Results of Wed Annexation Meeting 2-24-11

Good Attendance.  Considering the prediction of snow, it was good to see the chairs filled at the Illahee Community meeting on Wednesday (2/23/11), and to realize the 12 signs placed throughout the community continue to inform residents who are not on Illahee's email lists.  

Thanks to Eric Baker.  The community needs to especially thank Eric Baker, Kitsap County Special Projects Manager, for his knowledgeable and forthright presentation on the issues of the Growth Management Act (GMA), Urban Growth Areas (UGAs), Annexation, and various other related topics.  Eric arrived before 6 pm and the questions finally were stopped at 7:30 pm so Eric could depart and residents could decide what direction they wanted to go with the two submitted resolutions.

Timely Decision Needed.  When a question was asked when a resolution to the county need to be submitted, Eric responded that it needed to be submitted by Monday, February 28, 2011, for it to get on the county's docket and be considered this year.  

Request to be Removed from the UGA Deleted.  Based on the presentation and resulting discussions the community realized they could not be removed from the UGA,  and that part of the resolution was eventually deleted.  Eric stated that the Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB) has been clear that Rural densities can only go down to 1 dwelling unit per 5 acres, and Illahee clearly does not fit that definition of a rural zoning density.  

Greenbelt Zoning Urban?  Eric said that Illahee's Greenbelt zoning density of 1-4 dwelling units per acre (or dua)  is an 'urban' density even though the community has argued for years that the natural features, or critical areas in Illahee, do not support the higher zoning densities of 5-9 dua which were put in place in 1998 and still remain in some parts of Illahee.  Some in the community felt the 1-4 dwelling units per acre was a more rural type of zoning, evidently remembering that for years Illahee was zoned 'semi-rural', that was until the Growth Management Act changed things.

Illahee Cannot Be Removed From the UGA!  The bottom line for this part of the discussion was that Illahee cannot be removed from the Urban Growth Area because it already has urban densities, whether they are Greenbelt or the higher densities of 5-9 dua.  This was a big disappointment for a number of attendees.

What Can Be Done?  No one knows what can actually be done and what is possible unless a request is made to Kitsap County.  

Request to County.  What was decided is to submit a request to the county to "Establish Illahee (or portions thereof) as a Greenbelt."  We received a copy of the resolution late this afternoon and have attached it - the link is below this paragraph.  It was signed and submitted to Kitsap County on Thursday (2/24/11) afternoon.

RESOLUTION

Annexation Discussions.  Just some brief comments regarding the annexation discussions.  Annexations normally require providing urban level services, but there is little money available to do so at the county or the cities, so they are dependent on developers.  Annexation also depends on whether you are Tier 1 (population density and services), Tier 2 (density or services), or Tier 3 (open land).  Most of Illahee has low density and few services, so it would not be a top priority for annexation.

Annexation Methods.  Eric presented the various annexation methods, none of which seem threatening to Illahee at this time.  

Bremerton's Annexation Plan?  Eric suggested we talk with the City of Bremerton's Planning Department head to see how they view the Illahee area that is in the East Bremerton UGA.

Interesting Comment Heard.  We heard the following comment at the meeting that we found fascinating, though we are probably not quoting it exactly:  The Illahee Greenbelt zoning density of 1-4 dwellings per acre is one that has been supported by both the property rights residents and the environmentalists in Illahee as it allows either septic systems or sewers and is a density both groups seem to be able to live with.

Daffodils.  We promised we would photograph the first daffodils we saw last week and decided to put in another shot of the first flowers we saw, though this time with some snow around them.

High Tides.  The supposedly high tides this week were not excessively high.  We have attached a couple of pictures showing the tide at its highest on Tuesday.

