Kitsap County Director of Community Development (DCD) Bruce Freeland has announced his intention to retire.

The search to find a replacement will begin immediately, though Freeland will stay on during the search.

“I will miss the people I work with but, overall, I feel very positive about my decision to retire,” Freeland said. “I’m proud of the wonderful improvements we’ve made to the Community Development program over the last four years.”

Freeland, a Port Townsend resident moved up his planned retirement when he discovered that switching to the new Washington State Public Employees Retirement System, PERS 3, provided him an option to receive a similar level of support for retirement.

As Kitsap County Director of Community Development, Freeland oversees six divisions; the Building Division, the Fire Prevention Bureau, Planning and Zoning Division, the Geographic Information System Division, and the Community Development Block Grants Division.

Freeland came to Kitsap County in the fall of 1998 from the City of Bellevue, where he headed up the planning department during an era of turbulent growth and change.