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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/10/2025 - Regular - Additional Docs-Comments Re Comp PlanFrom: The Medlocks To: Planning Mailbox Subject: June 3rd Comp Plan Amendment Meeting Statement Date: Saturday, May 31, 2025 2:14:38 PM Please receive my comment/statement regarding the rezoning of parcels from industrial to residential 3 - My friends, my neighbors, my fellow citizens, Tonight, I want to talk not just about parcels of land or zoning codes, but about a deeper idea - an idea rooted in the values we share as a community. Because what's at stake here is not simply a bureaucratic decision- it's the character of a neighborhood, the well-being of families, and the future of Port Orchard. And I stand with the people of Durfey Lane in asking the Planning Commission to deny the proposal to rezone these parcels from Light Industrial to Residential 3. Let me start with this: Durfey Lane is not just a street. It's a place where kids ride their bikes safely, where folks wave to each other in the morning, where neighbors know each other by name. It's quiet. It's safe. It's established. Rezoning these parcels would threaten that delicate balance. It would mean more traffic, more noise, more disruption. A peaceful street would become a thoroughfare, and that's not progress- that's a loss. And speaking of traffic, anyone who has sat at the intersection of Old Clifton and Anderson Hill Road knows that it's already a mess. It's congested, it's dangerous, and it wasn't built to handle hundreds more cars each day. The proposed development would pour fuel on that fire, creating a traffic situation that puts all of us at greater risk. Infrastructure must come before expansion, not the other way around. Now, some will say, "We need more housing." And to that, I say we've built it. In fact, we've built thousands of new apartment units in recent years. But we must be honest with ourselves - this proposal isn't about need, It's about profit. The market is not starving for apartments right now. What we need is thoughtful planning, not unchecked sprawl. Let's also remember this: during the last planning committee meeting, it was made clear that there is already a surplus of residentially zoned land available. So why push for more? Why carve into the character of Durfey Lane when we haven't even used what we already have? It makes no sense. And it doesn't serve the people. This decision doesn't just affect land, it affects lives. I built my home five years ago, and I made an investment not just in property, but in independence. I paid $25,000 to install a well, choosing to live outside the city limits. If utilities are brought down Durfey Lane to support this proposed apartment development, it won't just mean a road or a few pipes. It will mean the end of our wells —wells that many of us invested tens of thousands of dollars into, that we rely on every single day. Because the law is clear: you cannot have a well within a certain distance of a sewer line. So bringing sewer infrastructure down our street would render our wells unusable. And then what? We're told we'd have no choice but to hook into city water. Not because we want to. Not because we need to. But because someone else wants to build apartments. Before drilling for my well, I had to be sure that there was nothing within the radius that would affect it, otherwise I wouldn't be able to drill. I couldn't ask someone to just move their septic system, yet a developer can put sewer pipes within my well radius and force me to hook up to city water and that's acceptable? Now, I want to be very clear: that's not just a policy decision. That's an injustice. It is wrong to approve a development plan that knowingly strips residents of their water source. It is wrong to force people who live outside the city limits, who have chosen a different way of life, to give up their independence just to make way for profit. And yet, that's exactly what the city has signaled they're willing to allow. My friends, this is not how the government should work. You do not allow someone to walk in and take away what others have built and relied on for years. We didn't ask for city water because we didn't need it. We invested in wells. And now we're being told that because someone filled out the right paperwork and brought the right lawyer, they get to rewrite the rules? That's not community. That's not equity. And that's not the kind of future we should be building. And what about our schools? Right now, our local high school is already over capacity. There are no current plans to build another one. No new infrastructure to handle a surge in students. Adding hundreds of new apartments would bring more children into a system already stretched thin. That's not a recipe for success. It's a recipe for failure- failure to prepare, failure to support, failure to educate. And let's not forget the wildlife that calls this area home. There's a bear that lives in those woods. Yes, a real bear. And when we pave over its home, when we clear the trees and put up buildings, where does it go? What happens to the deer, the rabbits, the birds? These creatures are part of our ecosystem, part of what makes Port Orchard special. We can't ignore them just because they can't voice their opposition. Now, I've listened to the people. I've heard from the residents. And they are united in their opposition to this rezoning. This isn't a few disgruntled voices. It's a chorus, a community speaking as one. And when a community speaks, government has a responsibility to listen. Finally, let me speak to something deeper, Gentrification. Displacement. If these parcels are rezoned, it will raise property values, but with that will come higher taxes. Higher costs. And many of the families who've lived on Durfey Lane for decades, who built their lives there, will be pushed out. This is how communities unravel, slowly, quietly. But it doesn't have to be this way. After the last planning committee meeting, Mike Diaz personally came to my home and told me that his request to rezone the parcels from industrial to R3 was simply a mistake. He assured me that he had no plans to run utilities or a road through Durfey Lane. However, it quickly became apparent that this was not the truth. There has even been an article in the Kitsap