The Kitsap County Department of Community Development (Department) is updating its zoning allowed use tables found in Kitsap County Code Title 17 'Zoning', Chapter 17.410. The primary goal of the Zoning Use Table Update is to reduce barriers to investment in Urban Growth Areas (UGA), Limited Areas of More Intense Rural Development (LAMIRD), and the rural commercial and rural industrial zones.  The project will address: 

Housing Equity and Diversity.   The project will encourage a wide array of housing product types within the various urban and LAMIRD zones, including addressing gaps in the land use categories and definitions.

Economic Development.  The project will encourage economic development by:

Scaling land uses to streamline the level of permit review required.

Adding new land uses based on projects submitted to the Department and a comparison of other jurisdictions.

Making the Code Easier to Use.  Finally, the project will improve predictability and ease of use for applications and permit reviewers.

From June 2019 to March 2020, the Department conducted initial public outreach and received feedback to help inform the approach. These outreach methods included distributed surveys, presentations to organizations, two open houses, and two workshop events to develop a preliminary draft of proposed amendments.  From March 2020 to October 2020, the Department then reviewed the preliminary draft with the Planning Commission and interested parties, including the Tribes and Cities, to obtain additional feedback. The project was postponed in October 2020 to allow the Department to focus on two state-mandated projects due June 30, 2021, and "carve" out recent Port Gamble development code amendments adopted in April 2020.  This early outreach and public participation led to the development of a formal Department recommendation on proposed draft amendments. These formal draft amendments will be the basis of formal public comments, review, and consideration with the Kitsap County Planning Commission and Kitsap County Board of Commissioners.

The Department formally released the public draft and staff report on July 30, 2021.  The Kitsap County Planning Commission made a recommendation to approve the proposed draft ordinance with revisions in November 2021. This recommendation followed a public comment period including a public hearing to consider testimony. Several deliberations meetings were held in October and November 2021. The Planning Commission recommendation and Findings of Fact includes a change matrix (starting on page 199), to capture recommended changes to the draft ordinance published on July 30, 2021.