Draft Poulsbo Shoreline Master Plan Revealed
By Admin
Like other parts of the County this year, Poulsbo is updating its shoreline master plan for the first time in a long time. This is causing some consternation among waterfront property owners, moreso outside the city than inside. From the Kitsap Sun:
Any new development can’t take away any habitat already in place, but it can improve it.
“The theme of the update is no net loss of shoreline habitat and protection,” Weaver said.
One thing that won’t change under the plan is buffer requirements meant to protect sensitive ecological areas. New development or the expansion of an existing home or business must be 100 feet from the shoreline under the city’s Critical Areas Ordinance that was adopted in 2007. That remains the same under the SMP.
A handful of homeowners at Tuesday’s open house asked how this might affect their homes in the future, especially if they try to sell. Would a potential buyer be unable to get a loan because the homes are considered a nonconforming use under the plan, they asked.
Just because a home is listed as a nonconforming use doesn’t mean that it is illegal, Weaver clarified. She also noted the 100-foot buffers have been in place since the city approved its Critical Areas Ordinance four years ago. At the time, the ordinance increased the buffers from 20 feet to 100 feet.
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/aug/10/poulsbos-updated-shoreline-plan-makes-its-debut/#ixzz1WCaCAYp6
Related Articles
By hdnelson
Our March Kitsap real estate market report has been posted. A quick look at the graphs for this month’s market trends shows that home sales are actually climbing, both pending sales and closed sales, that the inventory is turning over more quickly (this is a good thing), that the inventory of listings is lower than at any time since 2007, that the number of closed sales is the 2nd lowest since 2007 (2009 was worse), and that the median closed sales price is nearly $20,000 lower than any other time since 2007. This stark drop in the 3 month moving average of median prices reflects January’s abnormally low median price. Median price actually bounced up nearly 30% in February. See more at http://www.prowserealestate.com/Newsletter
Read Story
By hdnelson
Prowse and Company’s February Waterfront Update is out - see the graphs and download the latest newsletter and stats, as well as our current waterfront listings. Closed waterfront sales fell 30% in January compared to December and were down 36% compared to a year ago. Pending sales are way up - up 56% from December - so we don’t expect this trend in closed sales to continue. January’s listing inventory lags last year by 10% and but rose 17% compared to December. January’s inventory turnover rate was about 20 months. This is still definitely a buyer’s market. If you are looking for a smaller waterfront home with lots of privacy, a great south-facing water and mountain view, and easy beach access, I have a brand new listing at 17160 Angeline Ave South NE, Suquamish priced at only $515,000! This home is very private - gated and fully fenced. It has bulkheaded beach access, a mooring buoy, and davit. More at http://bprowse.com/kitsap_waterfront
Read Story
By hdnelson
Each month we try to compare some reports about the national real estate market to what we see in our local markets. While nationally the blog Calculated Risk reported that short sales increased significantly in the 4th quarter, we only saw 27% (a very modest rise if any) of last year’s short sales close in Q4. There was also a report from Marc Hanson that the percentage of REO (bank owned) sales In December fell in California as an overall percentage of sales in that market. In our market the number of closed sales that were bank owned rose from 38 in November to 43 in December (up 12%). Our market agrees with the article that $200-300k is the new normal for homebuilders. The article shows that the percentage of sales in the west under $300k was 42% in 2007, but is now 65%. In Kitsap County, the percentage of sales under $300k was 54% (1945 of 3615 total sales) in 2007 and in 2011 was 72% (1829 of 2538 total sales). More at http://tinyurl.com/7pljyjx
Read Story
Subscribe to the News
Reader Discussion
Be the first to comment, using the form below.