One never knows when random statistics about one’s hometown will come in handy. For those of you who like statistics or trivia contests, here is some information about Bainbridge Island that may be helpful. According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management and the City of Bainbridge Island’s permit database, in 2020 the City of Bainbridge Island had 11,481 housing units. Of these units, 9,068 are single-family detached units or 79% of the housing stock. We are a community whose dominant type of housing is single-family homes. Units that consist of three or more units comprise 16% of our housing stock. This equates to 1,850 units. Duplexes and manufactured homes comprise 5 percent of the housing stock.

Not included in the residential unit totals is a special housing type referred to as “Group Quarter Residences”.  These are mostly assisted living facilities, but also include IslandWood graduate students. The number of people living in these facilities fluctuates slightly year to year, but as of April 2020 there were 155 people living in four distinct group quarter facilities.

Something the City staff keeps an eye on is the income levels of the community and the median or mean home price. In December 2020, the median home sales price on Bainbridge Island was $1,007,500. Or in other words, theoretically, half of the homes for sale are above this price and half of the homes for sale are below this price. However, the median home sales price typically does not account for compression in the lower half of the market. In other words, the homes below the median price may be tightly grouped around the median value. Likewise, the mean average home price may not be truly reflective of the housing market as one or two extremely expensive homes will generate an artificially high mean average.

On the household income side, as of 2019 the statistically median household income on Bainbridge Island was $117,990, and the statistically mean household income was $144,868.

Within the next 30 to 60 days, the City Council will consider whether or not to initiate a Housing Action Plan. This will be work performed by a consultant to research and look at the housing inventory and to identify needs and opportunities in our housing market. It will look at community demographics, income, housing inventory, and housing affordability. If conducted, a Housing Action Plan could serve as a platform to guide the development of future affordable housing strategies.

This week, Kitsap Transit held an event to launch its new mobile app (Ride Pingo) for on-demand bus service on BI Ride, a shared-ride service for getting around Bainbridge Island that operates on weekdays (8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a final ferry drop off at 3:50 p.m.) and Saturdays (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; advance booking only 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.). The cost to ride is $2 (reduced fare is $1). Rides throughout July are free.

James Cox, CEO of The Routing Company, acknowledges that the app is a new system and users may encounter problems. Cox encourages users to please report any problems to The Routing Company on its support page and they will fix them.

Kitsap Transit invites Bainbridge Island residents and businesses to take a survey on their needs and transit usage. Take the survey and be entered to win a $150 grocery gift card. Start the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BIRide

The City Council next week will consider final approval of a resolution to terminate the Proclamation of Emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council is considering this and associated actions based on improving conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including increasing rates of vaccination and decreasing COVID-19 cases.

The Proclamation of Emergency was issued March 9, 2020 just after the Kitsap Public Health District’s confirmation of the county’s first positive COVID-19 case on Bainbridge Island. The proclamation has provided the City with additional authority to use necessary to prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 emergency.

The City Council will also consider an ordinance to repeal the hazard pay ordinance (Ordinance No. 2021-13) approved by the Council earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ordinance No. 2021-13 requires hazard pay of $2 per hour for grocery employers with 500 or more but less than 2,000 employees worldwide, and $4 per hour for such employers with 2,000 or more employees.

Based on the termination of the Proclamation of Emergency on Bainbridge Island and improving safety conditions for workers who are eligible for hazard pay, the Council is considering repealing the ordinance and ending the hazard pay requirement.

Good weather conditions have allowed the City’s contractor to make significant progress on the Eagle Harbor Drive Non-Motorized Improvements project.

The improvements, which were originally planned to include a separated bike lane on the southbound side of the road and a paved bike shoulder on the northbound side, are now planned to include a separated bike lane on both sides of the road along the corridor, which stretches from McDonald Avenue to the shoreline.

The paved bike lane will be 6-feet-wide, with a 4-foot vegetated separation from the vehicle lanes on each side (except at all intersection crossings and southbound mailbox locations).

The paving work is expected to occur the week of July 13, with shoulder preparation, planting and striping planned for the remainder of the month. Travelers on Eagle Harbor Drive can continue to expect one-lane closures with traffic control and flagging for the next two weeks.

On Thursday, July 7, the Public Works Department held a virtual open house to discuss the Madison Avenue sidewalk project. The current project proposes to widen the eastside sidewalk on Madison Avenue between Wyatt Way and High School Road. However, City staff are exploring options to expand the project to include separated bike lanes on both sides of the street between Winslow Way and SR 305.

