KEC Letter to Extend Review PROS Plan 2025
KEC • March 8, 2025
March 7, 2025
Dear Board of County Commissioners:
Kitsap Environmental Coalition is requesting a public comment period extension until the end of March for three major reasons.
- This is the first time the public is seeing a draft of the 2025 PROS Plan.
The DRAFT released for public review on February 11 is not an update, but a full rewrite of the PROS Plan, with several radical changes from 2018 that require sufficient time for a serious review by the public and important stakeholders. The document is overdue by months, but that should not short circuit reviews of a draft that should have been done at earlier stages of development. Note the difference from the approach described for the Year of the Rural document with public review at earlier stages (30% and 60% completion of document development) or the review process for the Comprehensive Plan where the public had drafts for review at least two times before seeing a final draft.
The Parks Department is presenting this PROS Plan draft as the final draft. It is not in a final draft form. Given its lack of consistent organization and incompleteness in data analysis, it should be treated as no more than a 60% draft.
- A new Parks Classification system is being proposed for the first time.
We have been following the development of the PROS plan since it started in 2023 and this is the first time we have heard of this reclassification system. If we, who have been attending to the PROS plan development, are surprised by it, it is very likely that many others will be surprised. It is not a minor change. It has major implications for our parks, their management, and use. The public needs time for groups and individuals to consider this major change and its implications.
- This is the first draft of proposed changes in the Stewardship Program presented to the public.
Although we knew changes to the Stewardship Program were under consideration, this is the first time to see a written document that spells out changes and their implications. Yet the rationale, the descriptions, and the implications of the changes are inadequately presented.
In our discussions of this draft so far, we are seeing other issues that need further consideration. However, the ones presented above seem to us to be sufficiently important to justify an extension in the review of this draft PROS Plan.
Please extend the review period for this draft PROS plan to at least the end of March 2025.
Thank you.
KEC Board
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