KINGSTON — Kingston residents can scrutinize the proposed 751-unit Arborwood development at a public meeting Oct. 1.
Olympic Property Group plans to build the mixed-residential neighborhood off South Kingston Road. The Kitsap County hearing Examiner approved the preliminary plat, or footprint, for Arborwood in August. OPG will bring the proposal before the hearing examiner again Oct. 8, for a ruling on its development agreement.
The Oct. 3 Kingston meeting is not an official hearing.
Nancy Tietje and two of her neighbors, all of whom own land adjacent to the Arborwood site, have organized and advertised the meeting. Tietje has watched the project closely because of its proximity to her home. Her intention is to provide accurate information on how the development could affect the Kingston area and its public services such as schools, roads, ferries and sewers.
“That was my motivation,” Tietje said. “That was the part that I thought was missing.”
To cover all angles of the project, Tietje sent out 45 invitations to stakeholders. Representatives of OPG, the county Department of Community Development, North Kitsap School District, North Kitsap Fire and Rescue and a list of members of the Kingston community have indicated they would come, Tietje said.
“I invited everyone I could think of,” she said.
OPG and county staff will each have 20 minutes at the beginning of the meeting to make presentations. The public will then be able to ask as many questions as time allows.
OPG Vice President Elizabeth Wilson said her group has made an effort to reach out to the public and will be happy to field more questions from the public.
“There have been meetings in the past,” Wilson said. “It sounds like the community still has questions. We’re glad to go to the meeting and answer questions.”
OPG has made some of the most current Arborwood plans available at the project Web site www.arborwood-kingston.com. The most recent design includes a mix of single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses, along with 20,000 square feet of commercial space.
It’s unclear how quickly the development will proceed. OPG has said its timeline will depend on the housing market.
Since planning on Arborwood began in 1991, its progress has been followed closely by many North End institutions. Among them is North Kitsap School District, which could see a spike in students if the project were completed.
NKSD spokeswoman Chris Case said the district has made provisions for Arborwood in its demographics studies and is confident it could absorb the added students.
“We’ve been working with them for a long time,” Case said.
Want to know more?
The Arborwood meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Oct. 1 in the Kingston Fire Station at 26642 Miller Bay Road. A hearing on the development agreement will take place at 10 a.m., Oct. 8 in the County Commissioner’s Chambers at 619 Division Street, Port Orchard.
More Arborwood resources can be found at www.arborwood-kingston.com and www.kitsapgov.com/dcd .
