Planning Commission Regular Meeting – March 26, 2026
Planning Commission Regular Meeting – March 26, 2026
The Bainbridge Island Planning Commission met on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 6:02 PM in Council Chambers and via Zoom. Vice Chair Criss Garcia presided. The Commission reviewed and recommended three comprehensive plan elements (Island-wide Mobility Plan, Transportation Element, Capital Facilities Element), added a new policy on form-based code, and discussed the Land Capacity Analysis for the preferred land use alternative. Six motions passed unanimously; two were withdrawn.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lisa Neal urged the Commission not to add a form-based code policy, stating the council had directed that this be taken up after the comprehensive plan is adopted. She questioned who placed it on the agenda.
- Donna Harui (Bainbridge Gardens property owner) thanked the Commission for recommending a zoning change from residential to neighborhood center for the property, citing family history and community planning values.
- Matt Koenig (Bainbridge Island Park District Senior Planner) announced adoption of the Parks Recreation and Open Space Plan on February 19, and expressed interest in coordinating with the city on trail planning and integration with the mobility plan.
- Malcolm Gander (Rolling Bay) criticized the capital facilities element for not planning new wells despite water rights, noting that existing wells may risk significant decline if overproduced. He provided a handout.
- Ron (unidentified) raised concerns that the mobility plan's "all ages and abilities" theme may be too aspirational given past plan non‑implementation, and noted that the capital facilities plan does not address nutrient removal from wastewater or stormwater treatment deficiencies.
Planning Director’s Report
- Planning Manager Darron Buchanan provided legal clarification: motions can use the word "consider" without requiring simultaneous code amendments. He thanked commissioners for their work and noted the upcoming volunteer appreciation event (May 6, 6–8 PM). He also reminded commissioners to confirm availability for the April 9 meeting.
Discussion Items
6A – Comprehensive Plan Update: Mobility Plan, Transportation & Capital Facilities Elements; Form‑Based Code Policy
- Sustainable Transportation Coordinator Hannah Boettcher reviewed community engagement history and tracked changes in the Island‑wide Mobility Plan (IWMP). Public Works Director Chris Wierzbicki answered technical questions.
- Commissioners debated the IWMP’s potential to force specific road designs (e.g., pedestrian islands). Sarah Blossom expressed concern about past compromises; Peter Schaab and Ben Deines argued the plan provides a framework, not mandates.
- Motions passed unanimously (6‑0 unless noted):
- Lighting: Add language supporting lighting for safety in the IWMP.
- Vegetation management: Recommend the city study increasing roadside vegetation removal for pedestrian safety (withdrawn as originally worded, then renewed and passed).
- Adopt IWMP: Recommend adoption as amended.
- Transportation Element: Recommend update by staff reflecting IWMP references.
- Capital Facilities Element: Recommend update by staff.
- Form‑based code policy: Add new Policy LU 4.12: “Study implementing a form‑based code to make future development more predictable” (carried 6‑0 after language adjusted from “consider”).
6B – Land Capacity Analysis Report for Preferred Land Use Alternative
- Senior Planner Jennifer Sutton presented a table comparing Alternative 1 (no change) with the Commission’s draft preferred alternative. The analysis assumed increased floor‑area ratio (FAR) in Ferry and High School zones (from 0.5 to 1.0 and 0.3 to 1.0, respectively), which several commissioners (Peter Schaab, Sarah Blossom) said contradicted earlier direction not to change base FAR. They expressed frustration that the change was made without explicit commission approval.
- Commissioner Ben Deines suggested linking the increased base FAR to maximum unit sizes rather than mandatory affordability. Council Liaison Ashley Mathews indicated the council would wait for the Commission’s further discussion before providing guidance.
- Commissioners requested additional data: a zone‑by‑zone capacity breakdown for Winslow, dwelling unit estimates at the original base FAR, and documentation on how the Commission’s recommendations align with HB 1220 compliance.
Key Outcomes
- Recommended the Island‑wide Mobility Plan, Transportation Element, and Capital Facilities Element; all passed unanimously.
- Approved new Policy LU 4.12 to study implementing a form‑based code (6‑0).
- No final decision on the increased base FAR; discussion will continue at the April 9 meeting. Staff will provide requested tables and examples (e.g., Sammamish’s tiered system).
- The Council will be updated on the Commission’s discussion and may offer guidance after further deliberation.
Meeting Transcript
The Planning Commission regular meeting for Thursday, March 26, 2026. We're gonna start out this evening with uh quick acknowledgement that Commissioners Bertley and Dinus are absent. And then our land acknowledgement. We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is within the ancestral territory of the Sequamish people, the people of Clear Salt Water, expert fishermen, canoe builders, and basket weavers, the Sequamish live in harmony with the lands and waterways along Washington's Central Salish Sea, as they have for thousands of years. Here the Sequamish live and protect the lands and waters of their ancestors for future generations as promised by the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855. All right, Commissioners. Uh has everyone had a chance to view the agenda. We'd like to move. I move to uh approve the agenda as presented with the exception of the uh excluding the planning commission meeting minutes from March 18th, as they were not included in our agenda packet. Second motion and a second to approve the agenda omitting the minutes from the March 18th meeting uh for vote this evening. Any other discussion or if not, then all those in favor say aye. Aye. Okay. Motion passes, the agenda is approved. Are there any conflicts of interest among the members assembled? Nope. Hearing none, we'll go ahead and move forward to the planning commission meeting minutes from March 12th. Everyone had a chance to review the minutes and assess their accuracy. Peter. I move to approve the meeting minutes from March 12th. We have a motion to approve the minutes from March 12th. Second. And a second. Any other discussion of those minutes? Hearing none, we'll go ahead and move. All those in favor of approving the minutes of March 12th. Say aye. Aye. Any opposed? None, the motion passes unanimously. All right. So that brings us to public comment, which members of the public are here. Uh 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 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 time 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 person. 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 BainbridgeWA.gov, provided that all remote commenters shall be required to display their true name and to keep their cameras 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 public participation meeting is on the agenda. All right. Does everyone have a chance to sign in? Um Leehan L. I'm sorry, I think Lisa Neal. Lisa, okay, Lisa, I didn't recognize your parentheses. Okay. Lisa Neal, Mainbridge Island, hello, Commission. Um I wasn't going to speak tonight, but then I saw on the agenda consider adding new policy related to form-based code to draft land use element. Now I've lived here a long time, but you don't have to have lived here a long time to know that last year the council discussed form-based code and expressly told the commission that we're going to look at that later after the comp plan is done.
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