HANSVILLE — A huge sign that popped up in Hansville in April 2003, promoting urban development projects for the quiet community, such as condos, a water park and a monorail might not have been too far off the mark.
While this April Fool’s joke gave residents a scare, some of them took their thoughts a step further: could these sort of developments really take place at some point in the future?
These ideas prompted a group of residents, including Hansville Community Center Board members, to explore the future of Hansville. At the same time, they realized the community was no longer just attracting retirees but also young families.
After a year of brainstorming, the group started “The Futures Project,” a research project in which residents would come together to plan for the future.
The committee is hoping to incorporate voices from not only Hansville, but from all communities within the area, as far south as Eglon and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Indian Reservation.
“If it’s going to speak for everyone, we want everyone involved,” said Hansville Community Center Board president Steve Bauer.
Residents will have a chance to learn more about the project next week from 7:30-9:30 p.m. May 20 at the Hansville Community Center at Buck Lake Park.
The steering group has already created a foundation for the planning process, which includes:
• Volunteer researchers and writers to record the past and present “conditions,” such as area demographics, economy, environmental quality, government, housing, human services, land use and utilities. The results would be used to try to forecast future trends for each “condition”
• Volunteers to survey residents in the area about what they value the most about the community
• Compare the conditions and values to see where the differences are
• Develop action plans to create a future the community wants
For example, if the demographics show there are more children than there used to be, the community may need to incorporate more kid-friendly facilities and activities, Bauer explained.
The recent population increase in the area as well as lack of communication between groups or neighborhoods separated by a mere street were factors considered in creating this plan of action, he added.
“There has been a lot of growth and development out here,” Bauer said. “You have lots of areas out here identified by our perceptions, but they don’t come together.”
After seeing what sort of development trends are currently taking place in Hansville, the community can change what it doesn’t like and help create a future it wants, he said.
• In other Hansville news, the West Sound Technology Professionals Association will be holding a meeting from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. June 1 in Hansville Community Center to help teach the community how technology will help its future, including stimulating economic development, telecommuting and teleworking. For more information about the WSTPA meeting, call (206) 338-6554.
