Poulsbo Comprehensive Plan Awarded

Brynn Grimley writes:

Tonight the city of Poulsbo will be awarded with a Vision 2040 award from the Puget Sound Regional Council. The award will come at the regional council’s annual General Assembly meeting held in Seattle. (The award will actually come during the dinner that follows the meeting).

The award will be given to the city in recognition of its 2009 Comprehensive Plan update.

Mayor Becky Erickson described the recognition by PSRC and its singling out of the city’s plan as “a true demonstration of what a comprehensive plan should look like.”

“It’s a tremendous vote of ‘You’re doing it the right way Poulsbo,'” she said. “It’s kind of a big deal.”

Skimming the list of previous recipients dating back to 1996, it appears there aren’t too many comprehensive plans on the list for recognition. Looks like Erickson might be right by saying it’s a big deal.

The city took time to gather public input, and to listen to what citizens wanted while crafting the plan over two years, she said. City Council members, city planning commissioners and city planning staff worked hard to make sure the document reflected the desires of the community, she said.

Interestingly, while the city’s plan is being recognized as an example, it is being appealed. One appeal was filed by Molly and John Lee and the other by Jan Wold, Carlotta Cellucci and Kitsap Citizens for Responsible Planning (I have been informed that shortly after the March pre-hearing before the Growth Management Hearings Board Kitsap Citizens for Responsible Planning withdrew from the appeal). Combined the appeals identify 54 issues where the appellants believe the plan violates the state’s Growth Management Act.

As a result of a meeting held in March, the Growth Management Hearings Board determined the two appeals should be consolidated into one appeal. The board will hear the appeal in full June 23 at 10 a.m. at the Poulsbo Library.

The city’s stance on the appeal: “We believe a lot of these issues are without merit and are based on misunderstanding about the act,” city planning director Barry Berezowsky said at the time.

If you’re curious about who else has received this Vision 2040 award you can find a list here. The PSRC website had this to say about the annual Vision 2040 awards:

Each year the Puget Sound Regional Council honors outstanding real-life examples of how the region is achieving our ambitious vision for growing wisely and creating great quality of life in all the region’s communities. The awards are designed to recognize the superb work being done by public and private organizations to achieve our region’s growth, economic, and transportation strategy, VISION 2040.

Previous Kitsap recipients include:

• SR-305 Major Investment Study (1998)
• Gateways to Bremerton (1999)
• Bainbridge Island Transfer Center and Bike Barn (2001)
• Bremerton Community Renewal Project (2005)
• Port Orchard Intermodal Terminal (2006)
• Winslow Tomorrow (2006)
• Kitsap Sustainable Energy Economic Development Project (2007)
• Kitsap Telework (2009)

For those unfamiliar with the PSRC, it is a regional board representing central Puget Sound counties — King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap. It brings the counties together with the various cities and towns, ports, tribes, transit agencies, and the state to work on developing policies and making decisions about regional issues.

According to its mission statement, the PSRC is “committed to creating a great future for the region through planning for regional transportation, land use and economic development, under authority embodied in state and federal laws.”