The temporary rules will cover the appeal period for the new Manchester Plan.
By Chris Henry
chenry@kitsapsun.com
PORT ORCHARD
The Kitsap County Board of Commissioners today approved a six-month
extension of interim zoning rules that limit building height in
downtown Manchester to 28 feet, two stories, buying time for county
officials to approve an update of the 2002 Manchester Plan.
The temporary zoning ordinance was approved May 14 by the
commissioners to enforce a portion of the 2002 Manchester Plan
calling for buildings to be limited to 28 feet, two stories. The
ordinance was set to expire Nov. 13.
The Manchester Plan is being updated, and is expected to be
approved by the Board of Commissioners — with a provision for a
two-story building limit — sometime in December. Staff from the
county’s Department of Community Development requested the
extension to allow time for the plan to be passed and to cover the
period of time during which it could be appealed.
Without the extension, said Jim Bolger of the DCD, there would be a
lapse of zoning rules, and developers could apply for buildings of
greater height and density than the plan would allow.
Building height has been a controversial issue during discussions
about updating the Manchester Plan. A citizens committee working
with county staff on an update of the 2002 Plan arrived at the
two-story limit as part of a set of design standards that will be
incorporated into the updated plan.
Although the 2002 Manchester Plan included a two-story limit, three
projects have been approved at three stories, because of a
discrepancy between county code and the 2002 plan. The interim
zoning ordinance was intended to address that discrepancy and honor
citizens’ wishes while the plan revision was being hammered out,
Bolger said.
