Chair Sarah Blossom called the special meeting to order at 6:03 PM and read the Suquamish land acknowledgment. Commissioners Blossom, Garcia, Schaab, Preudhomme, and Sullivan were present at the start; Commissioner Deines arrived at 7:03 PM; Commissioner Birtley was absent and excused. Council Liaison/Deputy Mayor Jon Quitslund, Planning & Community Development Director Patty Charnas, Acting Planning Manager Darron Buchanan, and Senior Planner Jennifer Sutton also attended. Vice Chair Chris Garcia later took over chairing so Chair Blossom could make and second motions. The commission approved the agenda 5-0, disclosed no conflicts, and adjourned at 8:55 PM.
Note on record discrepancy: The minutes record the naming motion as changing the Ferncliff Zone to the Connection zone, while the transcript indicates the motion was to change the Madison zone name to Connection. The two records are inconsistent on which zone was renamed.
Okay, calling to order the Planning Commission special meeting for Thursday, December 4th, 2025. We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is within the ancestral territory of the Sequamish people of clear salt water, expert fishermen, canoe builders, and basket weavers. The Sequamish live in harmony with the lands and waterways along Washington Central Salish Sea, as they have for thousands of years. Here the Sequamish live and protect the land and waters of their ancestors for future generations as promised by the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855. Has everyone had a chance to review the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the question? I move to approve the agenda as presented. Second. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Any conflicts of interest to disclose. Seeing none. Members of the public are encouraged to submit written public comment to the planning commission at any time by emailing PCD at BainbridgeWa.gov. Members of the public who wish to provide public comment in person at a planning commission meeting should sign up to speak on the sign-in sheet by the chamber doors. The planning commission chair will call the people signed up on the sign-in sheet, and speakers will have up to three minutes to speak from the podium. Please speak directly into the microphone, which is adjustable. A timer on the screen will indicate when three minutes or such other times set by the chair has elapsed. Orderly behavior and civility and remarks is expected with no clapping or booing and no yielding of one person's time to another. Guidelines for public comment are provided. Remote public comment is allowed with advanced notice to the planning and community development department by noon on the date of the meeting at PCD at Baymridge Wa.gov, provided that all remote commenters shall be required to display their true name and to keep their camera turned on to show their true uncovered face while delivering their comments. Public comment is not accepted during the balance of the planning commission meeting unless a public hearing or uh public participation meeting is on the agenda. The first person I have signed up is uh Deputy Mayor Quitslin. I live in the Coastal Springs neighborhood. Name is John Quitsland. I have some words for you, mostly not my own. This is from a document published in November 2005 in connection with the Winslow Tomorrow Planning process. It's uh the document is 25 pages. It's an executive summary of recommendations coming out of that process. And it's it's a cheerful document and one that I look upon with irony and uh uh appreciation for what was uh what was done back then the perspective that we can get from this historical perspective, this historical document. I want to begin with a uh quotation that's used at the very end of the document on the page devoted to next steps. And here's what the the uh the document the what the quotation says. Places have a way of claiming people. When they claim very diverse kinds of people, then those people must eventually learn from each other. They must learn to inhabit their place together and nurture the old-fashioned virtues of trust, honesty, justice, tolerance, cooperation, hope, and remembrance. No, here's a quotation from the very beginning of the document. In good faith, the Congress and the community have worked together. We'll continue our collaboration, working to support implementation of these recommendations. Moving forward will require the city council and the planning commission to adopt the recommendations decisively and promptly and remove regulatory obstacles. Failure to act decisively means we will def we will forfeit perhaps forever many opportunities. Here's another passage from uh the end of a paragraph that summarizes a set of recommendations. Recommended policies and projects encourage higher density, a mix of uses, more downtown residences, and expanded services to serve the growing island population. Another passage from this same page of recommendations, summarizing recommendations. Many participants questioned whether we should plan for growth, citing the island's fragile ecology and limited groundwater resources as constraints. Most of us faced the challenge of finding the best solution given the growth pressure and the changes underway on Bainbridge and in the greater Puget Sound region. Page 15 among the recommendations. Provlexibility for height and density to be exceeded where unique public benefit and public support is provided. Now here's the last thing from a paragraph that's devoted to island growth strategy. Today our challenge is to plan for 7,000 additional residents by the year 2025. One half of them in downtown Winslow.