Affordable Housing

As Mayor of Bremerton I was elected to make positive changes for Bremerton. One of the issues I heard from the community during the campaign was that citizens were concerned about the increasing costs of housing for all income levels in our community. The laws of supply and demand dictate that when housing demand outpaces supply prices go up and for many, regardless of income, housing becomes less and less affordable. As a local government, Bremerton can affect the supply by supporting initiatives that create more housing. In addition, as local leaders we can make sure that there are programs and funding strategies in place to support our most vulnerable population and ensure that there are measures taken to support the creation and maintenance of low income housing, which is often referred to as “deeply affordable housing.”

I have made it one of my goals this year to address affordable housing and have given direction to my administration to implement policies and funding strategies that lead to the creation of more housing for all income levels in the City. I also will be proposing funding in my 2019 budget for programs that support deeply affordable housing. I believe that the initiatives I have outlined below will increase economic development and produce a variety of housing types for our community.

I am pleased to share with you an outline of my initiatives and work in progress, and I’d like to note that some of these documents are not perfect. I’m sharing these materials early in the process in the hope that you will review them and provide me with feedback that will help us to collaborate and positively shape the future of Bremerton. I anticipate making frequent updates to this webpage to share ideas and documents related to my initiatives so please check back often. I look forward to hearing from you, please call me at 360-473-5266 or email greg.wheeler@ci.bremerton.wa.us.


Greg Wheeler
Mayor, City of Bremerton

Housing & Development Initiatives in Bremerton



Housing Services


Action Items:

  • Fund the City’s Weatherization and Minor Home Repair program (carried out by Kitsap Community Resources) with funding outside of CDBG Block Grant consistent with the Project Review Committee recommendation to City Council in 2017 (in development, proposal to be made as part of Mayor Wheeler’s 2019 Budget). 
  • Direct the next CDBG Consolidated Plan (2021 to 2025) to focus on Affordable Housing Citywide. The current Consolidated Plan (2016-2020) focuses on economic development in the target area of Downtown.
  • Work with Bremerton Housing Authority (BHA) to seek funding for site cleanup and the creation of permanent supportive housing (in development).
  • Support Bremerton Housing Authority (BHA) financially to carry out their mission to provide deeply affordable housing to Bremerton’s very low income population (in development, proposal to be made as part of Mayor Wheeler’s 2019 Budget). 

Comprehensive Plan, Zoning & Development  Regulations
to Encourage the Creation of Housing


Action Items:

  • Amend MFTE program for “Bremerton Affordable.” Mayor Wheeler proposed changes for the City Council’s consideration. Amendments were proposed for consideration at a City Council public hearing on June 20, 2018. 
  • Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments which includes amendments to encourage the creation of more affordable housing:
    • Modification of the “Bonus Amenity” table in the Downtown Subarea Plan to link building heights with the creation of affordable housing.
    • Modification of the parking standards to incentivize the creation of affordable housing. 
  • Infill Toolkit - Report & Work Plan for the creation of infill housing. This is a plan that is currently in development, but a draft outline of the plan can be viewed here. 
  • Implement the City’s EPA Brownfields Grant for the revitalization of Callow Avenue and Anderson Cove. 
  • Eastside Employment Center – prepare economic analysis, community visioning and subarea plan with Planned Action EIS. The City received $270,000 from the State Legislature for this initiative is the grant document submittal process. More information will be posted to the City’s website when the grant is finalized.
  • Wheaton Way / State Route 303 Corridor Study. The City is embarking on a comprehensive study of the SR 303 (Warren/Wheaton) corridor. For more details please visit the project webpage.
  • Work with Developers to implement the new Federal Opportunity Zone designation made by Governor Inslee. 

Building Codes


Action Items:

  • Explore options for amendments to Bremerton’s Building Code to allow cross-laminated timber which will reduce the cost of construction (in development).