The Poulsbo City Council approved two nearby housing development plats Wednesday, one for Noll Terrace and the other for Blue Heron Glen, providing more than 100 lots for that area.

The council first approved Noll Terrace, a nine-acre, 31-lot plat located in the southeastern portion of the city along the Noll Road corridor. With the housing development, two new city roads will be created.

The project was responsible for extending water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure to existing residences and a future connection point for the Blue Heron plat, council documents say. The extension will provide for future development possibly to the east. The project includes a shared-use path consistent with the Noll Corridor plan.

“I believe we have three model homes under construction, and one more about to get started,” city engineer Anthony Burgess said. “I’d expect these to go up pretty quick.”

Mayor Becky Erickson likes another aspect of the plan. “One of the things that’s really nice about it is we have a brand new crosswalk that goes right over (Poulsbo Elementary School). The kids will have a very safe way to cross the road.”

Blue Heron Glen is much larger at 23.83 acres subdivided into 85 lots adjacent to Noll Road and Heron Pond Lane. It also is located along the Noll Road corridor. With that housing development, three new city roads will be created.

The project also was responsible for extending water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure throughout the site and providing looped utility connections stubbed from the plat of Noll Terrace, per documents. The sewer main was re-routed into a new roadway configuration. The project also included wetland mitigation and, like Noll Terrace, construction of a shared-use path.

“Currently, there are four model homes under construction, and we expect more permits to come in the door,” Burgess said.

North Kitsap School District board member Rick Eckert said the board approved money to buy property off Finn Hill Road with the intent of building an elementary school, potentially providing another school option for these new housing developments.

“It is obviously a tentative approval; all the inspections have to take place,” Eckert said. “It was part of our plan for the levy that was just approved. We did make an offer and, hopefully, that’s going forward.”

In other council news, the council approved a contract with Believe in Recovery, LLC, to add a Substance Use Disorder Specialist to the Poulsbo Fire CARES team. CARES stands for Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security.

The city receives yearly revenue from the state’s liquor tax fund, documents state. Jurisdictions that receive the funds must spend no less than 2% of the revenue on a substance use disorder program licensed or certified by the Department of Health. The city has about $20,000 in liquor tax funds.

Under the arrangement, Believe in Recovery will provide a specialist to the CARES team for four hours each week who will provide expertise, perform assessments and help participants with resource navigation. The position will extend until the end of 2023.

In a related matter, the council also approved an agreement with the CARES Program through 2023. Poulsbo Fire provides a firefighter/EMT trained in crisis intervention to work on the team, and the city provides project management and a community support specialist, per documents.

The goal of the program is to connect individuals with behavioral health issues to appropriate services, thereby improving their quality of life and reducing the unnecessary use of emergency systems.