The site at Sedgwick and Sidney Roads that Home Depot had been considering. The usual Kitsap County zoning and permitting hassles made the Pierce County site much more desirable because it could be rezoned, permitted, built and open for business long before it could even be rezoned or permitted here. The project is expected to draw customers from South Kitsap, and could cost the county as much as $750,000 in lost sales tax revenue.

   In a surprising move, Home Depot and Target have submitted plans to build stores just across the Pierce County line rather than in South Kitsap where it has been rumored for over a year that they would. Albertsons, which recently built a new store adjacent to where it was anticipated the other retailers would locate, has also signed on to the project.
   The 500 acre Gig Harbor North mixed use project could mean competition for Silverdale as well, as it’s much closer to the large South Kitsap population base. Until now, there has been no alternative on this side of the heavily congested Tacoma Narrows Bridge for South Kitsap residents, other than to navigate the 20+ miles through Gorst and Bremerton. The proposed project is less than 10 miles from the intersection of Highway 16 and Sedgwick Rd.
   There are six property owners involved in the project which is situated just off Highway 16 between the freeway and Peacock Hill Rd. It will be divided into commercial, industrial park and residential uses, although the residential and industrial park segments are years away from development. The 50 acres of commercial land where the retailers are expected to locate also has room for 10 small pads that will be used for a variety of retail and service businesses as well.
   The development will obviously have an adverse impact on the Kitsap retail environment, but assessing the potential impact on similar industrial parks and other local commercial development is difficult at best at this early stage.
   What has made the announcement of the development so surprising is the fact that several years ago, Gig Harbor residents banded together to defeat a proposed Wal-Mart. Residents sent a message in no uncertain terms that discounters and big box retailers weren’t welcome, preferring to support local businesses, and until now, none have tried to set up shop there.
   Home Depot has the potential to suck a great deal of sales tax revenue out of Kitsap County as does Target if it impacts discounters Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart and Big K-Mart in South Kitsap. Sales tax revenue collections from those retailers could be greatly reduced depending on the level of customers shopping across the county line.
   Silverdale business leaders are putting up a brave front, saying many South Kitsap residents work in Central Kitsap and will continue to find it convenient to shop there, so they don’t think they’ll lose many customers drawn to Silverdale by Home Depot and Target.
   South Kitsap residents have longed for an alternative to driving to Silverdale and rumors of either a Home Depot or Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, as well as a Costco locating in South Kitsap at Sedgwick and Sidney Roads, have been circulating for almost a year.
   Some people lay the blame for the retailers choosing Gig Harbor at the feet of the county. Kitsap’s usual zoning and permitting problems have plagued property owners and developers alike in the area around Sedgwick and Sidney, while Pierce County on the other hand, has a very smooth, fast and certain permitting process. Developers aren’t tormented by what many developers here view as the arbitrary enforcement of the myriad of rules and regulations that make developing in Kitsap such a crap shoot.
   “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Home Depot would be building right now in South Kitsap, if it wasn’t for the no-growth attitude of county,” said Dick Brown, owner of the Kitsap Commercial Group in Port Orchard. “How much money will Kitsap lose in sales tax revenue due to retailers not being willing to wait while the county plays its games?” he wondered aloud. “They’ll go where they’re welcome and take our money with them. That’s what they don’t understand at the courthouse.”
   Brown has been at odds with the county for several years over zoning on property he owns at Sedgwick and Sidney, and insists the area is better suited for such a development because of its access to the freeway.
   Highway access was the key for the Gig Harbor project, which will require construction of an access road off Highway 16 to bring traffic to the site, which is situated adjacent to the freeway.
   John Vodopich, Gig Harbor’s director of planning and building services, who coincidentally served in similar capacity with Kitsap County for many years, said Target’s building permit has been approved and work is underway at the site. He added that the Albertsons permit is being reviewed by the city, while Home Depot is currently going through the design review process.
   Vodopich said Target and Albertsons should be open in October and Home Depot would likely follow later in the year.