Other Comments on the Meeting?  Please let us and others know your thoughts regarding Wednesday's meeting by commenting on our website http://illaheecommunity.blogspot.com/, or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Illahee?ref=ts.  This update will be posted within 24 hours of it being sent out.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous - 2-21/11

Illahee Preserve Downed Trees.  Recent winds have caused a number of trees to come down in the Illahee Preserve, with some of them blocking trails.  Several Illahee Preserve volunteers have gone through the county's chain saw training class and have been doing an amazing job of keeping the trails open.  While walking the trails on Saturday afternoon, after the Saturday morning wind storm, we encountered Jon and Vic (two East Bremerton Rotary volunteers who went through the training) who had just taken care of 14 blocking trees and were starting to work on #15.  These are the type of amazing people we are fortunate to have working in the Preserve, and reinforces again and again that volunteers, and volunteer organizations like the Rotary, can keep a major Kitsap County Heritage Park's trails open and the Preserve well maintained.  
(For those wondering about the trash bags by the Mutt Mit Station (see attached photo), they were left by the County's Alternative to Detention crew several weeks ago, and they must have forgotten to call someone to pick them up.)

Power Outage On Saturday.  We received the following photo taken near Illahee State Park showing at least one set of downed power lines that probably caused some of the outage on Saturday morning.

Wednesday's Library Meeting Sponsor.  Some have wondered about who is sponsoring the "annexation" meeting at the Library on Wednesday at 6:15 pm.  They saw the signs that went up on Saturday and wanted more information.  We received a copy of an email that had a brief explanation of the Illahee Community Club (ICC) that may be helpful:

Illahee Community Club Information:

The Illahee Community Club (ICC) has been in existence since the founding of Illahee, but was reorganized in 2008/2009 to expand its boundary (essentially that of the Port of Illahee) and purposes (to support restoration and preservation).  The Club is now a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity with contributions tax deductible, as allowed by law.  Yearly dues for voting members are $10 per family.  Lifetime memberships are granted for those who support the ICC with gifts over $100.  There are currently ~175 voting members. 

The purposes of the Illahee Community Club are:

·         To restore, preserve, and maintain the Illahee community as an historic, scenic, and culturally significant area.

·         To combat community deterioration through remedial actions such as elimination of fecal coliform and storm water pollution.

·         To restore and preserve the Illahee area of Puget Sound, including freshwater, wetlands, floodplains, estuary, nearshore, marine, and upland habitats for the benefit and education of the general public.

·         To restore and preserve the following items adversely impacting the Illahee Creek Watershed as delineated in the Department of Ecology / Port of Illahee funded Parametrix Report, “Illahee Creek Watershed Surface Water Management Plan,” which are:

Surface Water Runoff, Landslides, Reduced Aquifer Recharge, Water Quality, Functionality of Illahee Creek Culvert, Degraded Salmonid Habitat.

·         To restore and preserve the natural features of the Illahee area including the Illahee Preserve (a Kitsap County Heritage Park), Illahee State Park, and area wildlife and habitat for the benefit and education of the general public.

·         To advocate for accomplishment of the goals and objectives in the Illahee Community Plan that support the restoration and preservation of the local Puget Sound area for the benefit and education of the general public.

·         To solicit and obtain financial support for the education, restoration, and preservation of the aforementioned items and other impacts adversely affecting the Illahee area of Puget Sound.

·         To work with private landowners, public water groups, schools, land trusts, government agencies, public and private associations, businesses, service groups, foundations, Indian tribes, and others to accomplish the above purposes.

Pheasant.  We have been trying to get a picture of a roster pheasant in the area that is pretty skittish.  This is the best we can do at this time and appreciate photographers who can capture good poses of these birds.

Gray Squirrels.  Gray squirrels have been steadily moving north through Illahee.  This one showed up this fall and pretty much ate all the chestnuts from our American chestnut tree.  They often displace the native Douglas squirrels and chipmunks, probably by out-competing them for food.  We also saw our first gray squirrel in the Illahee Preserve this winter.  Some think they are coming from the more urbanized areas of Bremerton.


Black Turnstone.  These are small shore birds we noticed just south of the Illahee Community Dock.  We included a picture with a pigeon in it to give you an idea just how small these birds are.

Spring Flowers.  We took the pictures of flowers on Friday and have noticed more flowers blooming each day, including a bunch of daffodils today (Monday).  We didn't have our camera today, so those pictures will come later.  We also noticed the Canada Geese have paired up, another sign that Spring is nearly here.

