OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Bainbridge Island City Council Study Session: Comprehensive Plan Update - September 1, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyBainbridge Island, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:23:39

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Recording in progress.

0:40

Calling to order the Bainbridge Island City Council study session of Tuesday, September 1st, 2026.

0:46

Um six council members here.

0:48

I believe uh Councilmember Fan Tray Johnson has an excused absence.

0:52

We have this uh the interim city manager here as well as our city attorney and staff to support our conversation.

0:59

Um could we please have the roll call, clerk?

1:04

Yes, thank you.

1:05

Christine Brown, City Clerk.

1:07

Please state for the record if you're present after I call your name.

1:09

Mayor Morowaki.

1:11

Present.

1:11

Deputy Mayor Hytopolis.

1:13

Present.

1:13

Councilmember Matthews.

1:15

Present.

1:15

Councilmember Nelson.

1:16

Present.

1:17

Councilmember Land.

1:18

Present.

1:19

Councilmember Schneider.

1:20

Present.

1:21

Thank you.

1:22

Great.

1:22

Um and really I'd like to say Madam Clerk.

1:25

Sounds a little more respectful.

1:26

Thank you, Christine.

1:28

Could we have a motion to approve the agenda?

1:31

So moved.

1:33

Is there a second?

1:35

Second.

1:35

Okay.

1:35

Any discussion?

1:37

All those in favor, aye.

1:38

Aye, aye.

1:39

Aye.

1:40

And six uh six in uh six ayes.

1:44

And we're going are there any conflicts of interest to declare.

1:48

Seeing none, we'll move on to regular business.

1:51

Item three A, our one topic, discuss comprehensive plan and Winslow sub-area plan update.

1:56

Uh thank you, Deputy Mayor Alan Schroer, interim city manager.

1:59

And I believe this week is indeed my last meeting.

2:02

So thank you for um scheduling this last opportunity for me to sit at the dais with you for this engaging discussion about planning.

2:09

Uh we added this meeting last week to provide you with an opportunity for dedicated discussion about land use and zoning assumptions and the resulting land capacity analysis or LCA numbers.

2:20

This is part of our ongoing work for the comprehensive plan updates.

2:24

So glad to have a dedicated conversation for this today, because I know there's a lot uh a lot to cover.

2:30

In the packet, you received information from our la uh our consultant, LMN with land capacity analysis analyses from two different sets of assumptions, one from February, uh which meets the city's overall targets, but which may not meet your housing priorities and goals, and a second from July, which doesn't meet the all overall uh targets, but was perhaps closer to your policy goals.

2:57

So the point of the the conversation tonight is to hear from you about how you'd like to triangulate between those two sets of assumptions to understand more about the mandatory inclusionary zoning program that you'd like us to work with and to obtain guidance from you on final direction for us to give to our consultants so they can bring back one final land capacity analysis that hopefully gets us just where we want to be.

3:40

So just some clarification.

3:41

I think uh in the agenda it appeared that we would we may we may very well start to gel on something tonight, but we would move to the next business meeting more of a decision so we have some time for public comment, or are you expecting direction to be complete tonight?

3:53

Thank you so much for the clarification.

3:55

Uh at this meeting, which is a study session, we are hoping to provide you with information and to receive your guidance.

4:00

We will of course schedule that at a subsequent be business meeting for final decision and final direction from council.

4:06

But it would be helpful for us to get some detailed guidance today so that we can then paper that up and put it in the agenda packet for a subsequent discussion and final direction.

4:17

Do you want to hear real quick from the interim director and then go to Councilmember Land?

4:23

I promise to sit right back down.

4:25

Uh we have just emailed IT a uh list of questions from LMN uh regarding both the LCA assumptions and the MIZ assumptions.

4:36

They are going to show up on the board so that uh the idea is to not just guide your discussion but also help us to provide guidance for LMN in their next round of things.

4:50

So uh there are it starts with MIZ type questions and then it goes to LCA type questions.

5:00

And in terms of the discussion, the the first attachment is useful because it it shows where things have moved the needle and not and where LMN has suggested that they from just their experience with other cities where they can where they think there might be more that might come in, like more units.

5:14

If we do this, we might get more units, and this had this effect or that had that effect.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Comprehensive Planning██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Zoning Regulations██████████████████████████████████34%
Procedural███████████11%
Affordable Housing███████████11%
Environmental Protection█1%
Public Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Bainbridge Island City Council Study Session: Comprehensive Plan Update - September 1, 2026

The Bainbridge Island City Council held a study session on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Council Chambers and via Zoom. The primary agenda item was a detailed discussion of land use and zoning assumptions for the Comprehensive Plan and Winslow Subarea Plan Update, specifically regarding the Land Capacity Analysis (LCA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning (MIZ). The council aimed to provide specific direction to staff to finalize the LCA and meet state housing targets by the December 19, 2026, deadline. The meeting concluded with a motion directing staff to make specific adjustments to Floor Area Ratios (FAR) in certain zones.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda (6:05 pm): Councilmember Nelson moved, Mayor Moriwaki seconded, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried 6-0. No conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Discussion Items