The July 7 meeting focused on the different segments of Madison Avenue, and proposed cross sections that would accommodate improved walking conditions, protected bike lanes, the preservation of existing trees, and enhancement with additional landscaping and trees. A link to the presentation given at the meeting, can be found on the project webpage. A link to the meeting video will be posted on the site early next week.

The community members in attendance at the meeting expressed enthusiastic support for the proposed improvements, which they said would increase safety, particularly for children walking and biking to and from school. Attendees also stressed that they wanted any new facilities built to be as consistent as possible along the corridor, recognizing that there are challenging segments where the preservation of existing trees and landscaping enhancements are also critical.

The staff will be working with the project consultant, Toole Design, to develop a preliminary plan and cost estimates for the corridor, which will be presented to the City Council for a decision at the August 17 City Council Meeting. The current project budget is $2.1 million, including $1.4 million in federal grants. Any proposed project expansion to include separated bike lanes – and also needed sewer improvements between High School Road and New Brooklyn Road – would likely require an additional budget of between $1 and 2 million.

The City's contractor, Liden Land Development and Excavation, continued work this week setting up sedimentation control fencing and clearing vegetation within the trail alignment area for the Sakai Pond Connector Trail.

Next week, they will install a temporary gravel driveway to allow trucks to access the site from SR 305, and begin grading work to install culverts and drainage pipe that will cross under the new trail. Please continue to use extra caution traveling south on the highway approaching High School Road.

The City Council this week directed Planning & Community Development staff to resume the development and implementation of a functioning Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program and move forward with the consultant, EcoNorthwest, to determine an exchange rate for the program. The work on the TDR program was paused in early 2020 largely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A TDR program allows landowners to sell development rights from their land to a developer who then can use these rights to increase the density of development at another designated location. The program conserves land by redirecting development that would otherwise occur on this land (the sending area) to an area planned to accommodate growth and development (the receiving area).

The City currently has a TDR program that allows landowners of designated sending areas (all lands outside of designated centers) to separate the right to develop some or all of their land. Through TDR, the separated right(s) are turned into a transferable commodity that can be bought and sold – just as land can be bought and sold. Currently, the Winslow Mixed Use Town Center and High School Road Districts (with limitations), NC Districts and R-8 Districts are receiving areas.

A functioning TDR program will help the City achieve the following:

Watch the July 6 discussion on the agendas & minutes page.

At the July 6 City Council meeting, City staff presented an update on the progress of housing goals identified in the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan guides the City’s growth and establishes the long-range vision for the island. A Comprehensive Plan update, which included a 20-year planning horizon to 2036, was approved in February 2017. To ensure that the City makes progress toward housing goals, Housing Element Goal HO-2 requires biennial reports on the status of housing on Bainbridge Island. This report combines two biennial reports and includes data from 2017-2018 and 2019-2020.

The report describes the progress toward achieving the targets set forth in Policies HO 1.1 through HO 1.7, which states that the City should “make steady progress toward the following aspirational targets for increasing the diversity of housing types and the supply of affordable housing.” This goal sets out a series of seven policies the City is to address pursuant to Goal HO-2:13.

The City Council asked several questions regarding existing City affordable housing programs, existing and new rental housing, and discussed ongoing City affordable housing efforts. The Council also expressed a desire to understand what kind of jobs are on Bainbridge Island in order to ensure that future housing programs serve employees. City staff is developing an addendum to the report in response to the Council discussion; the addendum will be sent to the City Council later.

The housing report and additional information about affordable housing can be viewed on the City website.

The July 13 City Council meeting will include the topics below:

The public is invited to contact members of the City Council to express concerns, questions and praise. Some council members are holding virtual office hours and others are available to meet upon request. Please visit the City Council page for more information on individual City Council members.

The Deputy City Clerk is the ideal position for a self-motivated person eager to make a positive contribution to the organization and the greater community by supporting public records management for the City.

The Deputy City Clerk supports the City Clerk with day-to-day operations, including preparation of materials for City Council meetings and tracking agenda items through the legislative process.

The selected candidate will play a key role in transitioning many records from a paper-based system to electronic management. Attention to detail and strong customer service and communication skills are crucial for success. The Deputy City Clerk serves as the City Clerk in their absence.

Learn more about the Deputy City Clerk position and apply at www.bainbridgewa.gov/203.

During the break, City staff will continue to post updates on project webpages and through Notify Me messages. You can stay informed on City Council meetings on the Agendas & Minutes page.