Nine citizens from a geographic cross-section of Kitsap County comprise the county’s Planning Commission. They apply for appointment by the County Commissioner from their respective area. At most, they are paid $50 per meeting (some opt out of pay), with no other compensation for the hours of reading in preparation for meetings and hearings.

There are three each Planning Commission members from the north, south and central districts of the county, and terms are staggered at four years each, although members may be reappointed. There has been a nine-member Planning Commission in Kitsap since 1961. State law permits, but does not mandate, each county and city to have such an entity.

The purposes of the Planning Commission are to study potential changes to the county’s comprehensive land use plan at least every five years, and any more frequent potential changes to development regulations impacting specific parcels of land. They take public testimony about these topics, consider various positions, and make recommendations to the elected Board of County Commissioners.

Kamuron Gurol, Director of Community Development for the county, heads the department that manages the process. The Planning Commission meets every two weeks, all year long, he indicates.

“They are not elected officials,” he describes, and so it is not a “partisan” position. They are charged with taking a “long-term view,” of county growth and development. Once they come to consensus and make a recommendation, the Board of County Commissioners still considers all sides and holds public hearings themselves, making sure the citizens are abundantly included in any land use changes in the county.

The Planning Commission, nevertheless, is an important step in the process. Each comes to the table with their various perspectives, seeking to plan for a better future for the county in terms of land use issues.

According to 14-year member Bill Matchett of Seabeck, the Planning Commission is not stacked with folks tied to real estate development, nor with those opposing it. “If we agreed on everything,” Matchett observes, “we wouldn’t represent the county.” He says they have good and thoughtful discussion and generally come to consensus, occasionally making a recommendation that differs from that proposed by county staff members.

Currently, the Planning Commission is working on an update to the comprehensive plan on a few specific issues. One involves interim rural forests, which comprise over 50,000 acres in unincorporated Kitsap County. Another has to do with parcels under an acre. Proposed changes would take specific lands from residential to commercial, or from lower- to higher-density residential.

Still another issue is “limited areas of more intensive rural development” (LAMIRDs) When one or more businesses have traditionally been in an otherwise rural area, often more development is added to neighboring property. If a LAMIRD is created, then specific boundaries are set to stop the spread of commercialism.

The Planning Commission is recommending against creation of LAMIRD status or boundaries for a couple areas in North Kitsap now, one of which is George’s Corner, just outside Kingston, where Albertson’s and a shopping center are across from an older convenience store/gas station.