1.1 INITIALIZATION OF ILLAHEE PLAN
The Illahee
Community Plan, hereafter referred to as the Plan, was developed in response to
relatively recent community improvements in the area (a new culvert to enhance
salmon runs and the acquiring of nearly 500 acres for the Illahee Preserve) and
an awakened community spirit. The community was first settled in 1885 and,
though relatively small in size, has maintained its identity and character
since that time. Ninety years ago,
in 1916, it officially chartered as a recognized community in Kitsap County.
The Illahee
area was previously overlooked or ignored in the Comprehensive Plan of 1998 and
found itself included as part of the urban growth area between Bremerton and
the Silverdale area. The blanket
zoning for higher density housing did not consider the history of the Illahee
Community or the semi-rural setting of this unique area.
With the
advent of the Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan 2006 Update community members
came together to request the previous oversight be corrected and the Illahee
Community be recognized in accordance with Growth Management Act
requirements. The community
resolution requesting this action is noted in Appendix A.
The
community planning process for the Illahee Plan began too late for the county
to support with planning support personnel so the resulting plan is truly a
community grassroots planning effort completed by local Illahee citizens. Kitsap County provided map and document
support, attended a community meeting, and provided support when asked, but the
impetus and follow-through is purely community support and involvement.
With the
volume of community response it was necessary to develop a Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) sheet, see Appendix B, to try and answer the questions being
asked. Additionally, a
questionnaire, see Appendix C, was developed and distributed within the
community to ensure all the citizens had an opportunity to be heard.
In order
that writers of the Plan Ònot reinvent the wheelÓ community members used the
Manchester Community Plan as a template.
The Manchester Plan was a relatively recent Plan approved by the
Planning Commission and the County Commissioners in 2003.
To develop
this Plan, community members were asked in the questionnaire (Appendix C) if
they would consider being members of a Citizens Advisory Group (CAG). This resulted in a response of over 70
volunteers, see Appendix D. Using
questionnaire comments and the Manchester template, the Plan outline was
prepared and individuals and groups prepared their assigned chapters or
sections of the Plan. The Plan
will go through three stages of development; initial research, preparation of
initial draft, and incorporation of comments and corrections into a final
draft, before official submittal to Kitsap County.
Special
care was taken to make sure the Plan meets the communityÕs needs in accordance
with the goals of the Growth Management Act which are included as Appendix
E. Appendix E functions in
some ways like an Executive Summary of IllaheeÕs compliance with the Growth
Management ActÕs planning goals, and provides the justification for its
adoption by the Planning Commission and County Commissioners.
1.2 HISTORY OF ILLAHEE
The first
people to spend time in Illahee were Indians, probably Suquamish. Remains of a campground were found
indicating they likely came often to hunt and dig for clams. It is from the Suquamish that we get
the name ÒIllaheeÓ, which has several meanings including Òa place of restÓ,
which has been adopted for these lands.
The first
white person known to settle here was William Christianson, who took up the
first homestead at the center of Illahee, in 1885. He did not Òprove upÓ in the allotted time, meaning he did
not complete the homesteading requirements on time, so he relinquished the
property to his nephew, Samuel Anderson, who proved up the property in
1895. The area was near where the
community dock is located.
Anderson brought cattle here which were sold for food to logging camps
and sawmills. He sold the property
in 1903 when he returned to Sweden, but returned later to buy the property now
known as Rue Villa, the area between Illahee State Park and the mouth of
Illahee Creek.
Around the
turn of the century the area began to attract attention as a resort, and the
Old Homestead Inn was built as a place for people to board. This substantial structure is still
with us, having been made a home by the Palbitska family and several others. It
has been worked over many times, and now is a residence at 5--- Illahee
Road. Another historical landmark
building was the Bergh Ranch, which was built in 1898. It was a two story structure surrounded
by a large orchard. It later
became the Post Office for the area when mail was brought in by boat. It was torn down to build what are now
residences at 5940 & 5944 Illahee Road. This area is often referred to as the Bergh Platt.
In 1903 the
Palbitska family had moved to the University Point area and then in 1903
established a ranch in the Derek Drive area. Oscar Applegren, who had a ranch on the top of the hill in
the Sunset area, built a path to the PalbitskaÕs to have access to boat
transportation. It was Oscar
Applegren, with blasting powder supplied by the county, who established the
first road into the area from Gilberton.
In the
years families grew, and the need for a school developed. At first family members rowed across
the water to Crystal Springs on Bainbridge Island. Then a school was built on Ocean View in 1907, and it was in
use until 1929. There were from 9
to 30 children in attendance for those years. There is a list of eleven
teachers who taught there. Then when roads became more passable, a school bus
was used, driven by Hugh Kane.
Later, large buses were able to come to Illahee, and the children
entered the Sheridan system in Bremerton.
It was Ole
Hanson of Seattle who had the Illahee Community Dock built in 1910 for his Land
Development Company. Though
upgraded several times over the last hundred years it remains essentially as
designed.
A vigorous
sales folder was put out by Ole Hanson in the year 1916. It shows water and forest views and
three fine houses then in existence.
This resulted in increased building and the beginning of a flourishing
resort and household area. There
were no roads yet, and access to the area was by water only. Then came the
depression of 1929. Quite a number of out-of-work owners of fine Seattle houses
left their Seattle residences to live in their vacation homes in Illahee. The record shows that some of them
worked here for a wage of 5 to 25 cents an hour. Many homes were also abandoned, as well as the beautiful community
club house next to the Illahee community dock, now a residence at 5--- Illahee
Road. Some of these homes we not
reoccupied until the outbreak of World War II.
