What Are Bainbridge Island Council's Most Significant Challenges?
The biggest challenge we face, because affects all of those other concerns, is:
How Bainbridge Island will respond and react to the continuing trend of the State Legislature imposing new rules on local jurisdictions regarding land use, housing, and development regulations -- things that have historically been subject to local control.
When we became an all-Island City, the entire Island was designated as an Urban Growth Area under the Growth Management Act, our entire Island is treated exactly as any other City although it would be more appropriate be be characterized as a small county, with a relatively small population.
We have chosen to concentrate growth in a more urban area – Winslow – so that we can retain the more rural-feel of the rest of the Island. We also have an obvious natural boundary – our shoreline. Unlike other cities, we can’t annex additional land to create more capacity. So what has, and will continue to be an issue, is that we will have to fight or find ways to comply with these state-created, one-size-fits-all regulations that could be very difficult to implement here because the regulations are designed with an eye towards a typical city, which we are not.
The City of Bainbridge Island faces many challenges. These are areas that have been considered and discussed throughout the years, but it is time to dive into the issues below.
ZONING
As the State continues to pass new bills meant to address the affordable housing crisis, increase housing supply and create more diverse housing types, Bainbridge Island will continue to be faced with the challenge of implementing state-level, blanket regulations that are not designed for a city like Bainbridge Island.
These new mandates are often written with a “one-size-fits-all” approach intended for larger, more urbanized cities, yet Bainbridge Island’s unique geography, infrastructure limitations, and existing land use patterns make compliance difficult. The Island lacks the extensive sewer systems, public transit networks, and high-capacity roadways that typical cities rely on to support denser housing and commercial growth.
Historically, land use policy on Bainbridge Island has been guided by the community’s desire to balance growth with environmental protection, groundwater limitations, and the preservation of neighborhood character—values that can be undermined when state mandates dictate uniform standards.
Bainbridge Island needs to work at the State level to create pathways that allow for flexibility so we can adapt these regulations to local conditions, otherwise we risk being forced into land use decisions that are neither sustainable nor aligned with community priorities.
WATER
A top priority is the completion of a Groundwater Management Plan that builds public confidence and earns broad community support. This plan must be a credible and transparent foundation for decision-making, providing the essential data to establish the Island’s groundwater carrying capacity. That information will be critical if the City seeks alternative methods for compliance with new State mandates.
Groundwater policy must address both water “in” and water “out.” On the demand side, the City and other water purveyors have limited tools beyond tiered rate structures, which only affect those on water systems. With approximately 1,400 private and small community wells on the Island, conservation will also depend heavily on public education and a shared sense of responsibility. On the supply side, maintaining and enhancing groundwater recharge is equally important. Current stormwater regulations help protect water quality and recharge rates, but additional measures—such as strengthening the transfer of development rights program—would both concentrate growth in designated centers and preserve land that supports aquifer recharge.
Finally, groundwater resources are directly connected to the health of surface waters and ecosystems. For that reason, protecting instream flows must be a guiding principle, ensuring that water withdrawals and land use decisions safeguard fish habitat, stream health, and the Island’s long-term ecological resilience.
TAXES
High real estate prices can obscure the fact that many longtime residents and those on fixed incomes are struggling to remain on Bainbridge Island. Increases in property taxes and fees risk displacing these community members, and the City must be mindful of this impact in its financial decisions.
The City must be disciplined in prioritizing its budget so that essential services are funded without relying on unnecessary tax increases. Core responsibilities must come first, and before turning to tax increases, the City should exhaust all other available options for funding.
The City Manager has asked the Council to evaluate potential revenue sources for road maintenance, including solid waste hauler fees (Bainbridge Disposal), car tab increases, sales tax increases, bonds, levy lid lifts, and local improvement districts (LIDs). While each of these tools may provide needed resources, all are ultimately an additional cost to residents.
It is also important to recognize that household costs are affected not only by taxes but also by fees, which the City has broad discretion to increase. Such fees include water and sewer utility rates, and surface and stormwater management fees (SSWM). Modest incremental increases can accumulate and significantly affect household budgets over time.
COUNCIL TRANSPARENCY
The City Council needs to play a stronger role in shaping how major policy documents, such as the Comprehensive Plan, are developed and updated. Process is itself a policy choice, and when the Council’s influence over process is diminished, the outcomes often fail to reflect community priorities. Councilmembers have a responsibility to actively guide these efforts to ensure transparency, accountability, and alignment with the values of Bainbridge Island residents.
The City Manager regularly meets one-on-one with Councilmembers, which is appropriate. However, the substance of those conversations is often not shared publicly. If the Council engaged in a more transparent and substantive deliberative process, the public would be better informed about upcoming initiatives. This approach would also allow the Council to gauge public sentiment—especially on potentially controversial issues—before committing limited City resources. Open, early dialogue builds trust and ensures that Council decisions reflect community values.
PLANNING
With careful planning, strong environmental protections, and a commitment to thoughtful design, we can create housing that meets community needs without sacrificing Bainbridge Island’s natural beauty or small-town character.
During my previous tenure on City Council, I consistently advocated for affordable housing. We’ve made progress, but rising costs and limited infrastructure have made the challenge harder. If we want Bainbridge to remain a place where young families, teachers, first responders, and small business owners can live and thrive, we need renewed focus and creative solutions.
Affordable housing is essential to maintaining a healthy, vibrant, and complete community. Bainbridge should be a place where young families can afford to live, grow roots, and contribute to the fabric of our island—whether as teachers, first responders, small business owners, artists, or volunteers.
We need balanced, thoughtful planning that meets state requirements without compromising our identity. That means listening to residents, protecting our environment and infrastructure, and making intentional decisions that reflect our long-term vision. Preserving our small-town feel doesn’t mean stopping growth—it means shaping it in a way that keeps Bainbridge livable, connected, and distinctly ours.
AGING INFRASTRUCTURE
Additional growth will put pressure on our existing roads that we already have trouble maintaining. The roads we use to access grocery stores. Doctors offices schools are already congested. We have intersections that aren’t safe. Traffic is probably the one problem that every islander can agree. Not enough attention is paid to traffic impacts of proposed developments. Our code doesn’t adequately require mitigation for these impacts. The City Manager hired a consultant who has told the city council that in order to just maintain our roadwork they’ll need to ask the taxpayers for additional money. Utility infrastructure is aging and will need to be replaced overtime, but that cost will have to be paid for by a small rate payer base. While a lot of these costs on their own may be incremental, together they add up and make it even more difficult for people to continue to live here.
NON-MOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION
The city has two transportation related plans. The Island-Wide Transportation Plan from 2017 and the Sustainable Transportation Plan from 2022. It is in the process of creating a third plan called the Island-Wide Mobility Plan that will combine the information from the two previous plans. At some point the city needs to stop drafting new plans and execute the plans that are already in place. To continue to plan and not implement leads to frustration by the community and is a waste of resources.