KAPO & Realtor Board Fight Illahee Plan. There was a knock-down-drag-out battle Monday evening in Port Orchard as the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners (KAPO) and the Realtor Board set out to derail the Illahee Community Plan. The battle took place before the County Commissioners at the public hearing for the Illahee Plan. There were about 20 KAPO and Realtor Board members who rallied around their presenters, and about 50 Illahee Community members who supported those who got up to speak. It was an exciting hearing that was pushed to the end of the Commissioners' agenda and didn't get started until about 9 pm and ended after 10 pm.
Supporters. The supporters of the Plan were predominately from Illahee, with a few others from other communities there in support of the Illahee community.
Opposition. The opposition were predominately from outside Illahee, with the exception of the owner of Allied Storage, who said he didn't consider himself a member of Illahee and that he didn't receive any of the notices sent by the county.
Realtor Letter. Two of the opposition group covered the items in the Realtor letter that was covered earlier in these Updates. The community response to their letter was also previously covered in an earlier Update so it is not presented here.
KAPO Issue. The primary focus of the KAPO opposition was that there is no need for community plans; that once you start giving each community a say in their destiny, where do you stop as there are many communities who would like to have a plan?
Boundary Issue. Ron Ross brought up the boundary issue. He stated he grew up in Illahee through the 1940's and he does not consider the areas to the north and south of historic Illahee, part of Illahee. He said it would have been more appropriate to use the CK School District boundaries rather than the Port of Illahee boundaries. He also didn't like the fact that the western boundary extended to State Highway 303.
Community Response. The basic community response was that the Illahee Community Plan has been in the news and meetings have been held for nearly three years and if any of these groups had been interested they could have participated. The community thanked Katrina Knutson for her efforts, and also Cindy Read, who developed the maps for the Plan.
Written Comments. Written comments will be taken until December 5, 2008. This is part of the public hearing testimony and the written comments are important.
Final Decision. The final decision on the Plan will not take place until December 22, 2008. It will be interesting to see if the Commissioner's give the community a present or a lump of coal for Christmas.
Other Perceptions? It is always nice to have others comment on their perception and observations on events like these. We will publish whatever you pass on to us.
Jim Aho
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