POULSBO — Betty Rielly and her neighbors in Poulsbo Place have talked to just about everyone imaginable in hopes of finding an answer to their parking problems.

After months of “we’ll sees” or “we’ll look into it” with no response, they finally received real answer in the form of David Smith, developer of Poulsbo Place II.

“Dave Smith is the hero in all of this,” Rielly proclaimed after receiving confirmation that Smith is planning to create eight on-street parking spaces along Sunset Street. “Now, we just have to make them safe for people to use.”

While those spaces won’t be available until after construction starts in August, it is a definite step in the right direction, she said.

“He’s stepped in and took care of something that really wasn’t his problem to begin with,” Reilly noted.

Even though he has no direct association with Poulsbo Place, Smith has kept residents informed and listened to their concerns as he has worked on Poulsbo Place II, she said.

“Every unit in Division 5 has a minimum of two spaces without tandem parking,” Smith explained. “We’re hoping most of our customers will park exclusively on their lots.”

Without the 16 on-street parking spaces included in the initial 34-unit development, each unit will have an average of 2.5 parking spaces. With those 16 spaces included, the average jumps to almost three spaces per unit.

“We learned a lot from Poulsbo Place and worked hard to incorporate enough parking into our design,” Smith commented. “Some of our units have three spaces, but all have a minimum of two.”

While his plans include the 16 on-street spots, Smith said he is not anticipating heavy use of them by Poulsbo Place II residents.

“We’re assuming residents of Poulsbo Place will be the heaviest users of those spaces, because they always believed those places were coming,” Smith explained.

EMB Management Inc., the company which took over the management responsibilities from the original developer, Security Properties, Inc., has only received complaints from one resident, said Poulsbo Place Homeowners’ Association Manager Dick Gillesse. That information was passed on to the owners’ association for its consideration, he added.

The city council had also heard those complaints and had struggled in committee meetings about what to do about the issue.

“I’m glad to see that David Smith has stepped up and decided to do something about that,” said Councilwoman Kathryn Quade.

Part of the problem in previous discussions had centered around the width of Sunset Street, which currently isn’t wide enough to provide on-street parking, Quade said.

“It’s something we’ve looked into and tried to do something about,” she noted. “I’m glad to see that something will be done.”

Councilman Dale Rudolph echoed Quade’s assessment and said Smith and Central Highlands Builders have been very cooperative throughout the process.

“They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do and have been a real pleasure to work with,” Rudolph said. “They’ve really done their homework on this project.”