MITIGATED DETERMINATION OF NONSIGNIFICANCE

MITIGATED DETERMINATION OF NONSIGNIFICANCE Date of Issuance: March 16, 2026 Proponent: Rush Development Company LLC Lead Agency: KITSAP COUNTY Location of proposal: 386 NE Waaga Way Poulsbo, WA 98370, Kitsap County;142501-3-038-2000;142501-3-035-2003;142501-4-051-2000 Description of Proposal: Royal Valley Area 2 Preliminary Plat /PBD (23-04238 & 23-03870); The project proposal is for Project Area 2 for a multi-phased residential development that involves a separate SEPA environmental review. The project involves a Preliminary Plat/PBD permit (Type 3 decision) on a project site of 65.38-acre parcel and includes frontage on SR-303 right of way managed by Kitsap County and Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The property owners, Rush Development Company LLC, is proposing a Preliminary Plat/Performance Based Development (PBD) subdividing approximately 65.38 acres that includes multiple parcels into 123 single family lots and a 2.2-acre lot for future multifamily development. The PBD standards provide flexibility to lot standards for lot sizes, setbacks and promotes a greater diversity of home sizes and styles along with increased infrastructure efficiency consistent with the Urban Cluster Residential zone (UCR) within. The Plat PBD includes 52 lots for a mix of attached and detached single family housing types (27 townhouses, 7 cottages, 18 traditional single family detached lots and a clubhouse), integrated tract for up to 276 multi-family units per KCC 17.470, and up to 40 future units clustered on approximately 32.02 of development area. The balance of 32.36 acres includes wetlands, streams and critical area buffers to remain as open space pursuant to KCC Chapters 16.40 and 17.450, 19.200 and 19.300. North Perry Avenue Water District water main and a 24" Kitsap County sewer force main located within utility easements extending's north-south through the site following the alignment of the vacated County Road between Paulson Rd and Waaga Way. Critical Areas: The following project documents include Area 2 Plat/PBD: The Minder Critical Area Assessment Royal Valley Connector Plan dated December 28, 2022, and Royal Valley Plat Final Mitigation Plan, dated February 07, 2022, Multi-phased Mitigation Plan, February 25, 2025, and Royal Valley Plat Wetland J Buffer Enhancement West – Amendment Royal Valley Preliminary Plat, dated March 05, 2025 (includes Wetland J relocated enhancement area), addresses critical areas by inventorying and implements mitigation measures for Area 2 Plat /PBD and associated access with Hearthstone Rd NE. The project assessment/Mitigation Master Plan identifies ten wetlands and four streams Crouch Creek, Royal Valley Creek, Insanity Lake/Creek (Type F streams) and an un-named Type N stream, with Crouch Creek within the Steel Creek watershed. The wetlands vary from slope to depressional, Category III and IV complexes. One wetland, Wetland D, is Category III, less than one thousand square feet in area and exempt from buffer provisions. The Type N stream involves a replacement and upgrade of a culvert and a rip rap desperation for a stormwater outfall. Temporary impacts are unavoidable for grading and alignment of the road and stormwater pipe. Direct impact is 4,935 sf, for roadbed and 42 for rip rap. Temporary impacts are unavoidable and buffers will be restored to current grass coverage. Temporary stream and wetland buffer impacts total 6,275 sq ft. The relocated wetland buffer enhancement area is equal to approximately 1.25 acres. The Insanity Lake Creek Buffer impact is 37,690 sf and associated buffer enhancement area is 54,039 sf. The applicant applied for a Hydraulics Project Approval (HPA 2024-6-223+01) for a stream crossing requiring the removal of an 18" and replacement of a culvert crossing the public connector road to accommodate traffic for the proposed Preliminary Plat/PBD Area 2 and 1000 Gluds Pond Apartments. Pursuant to KCC 19.300.315.D and the HPA requirements the culvert must not exceed 100', gradient must not exceed 2.18% and on-site mitigation for construction impacts shall include 7,608 sf of native plants and trees along the stream buffer. The project site is located within the retail water service area for North Perry Avenue Water District and located within a Critical Aquifer recharge area, 5-year Wellhead travel zone for a Group A Water system. The County and Washington State Department of Health, Drinking Water has reviewed the water system plan for consistency with RCW 57.16.010, WAC 246-290-108, dated 10/24/2022. Transportation: Traffic analysis and mitigation for Royal Valley has previously been coordinated pursuant to Intersection Control Evaluation, dated 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding for Royal Valley & 1000 NE Gluds Pond Rd NE Traffic Impact Mitigation (MOU), dated October 2022, with coordination between the adjacent property owners, WSDOT, and Kitsap County. The County and State analyzed accumulative traffic impacts and proposed mitigation associated with the Royal Valley and 1000/Gluds Pond Apartments projects, per Traffic Impact Analysis by SCJ Alliance, dated September 2024 and January 2024. The Preliminary Plat/PBD