Kirsten Hytopolous was obviously frustrated with her fellow Bainbridge Island city councilmembers.

They were discussing an interim measure dealing with affordable housing, and the others were talking about sending it back to the BI Planning Commission or city staff for revamping. “This thing has been around forever,” she said of the code, adding it’s been through various processes with public input.

Hytopolous said they were not making new policy, just an interim measure until they finish their Housing Action Plan. “This feels like backtracking. We need to move forward,” she said.

However, after hearing public comments, the council majority decided to return it to the planning commission.

During those comments, Phaedra Elliott of Housing Resources Bainbridge said the code needed to change to encourage affordable housing, which is in short supply. She said the code would need to be changed for a 100% affordable, 18-22 unit development HRB is working on to continue. She called the current code “overly burdensome…impractical for small projects like this.”

Elliott said having to provide one parking spot per unit would not work. Because the project is in Winslow, many of the residents would use transit. “We would make a parking plan that meets the needs of the residents,” she said, adding offsite parking could be arranged.

Most of the council felt her recommended changes should be made, since it’s the only project currently that falls under the ordinance.

“We should do everything we can for affordable housing,” deputy mayor Brenda Fantroy-Johnson said.

Councilmember Leslie Schneider said reducing parking makes sense to keep costs down because it’s near transit.

Mayor Joe Deets said like Hytopolous he doesn’t like the delay, but that Elliott made some good points, and since HRB is the only one using the code now the changes make sense.

said flexibility is needed.

Councilmember Jon Quitslund said he wanted to refer it back to staff for fine tuning, adding the planning commission, which he was on before being elected to the council, is tired of the issue.

“They’ve had enough of this,” Hytopolous added.

Schneider said: “I’m torn here,” adding she’d like to make small changes and move on. She said the code would not set parking policy for all projects, just this one. “It’s what HRB wants and needs. It’s what’s best for Bainbridge.”

Quitslund said he’d like staff and pubic input on the HRB suggestions. “We can do a better job with information we’ve received…from honorable people,” he said.

“We all are in favor of affordable housing,” Deets said. “We listen, and we act on it.”

Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki and Hytopolous stood firm against sending it back to the planning commission. Both didn’t like that it was for one project.

“I don’t think this is good public process,” Hytopolous said, adding it can’t be approved just because they “like the voices,” and they “want the outcomes. I’m not comfortable drafting an ordinance for one project.”

Moriwaki also was concerned about making code fit a single project, which he worried could lead to legal implications. He thinks changes should be more general. He also was concerned about the interim measure taking up too much staff time when the city has some “pretty heavy lifting coming up” with other issues. Moriwaki also was concerned about more delays, including another public hearing if the planning commission recommends changing the code.

He said council members who vote to send it back to the planning commission should, “dig in, do some of the work, and help write the amendment.”

Deets paraphrased what the code changes should say. It needs to be 100% affordable, a half mile from the ferry, 800 square feet units and less space for parking. “That’s pretty specific,” he said.

Winslow Subarea Plan

The council also approved a motion for city staff to start working on updating the Winslow Subarea Plan. City manager Blair King said it’s probably going to be a one- or two-year process. Interim planning director Mark Hoffman said the effort is similar to a comprehensive plan update. “It wraps in a lot of elements.” For example, work already done on climate, transportation and housing would be included.

“We’re not going to start from scratch. The city has done a lot of great work the past few years,” said Jennifer Sutton, senior planner. “We’re going to utilize and integrate existing work that’s been done.”

Sutton said all city departments would be involved, along with outside agencies such as parks, schools and ferries.

King said staff will now get started on a document that will outline the process such as a timeline, costs, public input, consultants, etc.

Schneider said the council wants to consolidate growth and density to Winslow and keep it out of rural areas.

Sutton was asked about being a “county center” and what that would mean. She said that could help with getting grants, and it should be discussed, but right now Winslow would not be dense enough to qualify, although it would be “not too far off. We would not have to intensify massively what we have now.”

Hytopolous said if there is discussion of more density she would like to see visual samples of what that might look like to make sure it’s what they and the public want.

Related to that, the council also discussed municiple code regarding this, which is “somewhat rigid in its approach – unlike other policies the city has,” King said.

The council decided to amend the code so it only applies to smaller centers. “Winslow is a different animal,” Hytopolous said, addding since that’s where they want growth it needs to be more inclusive and flexible.

She and Schneider agreed that section of the code should not be thrown out in its entirety. “We’re not rejecting everything,” she said. “We need to pull from it things that are wise.”

Quitslund said the code was “much too fancy” and wouldn’t work in places like Rolling Bay and Island Center. “I don’t know how this came into being.”

UW students

Also regarding the Winslow Subarea Plan, there was no council discussion but it did see a presentation by University of Washington students that was an analysis of the plan, which they said does not do enough for future population growth.

To solve that problem, Bainbridge Island needs to upzone downtown and expand its sewer service area. Making those changes would generate more tax revenue and create a more equitable and sustainable community through controlled growth, the UW analysis says. It also says the current subarea plan lags behind expansion of sewer and water services, especially to the north and west.

If Winslow develops all vacant lots and uses all underdeveloped buildings to their potential, Winslow could hold 5,000 more people. However, since it’s “extremely unlikely” for that to happen, the UW analysis says the more likely number is around 2,000.

During public comments, Lisa Neal called the study “propaganda.” She said their conclusion would bring more growth to Winslow than what’s required. She also said expanding sewer isn’t a good idea because the city already has too many spills.

Legislative priorities

The council also approved its legislative priorities, including issues related to the: Climate Action Plan; Green building; Sustainable transportation; Comprehensive Plan; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Transportation and utilities; Public health and safety; Local government finance; and General government.

Since it has never had such guidelines before, Hytopolous asked how the document would be used.

King explained that it would help him and other staff when talking about city priorities when dealing with other agencies. For example, if the city was asked for a letter of support on an issue by U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, it would be able to write such a letter without having to check back with the council. “It would help with lobbying,” he added.

King also said if someone misrepresented the city there would be proof of that. “We’ve operated many years without this,” he said. “We would have more direction than we have now.”

The city manager assured the council that staff would not spend time monitoring the legislature, but Hytopolous said she thinks staff should, especially regarding the city’s top priorities. She also said King and staff should report back to the council when they do use the document to “keep us connected.”

Moriwaki summed it up well. “These are broad guidelines – a baseline values statement for when we talk at government levels outside our own.”

Travel and training

Staff recommended for the first time giving councilmembers a budget for travel and training. The amount was set at up to $1,500 a year each. The motion was approved. Schneider encouraged everyone to “get out and get training.”

Police station

Kerry Smith in public comments questioned the morality and investment of BI building a new police station. She said BI police have been ineffective in fighting crimes like drugs and sexual assault. Smith said police don’t stop violence, and often perpetuate it. She added they also have been known to harass the most vulnerable.