Jim Aho

High Tides & Annexation Issues - 2-17-11

Weekend High Tides.  This is the second round of high tides this year with the next 5 days being 13.0 and above.  The times are early in the morning beginning on Friday (2/18) at 5:15 am, Saturday (2/19) at 5:44 am, Sunday (2/20) at 6:16 am, Monday (2/21) at 6:49 am, and Tuesday (2/22) at 7:25 am, so there may not be much daylight until Monday and Tuesday.  We are getting our information from the tide chart put out by the shipyard for Bremerton, Sinclair Inlet, and Port Orchard so what we actually observe in Illahee could be a few minutes off. 

Two Annexation Positions.  We understand there are two draft resolutions floating around regarding ANNEXATION worries.  This is a subject that has been discussed by a number of board members and there appear to be two different positions:  (1) Annexation is a threat and a concern that needs to be addressed now, and (2) Annexation is not a threat so why waste  your time on the issue.

Annexation Discussion at Illahee Meeting.  We found out today that ANNEXATION discussions will be the primary topic for the Illahee Community meeting on Feb 23rd at the Library beginning at 6:15 pm.  Evidently there are enough questions regarding the issues that some expert responses are needed to decide which side is right.

County Expert to Speak.  Eric Baker is the county's Special Projects Manager for the Kitsap County Commissioners and is one of the most knowledgeable experts at the county with respect to the Growth Management Act (GMA), the various Urban Growth Areas (UGA), and the issues related to annexation.  Josh Brown, our County Commissioner, has asked Eric to attend our February 23rd meeting to discuss these issues and to try and answer any questions we might have.

Two Draft Resolutions.  We have been asked to send out the two draft resolution documents as "Discussion Papers."  We normally try to keep these Updates rather brief so we have decided to include them both as a file attachment - please click on the links.

Discussion Paper Option 1 Summary.  The first discussion paper is a one page resolution entitled "Resolution to Remove Illahee from the Urban Growth Area (UGA)" and basically states that Illahee is "...primarily natural resource lands, geological features, and recreational lands that greatly impede urban levels of development and supporting infrastructure.." and therefor not suitable for the higher density development levels for UGAs.  It references the various reasons Illahee should be excluded from the UGA and requests the current Illahee Greenbelt zoning (1-4 dwelling units per acre) be applied to the entire community.   DISCUSSION PAPER OPTION 1 LINK

Discussion Paper Option 2 Summary.  This discussion paper is very similar to Option 1, but is a two page resolution entitled "Resolution to Establish Illahee (or portions thereof) as a Greenbelt, and A Request for the Greenbelt to be Removed from the Urban Growth Area."  This paper presents many of the same arguments of Option 1, but rather than requesting all of Illahee be designated as Illahee Greenbelt, requests only those areas "... where urban zoning is inappropriate, including the shoreline uplands north of the current Illahee Greenbelt."  The paper notes that ".... Illahee has shoreline areas mostly in a natural state that have an incompatible upland urban zoning of 5-9 dwelling units per acre."   DISCUSSION PAPER OPTION 2 LINK

Our Thoughts.  We are intrigued the greenbelt issue is in both options and have heard greenbelts have been used by other counties to protect critical and environmentally sensitive areas.  We don't know whether having a greenbelt classification is enough of a justification to remove it from an urban growth area.  On the other hand, since greenbelts do not support urban levels of growth, it makes sense to removed them from the urban growth area.

Your Thoughts.  We have been asked to put the two discussion paper options out for your consideration and to help facilitate discussions at the community meeting next Wednesday.  We would also like to know your thoughts, which you can send to us, or respond to the Illahee Community blogsite, or on Facebook.

Jim Aho

Commissioner's Meeting and Annexation Issues - 2-12-11

Commissioner Agenda Items.  We noticed two Kitsap County Commissioner agenda items of interest to Illahee that we wanted to pass on.  The link to the agenda is:  http://kitsapgov.com/boc/2011%20Agendas/Regular%20Meeting/2011_2-14-11%20AGENDA.pdf

Rolling Hills Golf Course.  The first agenda item of interest is a contract amendment to the Rolling Hills Golf Course agreement.  When the contract to accept the gift of the golf course didn't complete in December it had us worried, but we understand everything has now been worked out and we are glad to see this item on the agenda.  We have been told that March 18th is the date to hold open in our schedules, so we think this will be the date of the actual transfer, but we will tell you more when we find out.  Below is the agenda item to be discussed at the Commissioner's meeting.

