KITSAP COUNTY — Kitsap County residents have until Nov. 9 to weigh in on proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments that would lay out a more detailed blueprint for growth in Silverdale and update the county’s parks and open space policies.
The Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the amendments at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, in the Commissioners’ Chambers at the Kitsap County Administration Building, 619 Division St., Port Orchard. The written comment period opened Oct. 26 and runs through the day of the hearing. Commissioners could deliberate and adopt the changes as soon as Nov. 23, according to a county staff report.
This year’s amendments cover two topics.
The larger one is a refreshed Silverdale Regional Center Subarea Plan, known as the Silverdale Center Plan. It adds detail on mixed-use development, housing, public gathering spaces, transportation and multimodal connections, and design concepts, and identifies potential sites for new public spaces. A more detailed version of the plan would be added to the Comprehensive Plan as a new appendix. County planners wrote that the goal is to help transform the center “into an active and vibrant 24/7 community.”
The plan also has money riding on it. To keep its designation as a regional growth center under the Puget Sound Regional Council, Silverdale must have at least 18 “activity units” — residents plus jobs — per acre today and plan for 45 per acre by 2044. Keeping that status “is essential for accessing regional transportation and infrastructure funding,” the staff report said.
The second topic updates the Parks, Recreation and Open Space chapter of the Comprehensive Plan and the parks portion of the county’s 2024 Capital Facilities Plan. The changes bring the plan in line with the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan commissioners approved in July 2025, after a July 2026 review found the two documents needed a clearer relationship.
The county Planning Commission held its own hearing Sept. 15, when it received five written comments, and on Oct. 20 recommended approval with minor edits. Those edits add worship and aging to the Silverdale plan’s housing vision, mention the area’s health care facilities and Kitsap Regional Library, define “last mile” transit connections, and call for partnerships with the Tribes, the Navy, the Port of Silverdale and the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance.
Public comments on the parks changes raised concerns about reclassifying “Heritage Parks” as “Regional Parks,” a lack of emphasis on habitat restoration, the possibility of selling parkland, and capital spending that commenters said favors mountain biking at Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park. County staff responded that the new classifications don’t change park names or character, that the county “is not exploring divestiture or sale of parkland for budget purposes,” and that neither plan puts bike facilities ahead of other uses. The Planning Commission agreed with staff on each point.
The county began the Silverdale update in April 2025 with a market study, followed by community and stakeholder workshops and a May 21, 2026, open house on a 90% draft. Commissioners in August dropped an Illahee Community Plan update from this year’s list in favor of continued monitoring.
Draft documents and an online comment form are on the county’s Comprehensive Plan page at kitsap.gov/dcd/Pages/Kitsap_County_Comprehensive_Plan.aspx. Questions can go to long-range senior planner Heather Cleveland at hcleveland@kitsap.gov or 360-337-5777.
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