The Bainbridge Island City Council plans to have a 90-minute discussion on the Comprehensive and Winslow Subarea plans Dec. 3 at City Hall and on Zoom.

Five of the seven councilmembers responded to requests for comments from city staff based on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Councilmembers Clarence Moriwaki and Brenda Fantroy-Johnson apparently did not participate. Those comments were condensed to 10 questions that will be discussed in an effort to decide on a preferred alternative.

The three alternatives to choose from are: do nothing, build taller buildings to accommodate growth or build on a larger area of BI to deal with growth. Some type of compromise is expected rather than those two extremes.

There was a 77-day public comment period. Council will hear a presentation on those Dec. 10. Next steps are to form a Final Environmental Impact Statement and take public comments on that. The plans are expected to be done by June of next year.

Among the comments:

Councilmember Leslie Schneider prefers islandwide growth, including Neighborhood Centers and Conservation Areas. Housing diversity and affordable housing are encouraged. For Winslow she prefers a combination of building up and building out. She favors getting rid of parking requirements. She favors incentivized redevelopment at the ferry terminal and High School Road areas.

Mayor Joe Deets says the city “cannot disregard the moral, legal and economic responsibility that we have to increase the availability of affordable housing” on BI. He adds the growth “must not push us beyond what is sustainable environmentally or economically.”

Deputy mayor Ashley Mathews says she would like a mixture of building up and building out in Winslow to achieve affordable housing. She would like to leave the Neighborhood Centers alone, find ways to protect agricultural land and loosen accessory development unit regulations and also use Conservation Areas to achieve targets.

Councilmember Jon Quitslund says higher density is needed in Winslow through multi-family housing projects. No action needed yet in Neighborhood Centers. Make part of Conservation Area more inclusive, diverse and equitable when it comes to housing. The housing target is 2,000 units so there is no need to look at 5,000, which is what the two alternatives suggest. Same with population, where 4,500 people need to be planned for, not 11,000.

Councilmember Kirsten Hytopoulos says: Following state law we want to maximize affordable housing with a minimum increase in market rates. We want the least impact on our resources. And we need feasible infrastructure to meet the changes. She says the DEIS focuses on density, which does not necessarily mean affordability. She says it does not look at the Transfer of Development Rights to move capacity from the Conservation Area into Winslow to meet housing and climate goals. There are areas in Winslow where upzoning would create a risk of displacement and invite premature redevelopment of new residential uses. And there are areas of height or density increases that are against community preferences. There’s also no mention that the state excused BI from compliance because it is a sole-source aquifer island city. The DEIS says the aquifers will supply enough water for the growth, but the Groundwater Management Plan isn’t even completed. And the build up and out alternatives are premature for the Neighborhood Centers.

City staff took those comments and came up with these themes. Affordable housing; housing diversity; Winslow; Neighborhood Centers; Alternatives; Capital facilities/infrastructure; Environmental/natural resources; TDR; Countywide growth designation; housing capacity; Implementation; and Comp Plan Update process.

The 10 questions include: Should growth only be in Winslow and not the Neighborhood Centers?; Should private developers be encouraged for some of the affordable housing?; Should there be areas of mandatory housing?; Should building heights be from 45 feet to 65 feet depending on the intensity of density?; Should Winslow boundary align with sewer service?; Should Wing Point be taken out of Winslow?; Should capacity of business centers be increased?; Should there be more housing in the Conservation Area?; Should ADUs be increased in different areas?; and Should part of Winslow be a countywide growth center?