BI task force to work on streamlining housing permit process

It comes as no surprise to anyone on Bainbridge Island that there is a housing shortage.

To combat that issue statewide, the legislature last session passed laws to streamline the housing permit process. The goal is to help housing availability, access and affordability.

On BI, that means the process involving the Design Review Board must change. It often would revisit projects a handful of times.

Planning director Patty Charnas talked to the City Council about the needed changes Dec. 12.

The council ended up voting to set up a task force to come up with a plan. The task force would consist of two members of the previous DRB, two Planning Commission members, two people from the development community and one at-large resident. City staff will make recommendations to the council on the members.

Clarence Moriwaki, the council’s liaison to the DRB, calls the changes a good idea. “I think they can meet the challenge” of streamlining the process.

Charnas said the work of the task force will be important to the Winslow Subarea and Comprehensive Plans that are being worked on now. She hopes their work can be done by fall of 2024. She said even though the city has stringent code it is well-written so only minor changes are needed. “We can streamline the process without sacrificing adequate review,” she said.

Councilmember Jon Quitslund said he thinks the changes will “take us to a better place,” but he wants the task force to keep the council informed along the way. He also said the updated design for the Bainbridge manual “should not be cast aside as inappropriate given these new rules.” He said the structure can be maintained and language changed so they don’t have to start from scratch.

The state laws call for clear design standards so developers know what they have to comply with, Charnas said. Subjectivity needs to be removed so results can be measurable. She said words like “thoughtful, graceful and careful” will need to be changed. The law calls for one public meeting. “Currently we have quite a few,” she said.

The laws say that only 80% of permit fees can be collected. If timelines aren’t met, the city can lose out on the other 20%.

The new laws don’t take effect until 2025, but Charnas said the city wants to “take this on early, commit some energy, work collaboratively and increase transparency.”

In talking to other planners, Charnas said some say it will be easy and others “don’t know how they’re going to do it.”