Contract amendment with Rolling Hills Golf Course Partnership (KC-

343-10-A) to accept gift of Rolling Hills Golf Course. Fiscal Impact: N/A. 

Staff Contact: Nancy Buonanno Grennan, 337-4403.

Comprehensive Plan Changes.  Every year changes can be made to the County's Comprehensive Plan, but they need to be identified early (most are already listed and any new itemssome by March 8th) so they can go through the lengthy public process.  The notice of this amendment process is made by a resolution that will discussed on Monday.  The agenda item for this is:

Public hearing to consider a Resolution providing the initial docket for 2011 

potential amendments to the Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan, Land Use and 

Zoning Maps, and Corresponding Development Regulations. Fiscal Impact: 

N/A. Staff Contact: Scott Diener, 337-4966

Interesting Kitsap Sun Article.  We read with interest the following linked article (along with the comments) as this is something Illahee could face in the future:

Island Lake residents cool to idea of being part of new city of Silverdale

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/feb/11/island-lake-residents-cool-to-silverdale/

Incorporation & Annexation Discussions.  We find the discussions of incorporation and annexation both interesting and concerning as Illahee's southern region is in the East Bremerton urban growth area, and its center and north part in the Central Kitsap (Silverdale) urban growth area.  Theoretically this could mean the Illahee Community could be split up with one area eventually being annexed to Bremerton, and the other larger area eventually being annexed to Silverdale (presuming it will someday become its own city).  Or if the Barker Creek corridor is recognized as an urban separator between Bremerton and Silverdale, could it become part of Bremerton?  The problem becomes more complex when school districts are considered as Illahee is split between the Bremerton and CK school districts.  As you can see the issues are complex.

Experts At Feb 23 Community Meeting?  There have been suggestions that experts give us their thoughts at the Illahee Community Meeting being held at the library on the evening of February 23rd.  We agree and want experts who can talk about the Growth Management Act, our urban growth boundaries, and what the annexation issues and laws are.

KRCC Citizen Input.  One Illahee resident gave a response to the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council suggesting Illahee be removed from the urban growth area.  Is this another possibility?  Would this resolve Illahee's dilemma of being in two urban growth areas?  This is another question we would like to have the experts respond to.

Sent From Minnesota.  This update is being sent from Minnesota where the temperatures have been chilling but finally are today above freezing.

Jim Aho

Orca Pictures & Blog Responses - 2-6-11

Orca Pictures.  The orcas were sighted several times on Friday (2/4/11) and Jim Smith saw them traveling north about 10 am and took the attached photos.  Thanks to Jim for forwarding them to us.

Enetai Sighting Report.  We were copied on the following report of the orcas being sighted in Enetai.

I also saw them right in front of our place yesterday afternoon.  It looked like two pods one with 5 or 6 with a big male and another group of 3 further behind.  I would guess there were 3 or 4 young ones in both groups.  I started calling but they dove and didn't come up until they were in front of the end of Trenton Ave.  I watched them from upstairs and they disappeared around Point Heron.  Apparently the ferry didn't see them as it didn't slow down or stop.  About an hour later I saw them heading north in front of the Hatch's.  There was a harbor seal in front of our place and it was on full alert.  He knew the whales were around. 

Two More Blog Entries.  Finally we are getting some responses to the Illahee Community blog site.  We have attached the latest two.  While we like those who tell us who they are, anonymous comments are also possible if you want.

2 comments:

James Hazel said...

WRT the question from Anonymous: Yes, other people do post comments ... and, Why are you posting such a question as 'anonymous'? [It is not always obvious that all the 'anonymous' posts are done by one individual.] On other things, I really appreciate the posts and the opportunity to learn more about the community through the blog and emails.

February 5, 2011 10:57 AM

Liz Milligan said...

I have always felt a little powerless being in unicorporated Kitsap County. Everything that goes on in Bremerton effects us and our community. I think we would have a bigger voice if we are part of Bremerton, but we can still maintain our neighborhood cohesion which is very strong thanks to Jim Aho and his cohort of advocates.

February 5, 2011 1:00 PM

Thanks for Responding.  Thanks for those responding to the blog as it is there to start possible discussions and dialog.  We have attached the notice about the Blog and Facebook again.

