A scoping meeting will take place tonight from 7-9 at City Hall on the Environmental Impact Statement for the Winslow SubArea Plan, which hasn’t been updated since 2006.

Scoping refers to the first step in the EIS process where input is taken to narrow the focus to probable significant environmental issues and to identify alternatives.

The EIS is an objective evalution of the environmental consequences of a proposed project. It is a planning tool that evaluates impacts of alternatives. It also identifies mitigation for those inpacts. And it identifies unavoidable impacts. The EIS does not affect courses of action.

Comments are due by Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. Email jsutton@bainbridgewa.gov

The EIS could contain analysis of transportation, utilities, public services, land use plans and policies, aesthetics and visual resources, environmental justice and climate change (including greenhouse gas emissions) and population, including employment and housing.

A draft EIS is distributed to federal, state, regional and city agencies, organizations and the public for review and comment.

There are three alternatives: no action, intensify areas within downtown Winslow and intensify areas adjacent to Winslow with limited intensification downtown.

Recently adopted plans already have goals to: reduce emissions by 90% by 2045, protect nature, make Winslow accessible for all ages and abilities, reduce traffic congestion, build diverse housing that is affordable and include the public.

The plan will include mobility, such as a nonmotorized network; open spaces, natural systems and amenities; and zoning for various types of housing. It will ask if boundaries should change and how much of new housing and jobs should be in Winslow?