False Assurances About Massive Upzoning

A City Council Member Recently Tried to Deflect Concerns Over the City’s Push for Massive
Upzoning in Winslow During a Comp Plan Steering Committee Meeting.

Growing numbers of Bainbridge Islanders are concerned about the City of Bainbridge
Island’s push for massive upzoning in Winslow. They’ve heard the City's pro-growth
messaging and increasingly see it for what it is: a blatant attempt to undermine local control
and promote growth. In response to increased community pushback, more than one city
council member has attempted to assuage growing community concerns with a
fundamentally flawed argument:

"We don’t need to worry about it. Maybe it won’t get built. We can upzone now and
put the brakes on growth later if and when we get close to sewer capacity."

This is a variation of a line use by many a teenage boy for coaxing their girlfriends into the
back seat of a car:

“Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen. I just wanna snuggle”.

Like teenage boys—who obviously have more on their minds than just snuggling—
councilmembers telling us not to worry about upzoning know perfectly well how hard it
would be to undo it once the zoning map and development regulations have been changed.
Their reassurances show a fundamental disregard for requirements of the Growth
Management Act. In this case, a requirement for zoning to be concurrent with the provision
of adequate capital facilities—sewer, water, roads, etc. The following is from RCW
36.70A.070 Comprehensive Plans—Mandatory Elements—of the Growth
Management Act:

(3) A capital facilities plan element consisting of: (a) An inventory of existing
capital facilities owned by public entities, including green infrastructure, showing
the locations and capacities of the capital facilities; (b) a forecast of the future needs
for such capital facilities; (c) the proposed locations and capacities of expanded or
new capital facilities; (d) at least a six-year plan that will finance such capital
facilities within projected funding capacities and clearly identifies sources of public
money for such purposes; and (e) a requirement to reassess the land use
element if probable funding falls short of meeting existing needs and to
ensure that the land use element, capital facilities plan element, and financing
plan within the capital facilities plan element are coordinated and consistent.
Park and recreation facilities shall be included in the capital facilities plan element.
[emphasis added]

The massive upzoning being pushed by the City of Bainbridge Island over the past three
years would need to be supported by adequate sewer, water, and transportation facilities
when and if the zoning map is significantly changed; or provisions for those facilities would
at least need to be included in the City’s Capital Improvements Plan, with funding sources
identified. This involves consideration of the feasibility of infrastructure upgrades and their
cost—and how that impacts the Island and its residents. Sewer and water utility fees are
already going up in Winslow, and that’s impacting housing affordability.

Increased Development Capacity, Once Given, Isn’t Easy to Take Away

The assurance cited above assumes the City could realistically put the brakes on growth
when the limits to sewer capacity become apparent: that it would be feasible to tell all those
whose property values have risen through upzoning —and have seen their property taxes
increase as well— that they could no longer realize the potential monetary benefits gained
through upzoning. This is a highly problematic proposition, both legally and politically. The
correct way to balance development capacity with infrastructure is to determine its
capacity—and have plans and financing for it in place for those improvements—BEFORE
massive upzoning happens.

Bainbridge Island Has a Finite Carrying Capacity
Groundwater is the primary limiting factor

The ability of Bainbridge Island’s aquifers to sustain growth far into the future is the main
key to determining the Island’s carrying capacity. This includes following the precautionary
principle as called for in the Island’s comprehensive plan: erring on the side of caution to
protect our aquifers. There are also inherent limits when it comes to expanding the capacity
of important capital facilities such as: extraction and distribution of domestic water;
transportation; and sewage treatment.

Inherent Limitations to Bainbridge Island’s Infrastructure
Water, sewer, and transportation facilities

Domestic water infrastructure

The infrastructure required to supply Bainbridge Islanders with domestic water includes:
wells for extracting groundwater; big expensive storage tanks; water treatment; and miles
of pipes to distribute water to households and businesses. New wells are expensive to drill
and aren’t always good producers. Duds are common. The just completed water storage
tank near the high school cost $25m. The cumulative costs for of all this water-related
infrastructure needs to be determined before making significant changes to the Island’s
zoning map and development regulations. Required projects then need to part of the City’s
capital improvement plan and funding sources identified.

Not to be overlooked, the costs to be born by utility customers and taxpayers also need to
be identified and considered. This process applies to all of the capital facilities
improvements required to accommodate increased zoning densities and associated
development regulations.

Bainbridge Island’s constrained transportation system

Bainbridge Island’s has a system of roads and intersections mostly inherited from our
history as a farming community. Very few new roads have been built over the past fifty
years, with extremely limited options for new ones. This is due to established patterns of
development, property rights, limited funding, and resistance to the use of eminent domain.
The City has not explained how these inherent limitations would be overcome in order to
prevent a significant decline in levels of service as a result of expansion and massive
upzoning of Winslow.

Limited sewer capacity in Winslow

Prospects for increasing sewage treatment capacity in Winslow is also a big question mark.
Setting aside the issue of adequate treatment—primarily in regards to the removal of
nutrients that reduce dissolved oxygen levels in Puget Sound—the Winslow sewage
treatment plant is old and nearing its capacity. Major upzoning would almost certainly
require the City to acquire property for a new sewage treatment plant. That might only be
possible through the use of eminent domain, which Bainbridge Islanders are strongly
opposed to and would be very expensive.

Considering the amount of upzoning being pushed, the City needs to have plans for a new
sewage treatment plant, complete with a feasibility study—including identification of new
site—and an estimate of costs and where the funding would come from.

So why does all of this need to be said?

Because the City of Bainbridge Island wants to ignore or trivialize the Growth Management
Act’s requirements for adequate capital facilities. The city knows that once they get the
massive zoning increase they want they’ll have the inside track on making us pay for it
after-the-fact. The only way the City is going to stop ignoring the capital facilities
requirements of the GMA is if it’s forced to do so by enlightened city council members
supported by informed citizens.

Our City Council Needs to Do Better

As the New Year begins, it's time for our City Council to collectively up its game when it
comes to good governance and requirements of the Growth Management Act. Focusing on
supposed growth mandates while ignoring or downplaying the GMA’s other
requirements—such as protection of groundwater and adequate capital facilities—is not
acceptable.