Blog and Facebook Reminder.  All updates are now posted on our blog within 24 hours of being e-mailed.  If you have comments, please visit the blog and leave your comments at the end of the post.  It's a great way to generate a public discussion. You can post anonymously if you choose.  Also, please visit and "Like" our Facebook page, and be sure to suggest it to your Facebook friends.  We are actively trying to increase our exposure in the community through social media and we need your help!

The link for the Facebook page is:  http://www.facebook.com/Illahee

The link for the blog is:  http://illaheecommunity.blogspot.com/

Jim Aho

Wildlife Report - 2-4-1

5 Orcas Sighted in Illahee.  The orcas were sighted this afternoon (2/4/11) traveling north through Illahee at 4:20 pm.  There were 5 of them this time with one being much smaller, so it probably was a young one.  We received the call when they were right out in front, but didn't answer the phone since we were on another call, so we missed getting any videos.  The next time our neighbors call we will be sure to answer right away.

Sapsuckers.  We have an apple tree with what looks like a series of 1/4 inch diameter holes methodically drilled into the trunk.  We thought it was a bug or beetle infestation at first and then found out is was caused by a woodpecker called a sapsucker.  We never did see the sapsucker in action on our apple tree so when we got the next report it helped us see the connection.

Illahee Preserve Sapsucker.  We received the attached photo that was taken last Sunday by Vic Ulsh in the Illahee Preserve of a Red Breasted Sapsucker.  Vic gave a report on the Preserve that included the following:

I noted a red breasted sapsucker on a tree near the Almira parking lot.  See attached photo.  From recent observations it appears we have a pair of hairy woodpeckers and at least one red breasted sapsucker living near the Almira parking lot.  Check out the telltale sapsucker holes in the bark. 

Blog and Facebook Reminder.  All updates are now posted on our blog within 24 hours of being e-mailed.  If you have comments, please visit the blog and leave your comments at the end of the post.  It's a great way to generate a public discussion. You can post anonymously if you choose.  Also, please visit and "Like" our Facebook page, and be sure to suggest it to your Facebook friends.  We are actively trying to increase our exposure in the community through social media and we need your help!

The link for the Facebook page is:  http://www.facebook.com/Illahee

The link for the blog is:  http://illaheecommunity.blogspot.com/

Blog Site Comments.  There haven't been many comments on the blog site, but if they are like me this is something I am not very comfortable with yet.  I did respond to a comment recently and have attached the three comments that were at the bottom of the blog, which I have copied below:

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Annexation to Bremerton is NOT what I want, or to Silverdale or any other city. I thought the reason for creating a Community Plan was to preclude that possibility. THE POSSIBILITY OF THE ANNEXATION OF ILLAHEE IS NOT GOOD NEWS! Glad someone from Illahee is concerned, and yes, talk about this at the community meeting.

February 1, 2011 11:07 AM

Jim Aho said...

In response to Anonymous, I never thought we had to worry about annexation once we had our subarea plan, i.e., the Illahee Community Plan, but after hearing the the GMA required annexation by 2025 or 2030 for anyone within an Urban Growth Area, I am now concerned and think we need to further protect ourselves. It seems to me that much has changed in Illahee since 1998 when Illahee was first designated to be in the Urban Growth Area, and now we have a small window of opportunity open whereby we might be able to convince the county, and the Growth Management Hearings Board, that Illahee is indeed mostly rural with unique features that inhibit or prevent urban buildout and urban densities. If there ever was a time to try and get out from under the urban designation label, now seems to be it. I also would like to see this discussed at the Illahee Community meeting and voted upon, so we can get things moving and possibly approved by the end of this year. Jim Aho

February 1, 2011 6:51 PM

Anonymous said...

Does anyone else ever comment on these blogs other than me, Mr. Anonymous, and Mr. Aho?

Illahee Community Meeting 2/23/11.  There will be an Illahee Community meeting on February 23rd at the Library on Sylvan Way at either 6 pm or 6:30 pm.  We heard they were trying to find a speaker to talk about the Growth Management Act, Urban Growth Areas, and annexation.  We will let you know when we find out what the agenda will be.

Jim Aho