A densely forested area in Bremerton’s Enetai neighborhood is again subject to potential development, with the city council in the position to make a decision that could affect growth outside current Bremerton boundaries.

The council is considering a proposal by a developer to extend wastewater services to an area outside of city limits, between Enetai Beach Road and Rozewood Drive, down a hill east of Trenton Avenue, a needed utility connection if a plan for 189-home subdivision will be built.

Bainbridge Island residents John Fisher and Shawna Epp own the forested properties where the development, called the Fisher Plat project, is being considered.

It's the second time in recent years that neighbors have reacted to plans that would replace the forest with homes, following the owners' attempt to annex the unincorporated properties into Bremerton city limits in 2022. By annexing, or moving the city limits to include the Fisher Plat area, the city’s sewer system would be accessible to new homes. But a majority of neighbors opposed the annexation, which requires neighborhood approval, and the annexation effort ended.

Bremerton Municipal Code, however, allows city services to extend to a property if it’s proven to be technically feasible, which the city council could approve. The area is also inside what's considered the city's "urban growth area," where development and annexation is eventually anticipated. Fisher and Epp have submitted a formal request for the extension of the sewer system without annexation of the area, which the council reviewed during a study session on October 11.

Though the city’s only role in the progress of the development is as a wastewater service provider, council members in a meeting last week considered their position in the initiation of the development if they were to grant permission for the extension.

“This is completely a county issue on how this is developed,” said city councilmember Michael Goodnow at the October 11 meeting. “We're a utility provider like power, water, internet, and all we're saying is that, if asked, we will provide wastewater.”

“This is a big deal,” said councilmember Denise Frey at the meeting. “It's a lot bigger deal than it first appears to be. I need a whole lot of answers.”

Concerns from neighbors

Ed Baker moved to Rozewood Drive in the Enetai neighborhood after leaving Eastern Washington in 1971. He’s walked in the woods that back up to the end of his street ever since, raising four dogs that have loved to run through the lush trees. Baker loves the protection the woods provide from heavy storms that blow up off Port Orchard Narrows, the passage between Enetai Beach and Bainbridge Island.

“The kind of growth in Bremerton right now is, you see homes all stacked together – there's no outside space, you have no yards that amount to hell or beans, you can't play bocce ball, you can't do anything in the backyard,” Baker said. “It's absolutely beautiful – with the idea of putting in 200 homes proposed, you have to clear cut. Think about that, that's just crazy,”

Defending the high interest forest isn’t new for Baker – this utility extension request is just one of many chapters, he said. An Enetai neighbor made a proposal for a road that would cut through the forest in 2019, followed by the annexation campaign in 2022.

In addition to preserving the beauty of the area’s natural features, neighbors have raised multiple concerns.

Kathie Lustig, who’s lived in Enetai since 2017, worries about the potential development’s impact on wildlife, a critical aquifer in the area, geologically hazardous areas and Enetai Creek that runs below a steep slope amid the property’s rolling terrain.

“(The city council) should at least look at the section of the sewer that they're approving and the environmental impact before they pass it off to the county,” Lustig said.

“It's really a risky place to be putting this kind of magnitude,” Lustig continued, worrying about the potential development’s dense design. “You should have a right to do what you want on your property, but not to this extent, not when it opens up all of our roads. There's lots of kids that ride their bikes – it's a safety factor.”

But ultimately, Lustig doesn’t believe she and her neighbors can stop all kinds of development. She hopes that instead of clear cutting, the natural value of the property can be incorporated into the design.

Urban growth vs. natural feature preservation

The Fisher Plat project location is in Bremerton’s Urban Growth Area, and though unincorporated, it finds itself in a larger mission to expand Bremerton’s urban area through more dense development rather than sprawl.

“I'm a big lover of urban art, forests and nature and there's not much more pristine than that area in such an urban type of environment, and yet we've got this urban growth plan and it's gonna happen at some point,” Frey said at the meeting. “I'm one that always says development is a great word – it means growth, it means evolution. And yet, there are so many areas in Bremerton where we need housing that is flat, it doesn't have to be clear cut, it doesn't have streams running through it down to the Puget Sound.”

Frey wondered if giving permission for the wastewater services extension would equate to permission to clear cut the property.

Land use, critical areas, the development entities and zoning are all up to Kitsap County beyond the city’s singular role as a utility provider though, said city engineer Ned Lever in response.

If the plot doesn’t have sewer service from the city, the development will have to be at a lower density, Lever said.

“If you want urban densities that we're trying to achieve in our growth areas so we don't have sprawl, then a sewer is one of the fundamental services that you need to have higher densities because you need a quarter acre lot at least, if not more, to put in a filter system, so this allows (smaller) lot sizes.”

Public involvement before city decision

The city council will consider the utility extension request again on Wednesday. Council members wanted to subject the issue to public comment, in hopes to hear from neighbors, the developers and Kitsap County officials, given the significant number of unknown questions surrounding the county’s intention for the property’s development, the undetermined price tag of the extension decision and what issues the city will inherit if the property is annexed in the future.

Lustig has been handing fliers out to her neighbors with as much information about the development that she can find to encourage them to show up to the meeting. Many, especially those living on 30th Street NE, haven’t been informed about the potential development and the property owners’ campaign for annexation and utility extension at all, Lustig said.

Baker has been focusing on Rozewood Drive, where he’s spoken with about 20 to 25 neighbors. He didn’t meet one person who wasn’t concerned about the prospect of a development, he said.

“I think sharing with those who have to make decisions how we feel and what we think is going to be emotional but difficult because we don't know what the city really cares about,” Baker said. “It's always someday (that the woods could be developed), but is today the right day? Is this time the right time? I don't think so.”

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Developer asks Bremerton to approve sewer utility for 189 homes