  • Comprehensive Plan and Winslow Subarea Plan Update (6:10 pm - 7:58 pm):
    • Interim City Manager Alan Schroer introduced the topic, explaining the need to triangulate between two LCA sets of assumptions (February and July) to meet the city's housing targets. The council needed to provide guidance on MIZ parameters and other levers (FAR, lot coverage, height) to close a deficit of 151 multifamily dwelling units against a requirement of 1,186 units.
    • Interim Planning Director Terrell and Planning Manager Darren Buchanan presented questions from consultants LMN regarding MIZ assumptions and LCA modeling. The council debated whether to rely on MIZ to meet targets, with consensus leaning toward not counting on MIZ for quantitative targets but using it as a qualitative overlay.
    • Councilmembers expressed positions on various levers:
      • Councilmember Nelson proposed increasing the base mixed-use FAR in the High School Road zone to 1.0 (adding an estimated 250 units) and reducing bonus FARs to functional maximums (Connection to 1.1, Ferry to 3.0, High School Road to 2.0) based on existing lot coverage and height constraints, resulting in an estimated 73-unit surplus.
      • Deputy Mayor Hytopoulos and Councilmember Lant expressed preference for increasing height over lot coverage, particularly in the High School Road zone.
      • Councilmember Mathews expressed concerns about the human impact of high lot coverage and supported preserving livability.
      • Councilmember Schneider supported transparency by aligning published FAR with functional maximums.
      • Mayor Moriwaki cautioned against overly specific motions during a study session but emphasized the need to meet targets.
    • The council also discussed the target number: whether to aim for exactly 151 units or a 10-15% buffer (270-330 units). Most councilmembers agreed to aim for closing the 151-unit gap without seeking a buffer, though some noted that exceeding it slightly would be acceptable.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion (Nelson/Lant): To direct the Interim City Manager to revise the July 14 Council direction by:
    • Increasing the Base Mixed Use Floor Area Ratio in the High School Road zone to 1.0.
    • Decreasing the Bonus Mixed Use Floor Area Ratio in Connection to 1.1.
    • Reducing the Bonus Mixed Use Floor Area Ratio in Ferry to 3.0.
    • Reducing the Bonus Mixed Use Floor Area Ratio in High School Road to 2.0.
    • Vote: The motion carried 4-0 with Councilmember Mathews and Mayor Moriwaki abstaining. This direction is for staff to bring back to the next business meeting for final consideration and public comment.
  • Staff will use this direction to update the LCA and return with a formal proposal.
  • The council will consider the proposal at a subsequent business meeting, allowing for public comment and final approval.

Committee Reports (7:58 pm)

  • Mayor Moriwaki reported on Kitsap Transit and Kitsap 911 meetings, noting a $1.9 million appropriation for inductive chargers at the ferry terminal and a 13% increase in Bainbridge Island's user fees for 911 services, along with comparative call statistics highlighting the island's safety.
  • Councilmember Mathews reported that Kratum has been classified as a Schedule One drug federally, obviating local action.
  • Councilmember Schneider reported on a volunteer incident during Bike for Pie, where a driver confronted a volunteer, and encouraged community care.
  • Councilmember Lant noted a community discussion at Harbor Square.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Recording in progress. Calling to order the Bainbridge Island City Council study session of Tuesday, September 1st, 2026. Um six council members here. I believe uh Councilmember Fan Tray Johnson has an excused absence. We have this uh the interim city manager here as well as our city attorney and staff to support our conversation. Um could we please have the roll call, clerk? Yes, thank you. Christine Brown, City Clerk. Please state for the record if you're present after I call your name. Mayor Morowaki. Present. Deputy Mayor Hytopolis. Present. Councilmember Matthews. Present. Councilmember Nelson. Present. Councilmember Land. Present. Councilmember Schneider. Present. Thank you. Great. Um and really I'd like to say Madam Clerk. Sounds a little more respectful. Thank you, Christine. Could we have a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Any discussion? All those in favor, aye. Aye, aye. Aye. And six uh six in uh six ayes. And we're going are there any conflicts of interest to declare. Seeing none, we'll move on to regular business. Item three A, our one topic, discuss comprehensive plan and Winslow sub-area plan update. Uh thank you, Deputy Mayor Alan Schroer, interim city manager. And I believe this week is indeed my last meeting. So thank you for um scheduling this last opportunity for me to sit at the dais with you for this engaging discussion about planning. Uh we added this meeting last week to provide you with an opportunity for dedicated discussion about land use and zoning assumptions and the resulting land capacity analysis or LCA numbers. This is part of our ongoing work for the comprehensive plan updates. So glad to have a dedicated conversation for this today, because I know there's a lot uh a lot to cover. In the packet, you received information from our la uh our consultant, LMN with land capacity analysis analyses from two different sets of assumptions, one from February, uh which meets the city's overall targets, but which may not meet your housing priorities and goals, and a second from July, which doesn't meet the all overall uh targets, but was perhaps closer to your policy goals. So the point of the the conversation tonight is to hear from you about how you'd like to triangulate between those two sets of assumptions to understand more about the mandatory inclusionary zoning program that you'd like us to work with and to obtain guidance from you on final direction for us to give to our consultants so they can bring back one final land capacity analysis that hopefully gets us just where we want to be. So just some clarification. I think uh in the agenda it appeared that we would we may we may very well start to gel on something tonight, but we would move to the next business meeting more of a decision so we have some time for public comment, or are you expecting direction to be complete tonight? Thank you so much for the clarification.

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