast clubs to the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, the group listened with an open mind, noted HCC Board Treasurer Rol Malan. The purpose of the meeting was to get initial feedback from the groups on the idea of the plan.

The concept presented was not a land-use plan, which is what Kitsap County and Kingston are working on, but more of a comprehensive plan, said HCC Board President Steve Bauer.

Bauer said by keeping the plan comprehensive, the board’s idea is to consider all the factors that make up a community — including social, environmental and economic issues — and outline how the community would deal with these issues in the future.

Malan noted several issues that ignited this long-term planning idea. Ongoing discussions with various outside agencies concerning the Point No Point Resort and boat ramp, Point No Point light house, traffic safety and residential developments topped the list.

Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endresen said she encouraged such forward thinking, as it would not only help the county with future planning but would prove beneficial to the community as well.

While the last Hansville plan was created in the early 1990s, a lot of things have changed since then, Endresen said.

“To represent the Hansville area, I need to know what you want,” Endresen told the crowd of 50 people. “I’ll speak as an advocate for it.”

But there needed to be a strong public support for this plan, she advised, as it is the community, not the county, handling this proposal.

“It will be a lot better plan coming from the community rather than the county saying, ‘We need a plan,’” she added.

While it took some prodding to get some comments from the groups’ representatives, the general consensus was positive.

Martha Pendergast of the Point No Point View Estates Home Owners Association, said her residents were already enticed by the idea.

“I sent out an email to the people in Home Owners Association and they already had nitty-gritty stuff they wanted to get in on,” she said.

Keith Beebe, representing the Eglon community, noted it sounded better than recent plans he has heard about.

“It’s a lot better plan than a Wal-Mart or Kingston Waterfront Project to get people motivated about,” he said.

Marci Collins, of the Hansville Preschool, noted that the plan would be helpful for the influx of younger families moving into the area.

“It’s a great idea,” she said. “Kind of intimidating because it’s going to take a lot of volunteers, but good.”

The next step will be for the board to review the comments from Tuesday’s meeting and talk individually with the various community groups. If the board continues to receive a positive response, it will work to form a steering committee to guide the project forward.