Subdivision finally homesteaded

HANSVILLE — After more than a decade of trying to break ground on Hansville Homestead, neighbors will start to see dirt moved this summer.

But first, the developer wants to inform the public about what sort of impacts the project will have on the area during construction.

Kitsap County Department of Community Development and developer James Laughlin will be holding a public meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. June 2 at the Hansville Community Center.

“We mainly just want the community to know what is going on,” said DCD manager of land use and environmental review Eric Baker.

There are 99 lots expected to be developed in phases on the 205-acre property, which will be accessed via Prospect Street, off Twin Spits Road. The single-family unit lots will range from 18,000-square-feet to 90,000-square-feet in size.

The property was owned by Poulsbo-based Olympic Property Group until it was sold to Laughlin last year. The latter has been developing property in the area for nearly 20 years, including Caldart Cottages in Poulsbo and Madison Avenue Condos on Bainbridge Island.

Laughlin is waiting for approval of a grading permit, which would allow him to grade the property for a stormwater system and roads and start construction, Baker said. He can then apply for final plat approval from the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners. If and when the commissioners approve the plat, lots can be marked off and sold.

But for now, residents will be seeing large earth-clearing equipment coming from the property.

“It’s just pretty much to keep the neighborhood informed how we were in 1992 when the application came in to where we are today,” Baker said. “It’s been an interesting process.”

The Hansville Homestead was a vested preliminary plan that was approved for development under 1983 zoning regulations. It was initially submitted for approval in 1992, but it spent a decade stuck in land use court proceedings and appeals before receiving initial OK in 2003 from the county.

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