Kitsap County is providing property owners outside the county’s urban density boundaries of Suquamish and Kingston the opportunity to have access to urban amenities, as well as a say in how the area will grow during the next 20 years.

Each community’s working groups, which are currently updating their respective land use planning documents, are taking applications from residents who would like their property to be considered for inclusion within the boundaries of the Kingston Urban Growth Area or the Suquamish Rural Village Area. The deadline is June 30.

Benefits to being a part of the more dense areas include having access to amenities that are otherwise unavailable without paying hefty costs.

“For urban amenities, whether it be sewer, water, road access,” said Kitsap County Department of Community Development senior planner Albert Williams.

Currently, properties outside the established boundaries are zoned to allow one dwelling unit per 5 acres or one dwelling unit per 10 acres at the high end. Within the boundaries, zoning density increases with the lowest zoning being one unit per 5 acres, plus access to urban amenities.

The sub-area committees, not the county commissioners, will determine whether those properties should be included within the UGA or the rural village boundary, Williams said.

“We’re trying to do public outreach right now,” he said.

Interested residents can go to the county’s Web site for an application at www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/default.htm or call Williams at (360) 337-4579.

Currently, the Kingston group is going through Phase II of its sub-area planning process and is trying to determine if and how the UGA boundaries need to be expanded. Members of the committee, which includes participants from the working group who put together the original sub-area plan that was approved in 2003, have been discussing a variety of topics, including projected population numbers for the area and how the area could potentially grow. The Suquamish group has been reviewing its rural village plan and exploring how the area has changed since the plan was last updated in 1999.