Doug Newell
Poulsbo City Council
Building a Positive Poulsbo
My focus for Poulsbo
Listen
Foster collaboration and build strong relationships
Invest in people and our city
Actively plan for our future
Find the POSITIVE in all of us.
Engage, Participate, and Communicate
Communities are defined by the people who live, work, and play in our natural and built environments. The City of Poulsbo attracts individuals, families, and businesses who appreciate our identity and scale. It is a community of participation where we know our neighbors. As a member of City Council, I work to encourage all of our citizens to remain open and welcoming. I believe that we must always look for opportunities to engage each other, help each other, and stay focused on the positive. We will invest in activities and actions that make each us of stronger and as a result our community more vibrant and inclusive.
Housing Affordability and Housing Availability
The Washington State Department of Commerce projects the state needs to add 1.1 million homes over the next 20 years, and more than half of them need to be affordable for residents at the lowest income levels. In Kitsap County the need is for an additional 24,000 residences.
Based on these projections, Poulsbo is planning for 1,977 new housing units and 5,646 new residents.
What can we do?
- Ensure the city engages with those willing to invest and build housing within our community.
- Provide timely permitting and inspections for housing that meets and complies with our city’s plans.
- Update our zoning classifications to allow for more multifamily and smaller residences.
- Expedite the review of the land in the 305 corridor and at College Marketplace to allow for more residential investments.
- Consider selected investments to spur lower cost housing for those whose situations do not enable them to afford market-rate housing; work in partnership with Kitsap Housing Authority on solutions.
- Ensure investment in our infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, and utilities) is sufficient to provided our expected level of service.
Access to Healthcare
- Support the ongoing John Hopkins study and review of the healthcare system in Kitsap County. The results are due in December.
- Remain at the “table” and actively collaborate with the local governments to push for the solutions identified in the recommendations.
- Review zoning to ensure sufficient land is available within the City to support needed healthcare facilities.
Housing, Health, and Human Services
- Continue to lead in this important City function.
- Learn from our results and evaluate making additional investments.
Our existing parks provide tremendous opportunities for community. Many of our festivals and gatherings start and/or end in one of parks. We should continue to invest and expand our parks; to support increased use by current residents and provide sufficient capacity for our future.
What can we do?
- Poulsbo Event and Recreation Center (PERC). Move forward on the development of the PERC, leverage our partnership with the Kitsap Public Facilities District to add a new park and recreation facility.
- Push forward with the Noll corridor improvements to provide a non-motorized path from Lincoln Road to Lemolo Shore.
- Develop a plan with the state and county to improve the safety of non-motorized travel along our busy corridors; such as the Highway 305 corridor, Viking Way, Lemolo Shore drive and Fin Hill Road. Continue work on existing paths and fill in the missing gaps.