The Port Orchard City Council voted to move forward with a proposed 27% increase to its Transportation Impact Fee, following a public hearing at its July 8 meeting.
The updated fee structure, based on the June 2025 TIF study, aims to ensure new development continues to fund its proportionate share of growth-related infrastructure.
The revised fee schedule raises the Peak PM Trip rate from $6,288.31 to $7,977, increasing the single-family dwelling fee from $6,225.43 to $7,498. The ordinance is scheduled to take effect July 28 to give city staff time to implement the changes.
City Councilmember Eric Worden voiced concern over the affordability of living in Port Orchard as fees and rates continue to rise.
“I really think we are pricing our people out of the city,” Worden said. “Affordable housing isn’t affordable housing — what they are building out there, we are just increasing it more and more. Somewhere we need to find a way that everyone can contribute to it, not just the brand new homes and people trying to buy homes.”
Worden added that while he did not plan to vote against the ordinance, he hoped the council would consider the long-term impacts on the community.
“Every time we do this, it’s tough to buy a home here,” he said. “It’s really making it unaffordable to live in the city of Port Orchard.”
At-Large Councilmember John Morrissey also expressed discomfort but ultimately supported the ordinance.
“This is a troubling topic for me,” Morrissey said. “We can’t change the process — that is set by the state. We had to cut a lot of projects off that list.”
Morrissey pointed to population growth as a major pressure point, noting Port Orchard is among the fastest-growing cities in Washington.
“Our city is going to continue to be unaffordable, but people continue to move here and we continue to need to provide the infrastructure,” he said. “While I don’t like anything about what we are going to do, I do plan to move forward with voting yes.”
The council adopted two resolutions related to the Port Orchard library roof replacement. One authorizes a reimbursement agreement with the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation, and the other approves a contract with Coastline Roofing and Construction, Inc. for the project.
The city-owned library building at 87 Sidney Avenue will receive a new flat roof at a total cost of $39,442.19. Under the agreement, the Library Foundation will reimburse the city for 50% of that cost — $19,721.10 — including sales tax and approved change orders.
Public Works director Dennis Ryan said the city has been eager to address the repair in anticipation of the library’s future relocation to the new community event center. He also provided updates on the city’s utility projects, including progress on the downtown marina pump station.
“As of last week, we are officially pumping the sewage waste through the pump station,” Ryan said. “We’ve gone through our window of five to seven days to make sure we didn’t have any bugs, and bypass equipment will start to be disassembled this week.”
The project is expected to wrap up early this fall.
“Our main priority is to start shrinking that site and making more parking available for visitors downtown,” he said, adding that the generator is now operational and a public tour may be scheduled once the site is more visitor-friendly.