Port Orchard, Washington
Realizing the potential
Business View Magazine interviews representatives of Lakewood, Washington for our focus on Economic Growth & Development in U.S. Cities
Like the immortal words sung by Frank Sinatra, the City of Port Orchard, Washington boasts, “I did it my way.”
Faced with enormous growth over the past decade and poised for even more in the coming years, the Seattle suburb has put plans in place to make sure that growth is done in a way that benefits the community.
“Not everyone is comfortable with how fast we are growing, but we are,” says Port Orchard Mayor Robert Putaansuu. We have a state law called the Growth Management Act, so we’re required to plan for and accept this growth. The growth is going to happen, so we’re working hard to make it ours. We’ve passed design standards, we’ve passed impact fees, so that growth is paying for growth. We’re getting road improvements, park improvements, and the capital facilities built that we need. The growth is having an impact and it’s important that the growth pay for its impact. That way we can make this development and growth ours and the way we want it, versus just letting it happen organically and not getting the type of growth and the improvements that are necessary that come with it.”
Originally incorporated as Town of Sidney in 1890, Port Orchard is a waterfront community with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains. The Kitsap County seat is situated on the Sinclair Inlet on Puget Sound, which allows residents and visitors easy access to the Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry for a 30 minute ride into downtown Seattle. “We have a beautiful waterfront with a fabulous marina,” Putaansuu exclaims.
The city’s beauty, proximity to Seattle, and affordability have made it an attractive place for people looking to put down roots in recent years. Port Orchard’s population sat at just over 11,000 in 2010 census and jumped to 15,586 by the time the 2020 report was released. “It’s now up even more just two years later to 16,400,” says Nick Bond, Port Orchard’s Community Development Director. “Over the next two years, I’m expecting to see the largest population growth numbers that we’ve seen in our history. We grew about 40 percent during the last 10-year census period and our city is on track to increase by 25 to 50 per cent in the next 10 years. So truly huge population growth occurring here.”
Like the immortal words sung by Frank Sinatra, the City of Port Orchard, Washington boasts, “I did it my way.”
Faced with enormous growth over the past decade and poised for even more in the coming years, the Seattle suburb has put plans in place to make sure that growth is done in a way that benefits the community.
“Not everyone is comfortable with how fast we are growing, but we are,” says Port Orchard Mayor Robert Putaansuu. We have a state law called the Growth Management Act, so we’re required to plan for and accept this growth. The growth is going to happen, so we’re working hard to make it ours. We’ve passed design standards, we’ve passed impact fees, so that growth is paying for growth. We’re getting road improvements, park improvements, and the capital facilities built that we need. The growth is having an impact and it’s important that the growth pay for its impact. That way we can make this development and growth ours and the way we want it, versus just letting it happen organically and not getting the type of growth and the improvements that are necessary that come with it.”
Originally incorporated as Town of Sidney in 1890, Port Orchard is a waterfront community with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains. The Kitsap County seat is situated on the Sinclair Inlet on Puget Sound, which allows residents and visitors easy access to the Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry for a 30 minute ride into downtown Seattle. “We have a beautiful waterfront with a fabulous marina,” Putaansuu exclaims.
The city’s beauty, proximity to Seattle, and affordability have made it an attractive place for people looking to put down roots in recent years. Port Orchard’s population sat at just over 11,000 in 2010 census and jumped to 15,586 by the time the 2020 report was released. “It’s now up even more just two years later to 16,400,” says Nick Bond, Port Orchard’s Community Development Director. “Over the next two years, I’m expecting to see the largest population growth numbers that we’ve seen in our history. We grew about 40 percent during the last 10-year census period and our city is on track to increase by 25 to 50 per cent in the next 10 years. So truly huge population growth occurring here.”
“Unfortunately, when you develop, trees get cut down and sometimes when you cut down trees, those on the interior of the forest become vulnerable to blow down during wind storms, which we have a lot of,” Bond explains. “Our goal has been to shift the focus to establishing a long-term tree canopy. We are really focused on making sure that we have great landscaping plans and tree canopy plans to ensure that 10 or 20 years after housing developments go in we have a very thick tree canopy established in the city.”
Port Orchard has also instituted a ‘transfer of development rights’ program, which allows developers to earn height bonuses in certain areas of the city in exchange for acquiring rural areas outside of the city for conservation easements. “That’s one way we are trying to protect our rural areas from urban sprawl and outward development and really trying to ensure that the growth happens inside of our city,” Bond explains. Port Orchard has also mandated EV chargers in new developments and has been investing in shoreline restoration as a way to enhance natural habitat.
The city itself is taking on its own environmental responsibility through plans to replace City Hall’s gas-fired boilers with an electric heating system powered by a solar canopy that will be erected over the police parking lot. “We’ll be able to produce 70 percent of our peak-demand electricity needs through that solar canopy,” Putaansuu says. “On a typically sunny day, we’re going to be able to produce all of our electricity needs.”
As development continues and Port Orchard continues its growth into the future, Putaansuu plans to continue making the city’s growth work for its citizens. “To make this growth ours, we need to make the community the way our residents and our leaders want it to be,” he states. “Developers will build things as inexpensively as you let them, so we need to make sure that the development that we are getting is quality and meets the needs and standards of our community. It’s important to me that we have jobs, growth and a vibrant community.”
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AT A GLANCE
Port Orchard, Washington
What: A rapidly growing city of 16,500
Where: Located in the Sinclair Inlet of the Puget Sound
Website: www.cityofportorchard.us
PREFERRED VENDORS
Port of Bremerton – www.portofbremerton.org
The Port of Bremerton is the fourth oldest Port in the State of Washington and the largest on the Kitsap Peninsula. Located in the beautiful Puget Sound region, the Port actively maintains and operates the Bremerton and Port Orchard Marinas, Bremerton National Airport, and Olympic View Industrial and Business Park. Its proximity to Seattle and Tacoma affords it the benefits of the larger cities without the associated costs, and easy access to the interstate highway, railroad, and deep-water Ports make an ideal, affordable business location.
Bremerton and Port Orchard Marinas draw thousands of visiting boaters every year, not only for their own facilities and location but for the events they host. Events such as the Blackberry Festival, Chris Craft Rendezvous, and Bremerton BrewFest attract many local residents and visitors alike to downtown Bremerton and Port Orchard. In addition, Bremerton National Airport provides world-class general and corporate aviation capabilities, with tenants that range from developing aeronautic spacecraft to offering historic biplane rides.
More than 60 companies, employing over 2,500 people, are located at the Port of Bremerton’s Olympic View Industrial and Business Park. Over 1,700 acres of Port-owned land are still being developed, with an additional 9,000 jobs projected by 2025. With the many varying aspects that work to make the Port of Bremerton what it has come to be, we are confident that everyone can find a home here.
Kitsap Transit – www.kitsaptransit.com
Kitsap Transit’s fast ferries provide fast on-time, reliable connections between downtown Seattle and the Kitsap Peninsula. Port Orchard residents can access convenient sailings departing from Bremerton and Southworth. We operate these sailings Monday through Friday year-round, and on Saturdays from May through October.
Kitsap Fast Ferries — Sprint across the Sound.
