Where could a 65-foot-tall building be appropriate on Bainbridge Island?
Right behind City Hall, BI Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki said at their meeting Dec. 4.
Just north of the building is “one of the scariest parts of town,” he said, adding there are dark alleys with dumpsters and empty gravel parking lots. That could be a “great opportunity” for a residential building close to town so people on limited incomes could easily walk to services.
Building heights were one of 10 questions councilmembers discussed at the meeting. City staff came up with the questions following up on council and public input concerning the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the city’s Comprehensive and Winslow Subarea plans. State mandates require the city to plan for housing, economic and population growth.
The goal of the 3 1/2 hour meeting was to provide the Planning Commission with council direction on the plans. But the council decided to give the commission as much leeway as possible since it is made up of the experts. Councilmembers decided to just share their opinions and give the commission broad parameters.
“Recommend rather than tell,” Councilmember Kirsten Hytopoulos said.
Councilmember Leslie Schneider agreed that in the right place a tall building could be a “beautiful change” from what’s there now. She knows there will be “pushback” from the community, but city leaders need to “be brave.” She and most of the others on the council would like to see visuals on what taller buildings would look like.
Planning director Patty Charnas said ideally there would be a transition zone from gradual to more intense heights. The limit now is 25 feet, but it could go then to 35, 45, 55 and 65 feet. Developers want certainty and solid predictability, she added.
Hytopoulos said this is a hot topic with the public so it needs to be done carefully. The community wants to know what it “looks and feels” like. There needs to be “extra scrutiny” in the Winslow and Madison areas. She agreed it needs to be done for affordability, but sketches need to be made in choosing locations.
Mayor Joe Deets said he’d like the Planning Commission to explore a range of options because it has the “expertise we don’t have here.” He agreed Winslow isn’t the spot for tall buildings, saying even “our development across from the ferry terminal doesn’t look right.”
Another hot topic has been should growth only be focused in Winslow and not the Neighborhood Centers of Lynwood, Rolling Bay and Island Center?
Councilmember Jon Quitslund said residential growth needs to start in Winslow with multi-family housing of different sizes. But he also said affordable housing like duplexes and accessory dwelling units could be put in “conservation areas.”
Hytopoulos said there is strong opposition to growth in the Neighborhood Centers. She said the commission should look at all options while considering limitations such as infrastructure, climate effects and traffic.
Schneider said she’d like to see more creativity and innovation to allow some more residential in Neighborhood Centers, such as incentivizing smaller units.
Deets said the commission needs to also consider things like sewer and water, and also what it would cost to extend services to different areas. But to say there should be no growth in Neighborhood Centers “flies in the face of what’s happening now.” He added it’s not just about state mandates. There are moral and economic issues. “I want to enable people who are not wealthy to be able to move to Bainbridge Island.”
There weren’t many comments on the next question: Should private developers be encouraged to build some of the affordable housing?
“I don’t think anybody’s going to say no,” Councilmember Brenda Fantroy-Johnson said. She added the council wants housing for a wide range of incomes so it needs to use “whatever tools we have” so developers will build them.
Hytopoulos agreed, adding, “The devil is in the details.” She said the Planning Commission needs to look at tools that will provide affordable housing, not just more housing, and it needs to consider the “tradeoffs.”
Deputy mayor Ashley Mathews said private developers should be collaborated with because they are “part of the solution.”
The next question dealt with inclusionary housing—policies that require developers to include a percentage of affordable housing in residential developments.
Mathews said the commission should look at that, but also “all the other tools we don’t know about in their toolbelt.”
Hytopoulos said that’s one thing, but it’s not a solution. “I don’t want it to be the driver of all our other planning. Sometimes they don’t work and can inhibit growth.”
Fantroy-Johnson said it should be encouraged in areas where the council wants residential growth, such as around the ferry terminal and along High School Road.
The next question dealt with expanding Winslow’s boundaries to the north and west to align with its sewer system.
Schneider said that only makes sense, and Quitslund went even further, calling it a “no brainer.” He said the idea has been around for a long time. “Let’s let Winslow be Winslow. It’s the sensible thing to do. It’s not that complicated.”
Hytopoulos added, “Gradually moving outward from Winslow makes sense. It’s about timing and capacity.”
The council spent a long time talking about job creation, but decided not to have the Planning Commission even address it.
Charnas opened the discussion talking about if home-based businesses could be used to meet job targets. She said the Department of Commerce had not been asked that. So it encouraged BI to look at it. “Without it we are short of jobs.”
Hytopoulos said it would be premature to discuss it because the city is just beginning to develop an economic plan. “It’s putting the cart before the horse.” The council should wait until there’s a plan about what type of industry it wants on BI.
Schneider said she’s more concerned about businesses already on BI that may not be able to stay. She’d like to hear more about what they need before adding more businesses on places like Day Road.
Others wanted the commission to look at jobs. “Let’s let the Planning Commission explore this,” Deets said. “It will come back to us. This is not the time to shut the door.”
But Moriwaki said the council should address it at a future date. Schneider agreed, saying there’s nothing urgent about that topic. “I say we do nothing.”