Bainbridge Island Hearing Examiner Stafford Smith has set a deadline for Friday, Jan. 31 for citizens to submit comments on the proposed Visconsi shopping center.

Visconsi, an Ohio-based developer, has submitted plans to the city for building a new shopping center — with a drug store, restaurants, professional services and health care facilities — on 8.16 acres near the Highway 305-High School Road intersection.

Hearings on the site plan for the project and a conditional use permit got underway Jan. 16 before the hearing examiner. The proposed project has been highly controversial on Bainbridge, with some residents warning the development will worsen traffic and hurt existing businesses on the island.

City planning staff have said the project complies with city regulations and the zoning for the land. The planning commission, however, unanimously recommended denial of Visconsi’s site plan and conditional use permit Nov. 14.

Citizens can submit comments to the hearing examiner by 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.

Comments can be delivered to the city hall front desk addressed to the hearing examiner, or emailed to the hearing examiner’s assistant at drose@bainbridgewa.gov.