KINGSTON — The county is encouraging more Kingston residents to speak up about proposed Urban Growth Area boundaries and the future of their community as well.
The Kitsap County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding the draft Kingston Sub-area Plan and Environmental Impact Statement at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 8 at Kingston Junior High.
The event will give citizens the opportunity to publicly comment on the preferred UGA alternative the planning commission selected earlier this year.
The choice, also known as Alternative B in previous draft plans, would expand the boundaries of the current UGA to the west and would include Kingston Junior High, the new high school property and some county lands.
Locals believe it’s important for the community to attend the hearing and give their opinions on the plan.
Kingston resident Tom Coultas said he thinks his neighbors should take advantage of the opportunity and weigh in on the concept of a growing town.
“We need a large enough pallet to begin to have a large enough planning area to plan for trails and parks and recreation facilities, rather than adding on pieces,” Coultas said.
Olympic Property Group’s proposal for the 795-acre Heritage Park that would be adjacent to the boundaries of the sub-area plan would be beneficial for the whole area, economically and recreationally, he said.
“We get to plug into the Kingston-Indianola trail that Whitehorse has bought into,” Coultas added. “As Kingston grows, we need to have something other developers can develop on with a park and recreation facility.”
Coultas, as well as Kingston resident Dave Hildebrand, were members of the steering committee that developed the alternatives. Hildebrand said he also believes residents need to be aware of the changes.
“I think it’s important for people to know what’s happening in their community,” he said. “It’s going to affect the growth of the community for the next 10 years.”
Hildebrand said he agrees with
preferred plan because it expands the boundaries just enough to meet
the Growth Management Act regulations.
“It accommodates for some growth within the GMA and those are the boundaries that we had to work with,” he said. “I think that position was pretty much validated by the planning commission at the last hearing, which is why they support it.”
Testimony given at the public hearing will be taken into consideration by the planning commission as they prepare to recommend the alternative to the Board of Kitsap County Commissioners later this year.
The draft plan and integrated SEIS is available for public review on the county web site at http://www.kitsapgov.com. Copies are also available at the Kingston Library or by calling DCD at (360) 337-7181.
