Year of the Rural

• Compile and review public comments from 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update
• Survey to assess rural vision, character, and concerns
• Public project kick-off meeting - virtual and in-person
• Working group meetings and interviews

• Initial draft of Rural and Resource Lands Chapter
• NEW! Workshops hosted in all three districts presenting initial draft and facilitated discussions on specific topics

• Draft Rural and Resource Lands Chapter
• Present draft in all three districts and promote opportunity to submit public comments and testify at public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners September - November

  Working Groups

Agriculture Working Group Steeting Committee

• Jess Sappington, WSU Kitsap Extension
• Diane Fish, Kitsap Conservation District
• Joy Garitone, Kitsap Conservation District
• Brian Stahl, Kitsap Conservation District
• Bob Geballe, Kitsap Community & Agriculture Alliance
• Jeremy Anunson, Mason-Kitsap Farm Bureau
  
• Stacy Marshall, Kitsap Farmland Preservation Coalition
  

• In progress

Kitsap County Internal Review Team

• Scott Diener, Planning & Environmental Programs
• Colin Poff, Long Range Planning
• Jim Rogers, Long Range Planning
• Darren Gurnee (or representative), Current Planning
• Kirvie Mesebeluu-Yobech, Environmental Programs
• Jade Jarvis, Noxious Weeds Program
• David Lynam (or representative), Building, Fire, and Safety
• Rose Schaffer, Public Works
• Michelle Perdue, Public Works
• Carmen Smith, Parks
  
• Brian Nielson, Emergency Management
• Rudy Baum, Public Health
• Eric Evans, Public Health
  

  Scope of Work

• Rural Vision and Character  
• Community Engagement  
• Data Analysis, Review, and Research

-Rural and Resource Inventory, Review, and/or Analysis
-Rural Lands, Resource Lands, Rural Population Forecast, Rural Economies, Rural Public Facilities and Services, Rural Areas and Planning by Watershed
-Rural Land Use

Mineral Resources; Agriculture Policy and Code Review – Barriers and Policy Improvements; Energy Siting Assessment – Demand and Zoning; Boundary Line Adjustment Stakeholders Discussion; Open Space Law – Utilization and Barriers 

• Rural Economy

-Childcare Assessment – In-home, Barriers and Opportunities; Agriculture Rural Events and Businesses – Code Improvements    

• Rural Housing 
• Mobile and Manufactured Home Parks Review 
• Update Goals, Policies, and Strategies  
• Draft Rural and Resource Lands Chapter; Prepare Ordinance and Implementation Plan

  Project Timeline

Key milestones for the Rural and Resource Lands Chapter Update include:  

• February/March 2025: community engagement  
  

• June 2025: 30% project update  

• September 2025: 60% draft review and public comment  
  

• October 2025: 60% draft public hearing  

• November 2025: 90% draft and final public hearing
  

The Year of the Rural initial phase will focus on three deliverables: 

• Rural and Resource Lands Chapter update
  
• Rural Land Use Reclassification
• Rural code updates
  

  Rural and Resource Lands Chapter update

The Rural and Resource Lands Chapter guides land use patterns and directs land use decisions for the unincorporated portions of Kitsap County outside of urban growth areas. Together, the Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan and this chapter form the basis for all future land use patterns and decisions.

The policies in this chapter will work in tandem with the Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Map.

The Rural and Resource Lands Chapter aims to define and provide policy direction to preserve and enhance the rural character of Kitsap County. This chapter designates areas in Kitsap County as appropriate for rural and resource activities, both residential and non-residential. The Plan intends to preserve and protect rural character by defining rural character in Kitsap County and establishing measures to preserve it.

  Rural Land Use Reclassification

A site-specific amendment can change land uses allowed on a parcel (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and institutional). Requests were submitted during the 2024 Comprehensive Plan update, and rural reclassifications (outside of the preferred alternative and urban growth area boundary) were deferred to 2025.

View the deferred site-specific interactive map application

  Rural code updates

As priorities change and evolve, codes such as zoning also need to change and evolve. Zones classify, designate, and regulate land development for agriculture, forest, mineral resource extractions, residential, commercial, industrial, and public land uses. The Year of the Rural will focus on several key areas and review code for opportunities for updates.