A Resounding Victory!

I was a little nervous sitting in the Bremerton City Council Chambers as a member of the audience. I kept trying to focus on what I was going to say, when I should say it, if I should be aggressive in my approach or more diplomatic at the risk of losing the voice of anger.

The meeting started with the pledge of allegiance, a rousing prayer, and then some niceties about how well we’ve maintained our budget over fiscal year 05. There was a pat on the back for Mayor Bozeman from the Realty commission and an Emergency Action Response bill from the fire department that was unanimously passed. Then it was on to the reason that the meeting room was filled with people: Wendy Priest. Since I don’t have very many nice things to say about her proposal, I’ll just give you the straight scoop from the The Kitsap Sun

Bremerton

Six seconds of silence in a Bremerton City Council meeting killed a request to reconsider condominium heights in a Bremerton neighborhood.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Councilwoman Wendy Priest moved to reconsider the council’s Nov. 30 decision to set height limits at 60 feet and send the height question back to the Planning Commission. Some residents hoped the height limit would be changed to 40 feet.

Priest said she had thought no standards would be set in stone without a Sub Area Plan process first.

City Clerk Paula Johnston asked for a second.

About 30 people were in the first-floor meeting chambers at the Norm Dicks Government Center. Many were there to address Priest’s request.

Johnston’s question, however, was greeted by silence from Priest’s five fellow council members present at the meeting.

"This motion dies for lack of a second," Johnston said. Without a motion, there was nothing left to discuss.

Height standards for condominiums in a neighborhood north of the government center will remain at 60 feet.

"It’s sort of a letdown," said Annie Barrus, a Highland Avenue resident who doesn’t want to see condos that high on her street.

Even the apparent winners in the council’s silence were only marginally pleased. "I’m happy with the result," said Curtis Lending, one of five partners planning to develop their Highland Avenue properties. "I wish people who had wanted to speak had an opportunity to do so. I don’t agree with them, but they came to speak."

Wednesday’s council action would appear to put a period on a planning question that Chris Hugo, the city’s community development director, said has been awaiting an answer for four years.
Prior to the council’s adoption of the 60-foot standard, height limits in the neighborhood were 120 feet going back to 1985. No one raised a fuss, however, until it became clear someone was actually going to build something.

"I think it’s one of those things that kind of goes under the radar screen unless it directly affects you," said Priest, who lives on Highland.

The street is filled mostly with single-family homes, the bulk of which were built before 1930. Some of the houses need work, but a large chunk of the neighborhood is well cared for. Residents have said they moved there specifically to live in older homes.

No one will be allowed to submit a development application until April 13. In November, the council enacted, then twice extended, a development moratorium until city staff can come up with design standards.

Lending and his partners have insisted that whatever they build will improve the neighborhood and help in Bremerton’s revitalization.

I'm glad this is over and put to rest. It's 15 minutes less lying awake at night wondering what other things can go wrong with our project. It's a huge step toward actually getting approval to start to think about maybe beginning to initiate a plan to proceed with the launch of our project.

Wendy Priest. Let me state that I think Wendy did exactly what she should have done to represent the people in the community that are concerned with these issues that affect their homes and lives the same as these issues affect me and mine. Just because I'm on the other side of the fence doesn't mean she's a bad person. My only true problem with Wendy was that I felt her interests were a little too self-serving, and that she was attempting to speak on my behalf without ever having really spoken to me in person. She lives three blocks from me and was directly speaking for my home and property, but she never once knocked on my door, never called, never put a letter in my mailbox to explain what she was representing and why. But, that is only my opinion and in truth I would like to give her a well deserved well done for not caving into pressure from big business interests and actually addressing her constituents issues. Well done. Now, the next time you take it upon yourself to address what I can and can't do with my home, I'd appreciate a heads up first.

That about wraps it up. From here we'll be approaching the city planning department to discuss a construction plan and then it's wait to finish the design to send said designs off to the city for permits. It's A LOT longer process than if I had chosen to remodel or build on some nice piece of barren land a hundred miles from anywhere. But, then it wouldn't be nearly as fun, either!

:j