will receive access by the Royal Valley connector road with reopening NE Glud's Pond Street as a one-way access to SR-303 and access from SR-303 constructed for Royal Valley Preliminary Plat Area/Phase 1. The connector road design was coordinated through Memorandum of Understanding for Traffic Mitigation Coordination between the above property owners, WSDOT, and Kitsap County. The buildout in the Royal Valley Development Area 2 Preliminary Plat/PBD, the eastbound traffic would be routed through NE Gluds Pond to Brownsville Highway rather than a turnaround maneuver through the Central Valley SR-303 Interchange. This phase Construct connector road segment per designed MOU to improve full unrestricted access connection between Royal Valley Rd NE and NE Gluds Pond St. development. The applicant estimates the revised Plat/PBD residential unit changes to the unit count is expected to result in a net reduction in traffic for each development, with a total reduction of 71 trips during the PM peak hour. While the overall unit count increases slightly, the overall trips are projected to decrease due to single family homes generating more traffic than proposed multi-family units. WSDOT has reviewed the revised project trip generation update and supports findings regarding reducing traffic impacts. SEPA Determination: The lead agency for this proposal has determined that it does not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment. An environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required under RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c). This decision was made after reviewing a completed environmental checklist and other information on file with the lead agency for consistency with KCC Title 17 Zoning, Title 19 Critical Areas, Title 22 Shoreline Master Program and Title 12 Stormwater. This information is available to the public on request. Comment Period: This MDNS is issued after using the optional DNS process in WAC 197-11-355 and 197-11-340(2) using substantiative authority per KCC 18.04.200(D). A MDNS prompts a second 14-day comment period, and the lead agency will not act on this proposal for 14 days from the end of the comment period below. Comments may be submitted beginning March 16, 2026 and must be submitted no later than: March 30, 2026, at 11:59pm. COMMENTS: 1. The SEPA comment period previously occurred concurrently with the Notice of Application dated January 31, 2025. The SEPA comment period was 14 days from the date of public notice. 2. The Department received comments from interest parties and State agencies such as Washington Department of Transportation and Washington Department of Ecology, Suquamish Tribe, Jerry Van Fossen, Brenda Campbell, during the 14-day review period. We received public comments from interested parties from David Leviton, John Bachner, Eleanor Wheeler, James Wheeler, Phil Wheeler Sabrina Riffle, Teresa Messing, Mandy Oens, Kathy Meysenburg, Micah Stephenson, John Adair, Cassie O'Hara, Tricia Delapaz, Betsy Carmona, Ronald and Cathy Reese, and Debbie Christman. The Department received public comments on the updated request for the increase of units for single-family homes and proposal related to impacts to groundwater resources, traffic safety, traffic impacts to existing traffic volumes on SR-303, traffic safety ingress and egress to Brownsville Highway, support for increased density and affordable housing, lack of planning by WSDOT to address traffic problems, merging lane is needed on Central Valley Rd NE, project is close to the Cascadia faultline, project impacts rural character, to address accumulative traffic impacts associated with new developments within the corridor and protection of wildlife corridors. Conditions: 1. Royal Valley Area 2 Preliminary Plat/PBD and Connector has been reviewed pursuant to KCC Title 12 Stormwater and KCC Title 19 Critical Areas Ordinance; 2. Project shall follow the recommendations in the Development Engineering Memo, dated January 26, 2026, for stormwater quantity control, quality treatment, and erosion and sedimentation control. Critical Areas 3. The proposal is required to be consistent with requirements critical buffers outlined in KCC Chapters 19.200, KCC 19.300 and KCC 19.700 of the Critical Areas Ordinance; 4. A conceptual mitigation plan applies wetland buffer averaging as well as buffer enhancement to a degraded area on-site within Couch Creek Watershed. The details and recommendations of the mitigation actions are provided in the Final Royal Valley Plat Mitigation Plan to support development plans consistent with KCC Title 19.200 and KCC 19.300. The project proposes redevelopment of a stormwater pond known as Insanity Lake and applies an exemption criterion pursuant to Kitsap County Code 19.100.125(E) as normal and routine maintenance or repair of existing utility structures. Redevelopment includes mitigation to the receiving water through restoration of channel morphology, installation of habitat elements, and buffer enhancement to the ponds overflow termed Insanity Lake Creek; 5. The project was reviewed for consistency KCC 19.400 Geologic Hazardous Areas, and the site is identified as containing High Erosion Hazard Areas per 19.400.415 and