Sun detailing his plans to build apartments on the very parcels in question. Even more telling, Diaz had already marked out where he intended to pave the road- indicating premeditated development, not a clerical error. To further contradict his claim of an innocent mistake, Diaz brought an attorney to the most recent planning committee meeting. Someone who hires an attorney to come to a public planning meeting did not make a mistake in the paperwork that was filed.. It was looked over by many people before filing. This is not the behavior of someone who misunderstood the process, it is the behavior of someone strategically moving forward with a controversial project, despite community concern. Is this really the kind of person we want to prioritize? Someone who misleads residents and moves forward with development plans that negatively impact existing neighborhoods? Should the honest, hard-working residents of Durfey Lane be pushed aside just to make one man richer? We cannot allow our local government to reward dishonesty. We cannot sacrifice our values, our trust, or our neighborhood just to make one developer happy. Because when the people lose faith in the process, when they feel their voices don't matter, that's when the very foundation of community starts to crumble. Now, I want you to imagine what would happen if a road were to be paved through Durfey Lane. If you've ever driven down durfey then you'd know that this isn't just about asphalt, It's about loss. It's about families who would be forced to tear down fences and sheds. It's about kiwi plants, planted by a grandfather and cared for across generations, being destroyed by a bulldozer in the name of progress. And utility poles that would need to be moved, likely cutting off electricity to our entire street in the process. The new road wouldn't gently pass by, it would come within inches of people's homes. Literal inches. You might say, "Well, you shouldn't have built on an easement." And I hear you. But I would say this- Durfey Lane is a place where neighbors look out for each other, where we solve problems together, not with lawyers, but with handshakes. You've got an RV you need to park? Go ahead. We'll make room. That's because we already have a 10 -foot road that serves us just fine. We don't need a 30 -foot road forced upon us by someone who doesn't live here, who doesn't understand what this community means. We don't need to be told how to live, we've been doing just fine. So I say this: Let's choose community over profit. Let's choose stability over speculation. Let's protect Durfey Lane. Let's do what's right. Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the people of Port Orchard. - Tavia Vice (1740 SW Durfey Lane) - The Medlocks From: HanShotFrst To: Planning Mailbox Subject: Durfey Lane comments Date: Monday, June 2, 2025 10:11:26 PM Some people who received this message don't often get email from medlock1989@gmail.com. Learn why this is important I wanted to touch on a few thoughts i had after the last meeting. I think a large disservice to the city and the entire process occurs when you move to rezoning before any feasibility discussions. How you rezone land, how it impacts the immediate area, and how that rezoned land will be used are all monumentally important details. When residents voiced concers over impact, the committee clearly stated impact wasn't in question or a factor in deciding rezoning. Other factors like best land use, access to public transit, and a ratio of residential to commercial space were more important but I'd heavily wager impact is important with every one of those details. One of the gentlemen on the committee state in his opinion if the land were to remain industrial, due to complications with the creek and ravine and other parcel specific issues, the land would likely never get developed. That is no impact. No trucks no deforestation, no burden on residents, no harm done to natural resources. If it the parcel is developed with access and utilities coming through our properties, you will be allowing the privatized destruction of our wells and a fresh pure aquifer. You'll be allowing for the condemnation of functioning serviced septic systems. When myself amd every other home owner developed their property the burden of construction and permitting fell 100% on the most recent developer. We had to avoid and work around existing utilities that came first. How is this different. How can Kitsap public health approve of laying down water lines within my septic line and sewer lines in my well radius. Isn't that a state law and health code? Anderson Hill x Old Clifton already needs one of those great big roundabout that are all the rage in the city. More cars pretty much directly place that burden on Diaz shoulders. To say you don't care about the impact and feasibility of projects like this seems incredibly irresponsible and short sighted. If Diaz wants to propose a big change he needs to figure out 100% of everything to a T. Leaving the door open for chicanery is irresponsible. Not protecting your current residents is irresponsible. Insinuating that smarter development isn't possible in a different location is wrong. Something smells incredibly foul with the entire nature of this. You send a letter to residents telling them their land will be appropriated for an individuals financial gain. When they predictably voice concerns, you tell them their land isnt the point of concern. The individual who purchased land, either did so without doing his proper due diligence to learn the land in question has no efficacy for his original project and is scrambling to make good on his investment, OR an individual who bought the land with the intent and plan to do exactly what he is now from the get go making this entire thing a formality and due process. To buy all that land and petition the city hoping you can build your planned apartments is either a massive gamble or a done deal signed with a handshake waiting for approval. You talk about the rights Mike Diaz has but I didn't hear any of you reference our rights. Mike Diaz has the right to research better properties to build on. He has the right to buy a lemon. He has the right to be denied. We have the right to live as we have been legally approved to by the city in a time passed, free of harassment from outside entities.