BI Council weighs in on PC’s Winslow Subarea, Comp Plan work
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 18, 2026
The Bainbridge Island City Council approved six motions at its Feb. 10 meeting that aim to “provide feedback” to the Planning Commission, as the city advisory group continues to develop its recommendations for the Winslow Subarea and Comprehensive Plans.
Councilmembers brought 27 total motions to the meeting; out of the six that passed, four are specific, actionable requests directed to city staff and acting city manager Ellen Schroer, and two are phrased as “encouragements” for the PC.
“There are some motions that represent new ideas, some that represent general guidance to the Planning Commission, and others that are very detailed in their approach. The overarching guidance that you have provided to date is that the Planning Commission provide you with a ‘preferred alternative’ to the Comprehensive Plan and the Winslow Subarea Plan by the end of April,” said Schroer. “The Planning Commission is doing heroic work, and has passed over 50 motions to start to provide the guidance to staff to start to develop that preferred alternative, so…we look forward to your guidance and hope that you can help us get ready to help you with a Comp Plan to review by the beginning of May.”
The actionable motions tweak the zoning policies put forward by planning commissioners for the Ferncliff sub-neighborhood and two parcels on Ericksen Avenue; request legal advice to explore a requirement that renters living in workforce housing be employed locally; and add a sentence to the city’s Housing Element (a section of the Comp Plan) that establishes a goal of “adopting a middle-housing code that provides additional density for deed-restricted, limited-equity workforce housing, such as units serving households below 150% AMI.”
Council also “encouraged” the PC to continue working on the Comp Plan, while looking at “any and all” options to achieve the city’s affordable housing targets, and to consider removing a ban on Accessory Dwelling Units in the downtown and Winslow area (after the Comp Plan is completed).
More than an explicit set of directions, the council’s motions represent a symbolic gesture of alignment or disagreement with the Planning Commission’s current progress on the Comp Plan draft — the difference being that instead of hitting the brakes and requesting a rewrite, council has offered their thoughts on the plan thus far, but will wait until the draft is completed to make edits.
Councilmember Lara Lant acknowledged the city’s situation while speaking to a motion she put forward that would narrow the PC’s focus to zoning for affordable housing as determined by housing deficits and land capacity, which failed.
“The requirements for updating the city’s Comp Plan has changed multiple times […] Now that the Department of Commerce is partnering with us, our priorities need to be realigned. I want to be clear that the Planning Commission and the staff have been working diligently, and their efforts are appreciated. This is not a critique of their work, but a recognition that the nature of the work has changed. Given that shift, it’s important to focus consultant and staff time on the essential updates first with additional refinement at a later date,” Lant said.
When council adopted consultant Joe Tovar’s expedited Comp Plan schedule in November 2025, they agreed to relinquish some opportunities to provide direct input on the document in favor of maintaining an efficient schedule ahead of Tovar’s recommended June deadline.
Tovar’s sequence is as follows: advisors on the Planning Commission create recommendations for the Comp Plan based on the council’s stated priorities. These suggestions then head directly to city planning staff, who write an official draft of the Comp Plan document. That draft then is returned to the PC for review, and if commissioners certify the document, it goes back to council — ideally by late April. Council then has two months to deliberate and make edits before certifying the plan in June.