Land Slide Hazard Areas per 19.400.425 mostly in creek ravines, and Seismic Hazard Areas across the site per KCC 19.400.430 prone to liquefaction. Transportation 6. To address potential preliminary plat traffic impacts, the applicant must construct traffic mitigation measures agreed upon by WSDOT, Kitsap County and applicant identified in the titled: Memorandum of Understanding Royal Valley& 1000 NE Gluds Pond Street Traffic Impact Mitigation Coordination, dated October 11, 2022. The improvements include constructing a new public connector road access (Hearthstone Rd NE) across Royal Valley and 1000 Gluds Pond property with intersection improvements on NE Waaga Way (SR-303) and Brownsville Highway NE CRITICAL AREA MITIGATION The following critical area mitigation measures are required pursuant to KCC Title 19 Critical Areas, Comprehensive Plan Environmental Policy 17 and 18: 7. The mitigation plan must be implemented per the submitted Royal Valley Area 2 Preliminary Plat/PBD to include critical area buffer restoration and replacement as proposed by the applicant; 8. All impact areas to wetland and stream buffers will require monitoring through the Royal Valley Preliminary Plat/PBD per the Final Royal Valley Plat Mitigation Plan; 9. The SDAP L-SUB shall include the culvert replacement, required mitigation area, plant schedule, a monitoring plan KCC 19.700.715 and 720, with estimates for bonding, and a timetable for reporting performance of monitoring activities annually for a 5-year period, unless prescribed longer by US Army Corps per letter, dated November 24, 2024; 10. All buffer enhancement areas associated with Insanity Lake/Creek and Crouch Creek shall follow the above planting plan that includes monitoring for up to 5 years with a maintenance bond via submittal of a monitoring permit; 11. The project is subject to the conditions of the Geotechnical Report associated with this permit and on file at the Department of Community Development. The report is dated July 20, 2020, and exceeds 5 years per KCC19.700.705. Submit an updated geotechnical engineering report for the SDAP LSUB; 12. All other SEPA mitigation measures and Hearing Examiner conditions remain in effect unless otherwise modified in writing. The Applicant shall continue to comply with all other required transportation mitigation measures. TRANSPORTATION MITIGATION Traffic mitigation is required as specified in the January 26, 2026, memorandum from Kitsap County Development Engineering. Consistent with Comprehensive Plan, Transportation Policy 9 and Kitsap County Road Standards, Conditions 11 through 17, as listed below are required pursuant to SEPA Substantive Authority (KCC 18.04.200.D): 13. The SEPA MDNS dated August 26, 2021, and as amended May 29, 2024, included traffic mitigation measures associated with the westbound off-ramp of SR-303 and Central Valley Rd NE. Mitigation specifically required restriping the existing northbound left-turn lane serving Bucklin Court as a two-way left-turn lane; 14. Subsequent coordination with WSDOT and Kitsap County Public Works Traffic Operations has confirmed that due to existing site conditions, the restriping is no longer necessary to mitigate project impacts. WSDOT has indicated it has no objection to eliminating this requirement, and County Traffic Operations has no objection; 15. The removal of the restriping requirement does not result in new probable significant adverse environmental impacts and remains within the range of impacts previously analyzed in the MDNS. All other SEPA mitigation measures and Hearing Examiner conditions remain in full force and effect unless otherwise modified in writing. The Applicant shall continue to comply with all other required transportation mitigation measures; 16. Frontage improvements required under associated Phase 1 SDAP 22-01031 shall be completed, inspected and accepted prior to occupancy of any lots created under this Royal Valley Phase 2 project; 17. Before SDAP acceptance, the applicant shall submit a set of drawings to the Washington State Department of Transportation for review. The applicant shall notify Development Services and Engineering in writing when the plans have been submitted to WSDOT. Development Engineering shall coordinate with WSDOT to determine if WSDOT has any comments to the submittal, but responsibility for obtaining concurrence from WSDOT lies with the property owner; 18. Final plan approval will require documentation of Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) approval for impacts to and any required mitigation on State rights of way. WSDOT Olympic region contact is Andy Larson, (360) 357-2600. Responsible Official: Scott Diener Kitsap County Department of Community Development 614 Division Street Port Orchard, WA 98366 (360) 337-5777 Signature: /s/ Jeff Smith, 03/16/2026 Appeal: You may appeal this determination to the Dept. of Community Development, at 619 Division Street, Port Orchard WA 98366, no later than March 30, 2026 in writing, with payment of the appeal fee. Payment information and current DCD Fee schedule can be found at: https://www.kitsap.gov/dcd/Pages/Payments.aspx.You should be prepared to make specific factual objections. March 16 2026 LBKS0478636