Kitsap County and Hansville residents are looking to convert some 500 acres, including waterfront property, into green space. If the Herald was a real estate agency, it’d be fuming. Probably making arguments like, “That’s land that’s being taken off the tax rolls” — i.e. that’s land we can’t sell to clients.

Property at Forbes Landing and Hawks Hole could provide new houses, new jobs and plenty of revenues for the real estate community and the local economy. And while all four are needed, we hope none of the above transpire, at least as far as the lands mentioned are concerned.

Why? Green space is more valuable. We’d go so far as to call it invaluable. Priceless might be a better word.

All too often such undisturbed lands are callously viewed as simply commodities. Sad but true.

But where will new residents live? We need more houses, some will ask and argue. These arguments are founded but with enormous developments springing up in North Kitsap’s major communities — White Horse in Kingston, the Hansville Homestead and Olhava in Poulsbo — not to mention the fact that vacant, buildable land is selling fast, the opportunities are there. The well of new construction won’t be drying up anytime soon.

We applaud the county and involved Hansvillites on their efforts to date and wish them success on preserving this land for future generations to enjoy. It is truly a worthy cause. As residents of North Kitsap we need to remind ourselves that a balance between nature and development is needed here. The scenic beauty of our area should be protected and if this calls for taking land off the tax rolls, so be it. There are plenty of other places to build after all.

While the above statements might seem a tad on the “anti-growth” side, we assure you they are not. It’s just that housing, populations and urban centers aren’t the only things that need to space grow. So do trees.