We know you’ve heard it before, but this time, really, the end is in sight.
The City of Port Orchard on Monday will roll out the final draft of its downtown plan for a first reading.
How is this different from other City Council discussions of the draft? Check out the word “final.” The council has completed its item by item dissection of the document, having achieved “consensus” on each of its fine points. Work on the document at Monday’s meeting will be to clean up any errors or inconsistency noted by council members in their review of the final draft, said Mayor Kim Abel.
Public comment will be taken, but that does not amount to a re-opening of public testimony, Abel said. It’s even conceivable that the council could put its seal of approval on the DOD plan and send it out the door. Abel, however, thinks it’s more likely that the clean-up will require at least one more meeting.
Abel’s quote, “Maybe it’s just my paranoia. People have been waiting so long to see this completed.”
Get your copy of the plan at www.cityofportorchard.us.
I wrote a story that includes highlights of the plan. Not sure when it will post on the Web site, so here it is.
PO Council Down to the Wire on its Downtown Plan
By Chris Henry
chenry@kitsapsun.com
PORT ORCHARD
The City of Port Orchard on Monday will roll out the final draft of
its downtown plan for a first reading.
The City Council has been working on the document for more than a
year. Its purpose, as stated in the draft, is to promote mixed use
(residential and commercial), environmentally sustainable
development in the downtown core, while preserving views and
promoting a “small town feel.”
City officials, residents, business owners and building owners all
hope the plan will promote the economic revitalization of Port
Orchard.
Earlier this month, the council completed an item by item review of
the draft, a task that took more than a month longer than
originally anticipated. Prior to that the public spend several
months gathering and evaluating public testimony on the plan.
The biggest hot button issue has been building height. The council
has struggled to reconcile the sometimes conflicting desires of
residents worried about losing their views and building owners who
say they need greater height allowances to make development
economically feasible.
In the final draft of the plan, height regulations are as
follows:
Within the downtown core, officially known as the central Downtown
Overlay District, buildings on the north or water side of Bay
Street may be constructed up to 27 feet, with increases up to 39
feet permitted under certain conditions. These include meeting the
requirements for a conditional use permit and providing amenities —
added features of public value and appeal— worth at least 1 percent
of the value of the building and land.
A “menu” of approved amenities is part of the draft plan and
includes such items as water features, trees and public gathering
areas.
On the south side of the city’s main corridor, on lots that abut
Bay Street and are between Bay Street and Prospect Alley/Street,
the maximum allowable building height is 39 feet, which may be
increased up to 55 feet with a conditional use permit and
amenities.
On lots on the south side of Bay Street that do not abut Bay
Street, the maximum allowable building height is back to 27 feet,
which may be increased up to 39 feet with a conditional use permit
and amenities.
Another condition, called Structure Height Modulation, applies to
all buildings above the maximum allowable height, with the purpose
of preserving views as much as possible.
In buildings on lots where the maximum height is 27 feet without a
conditional use permit, the gross floor area above this height
“shall not be more than 75 percent of the gross floor area
immediately below.” In the case of lots that allow for a maximum
height of 39 feet, the same rule applies above 39 feet. The idea
was to avoid boxy structures that block views entirely and to
create so-called view corridors.
Mayor Kim Abel said she will allow public comment on the draft,
which has appeared in many incarnations since its initial
inception. But that doesn’t amount to reopening public testimony on
the document. While it is conceivable the council could adopt the
plan on Monday, it is more likely they will make some last minute
fine tuning before setting the plan in stone, Abel said.
“Maybe it’s just my paranoia,” she said. “People have been waiting
so long to see this completed.”
A copy of the draft downtown plan is available at the city’s Web
site, www.cityofportorchard.us.