An early
covenant agreement was established for Illahee. In it is a specification that no businesses except for one
store would be allowed. The first
store was across the street from the Illahee dock and was replaced in the early
1970Õs by the new Illahee store (which is currently closed). A second store run by Hugh Kane started
out as a car repair garage and evolved into a small grocery store as well. Hugh also repaired and drove the
Illahee/Gilberton busses. One of
the buses was also used as the school bus for Manette and later Sheridan
school. Several years after Mr.
KaneÕs death, his store was torn down.
His store was located across the road from the residence at 5321 Illahee
Road.
In the
earliest years, Illahee was accessible only by water. Citizens rowed to Bremerton, or to Bainbridge Island. Later, two power boats were used, which
arrived each day, the Vashonia and the Chickaree. Subsequently many more small boats were added, and together
they came to be called the Mosquito Fleet. The cost for getting to Bremerton or
to Seattle was small, and these boats were the main means of travel for a
considerable time.
Eventually
local people began to push the county for a better road (than down Fir Drive)
for vehicles to get up the very steep and muddy Illahee slope and into
Bremerton. The road went past the
Avery and Byer homesteads and was considered barely useable in the 1930Õs. County Commissioner Rue had Illahee
Road built in its present location in 1938/9. The Mosquito Fleet vanished, and cars went up the hill at
last. It was Commissioner Rue who
built a remarkable villa for his residence and thus the name Rue Villa was
established and is still used to describe the surrounding area.
At the
bottom of the hill there is still one of the first and finest houses built in
the Illahee area. It was built
about 1900 by Major Henry LaMotte, who was a medical officer with Theodore
Roosevelt and the Rough Riders in the Spanish American War. Dr. Ray Schutt bought the house in
1929. A fine log cabin was also
built on the property in the 1930Õs by a grateful patient. Dr. Schutt also owned the adjacent
beach, and had a small dam installed upstream along Illahee Creek where he
raised trout. The address of the LaMotte/Schutt house is 5401 Illahee Road.
It was
found that there was not enough water for all of these people, and soon local
people worked out a good water supply from the pools on the upper hill and
Illahee Creek. Then this developed
problems, since the pipes would dislocate and stop the supply. When this happened, the houses uphill
would lose water first, an occupant would call local help to go out and do
repairs. Of other utilities, the
telephone system was about the first to be put in and be reliable. Electricity came next, but sometimes
those poles would go down and other troubles would stop the supply of current.
Finally Puget Power came in and managed the product effectively.
Illahee
State Park was established in 19??
At the
center of the community, which extended from Illahee State Park to University
Point, is a tall flagpole, with a sign announcing ÒIllahee Community since
l916Ó The flagpole and the community dock is one of the distinguishing
landmarks of the area today. It
was in 1922 that the Port of Illahee was established, primarily to maintain the
dock. The Port continues to this
day to maintain the dock, along with many other areas of involvement within the
Port District boundaries. The dock
area is a constant attraction, particularly during the warm weather, for
residents to enjoy the water
One of the
biggest excitements Illahee had was the arrival of the U.S. Navy in 1941 for
work on degaussing. Because of the
availability here of sheltered deep water, the Naval Degaussing Station from
San Diego set up a station. They
initially moored a small deperming (degaussing) barge at the end of the dock in
April 1941 with a crew of 4 men.
Later they placed six mooring buoys out in the middle of the bay. The purpose was to reduce the permanent
magnetism of the steel of a ship in order to protect it from magnetic mine
explosives.
At the
outbreak of World War II, the Navy took control of the community dock and
established a large presence in the community (3 large barges, many launches,
and two Coast Guard patrol boats were stationed here). One huge ship after another was degaussed
here. Each was wrapped by several thousand feet of electric cable as it floated
quietly amidst the buoys of Illahee.
These cables went down the side and many times around the hull making a
674-foot electromagnet near a big ship.
When the war ended the Navy left the community dock, but they did
continue to use the degaussing area at mid channel until the 1970Õs, at which
time the buoys were removed.
More
recently, a monumental step to preserving the natural features of this area was
the purchase of the remaining Department of Natural Resources (DNR) School
Trust lands by Kitsap County. This
purchase of 352 acres of forest lands and primary watershed in 2001 for use as
open space and parks was instrumental in preserving the natural resources of
the area. In 2003 the Illahee
Preserve was established, which not only included the old DNR acres, but also a
nearly like amount of private land.
The PreserveÕs land combined with the Illahee State Park land makes a
significant pen space and recreation greenbelt which will be lauded by future
generations as the surrounding area between Bremerton and Silverdale becomes
totally urban. It will
literally satisfy the meaning of the word ÒIllaheeÓ, as Òa place of restÓ.
For more
than a century, residents of Illahee have felt a sense of community. Often people would buy a house in the
area with the idea of moving to somewhere else later. Then they would find that the area was agreeable and unique,
the water and greenery admirable, and they would stay for years. Community
spirit is active and strong. There
have been many community groups in the history of Illahee with different
purposes, and all of them have been successful. And with this spirit of community Illahee will remain a
special place for residents and visitors for generations to come.
Figure 1.1
Mosquito Fleet Historical Monument at the Foot of Illahee Community Dock
1.3 VISION
FOR THE ILLAHEE COMMUNITY
The Illahee
Community Plan is a statement reflecting on the civic pride and community
involvement that has existed for over the past 120 plus years. There is a sense of accomplishment in
the community for all the current progress and happenings beginning with salmon
restoration projects (1994-98), a new culvert (1999), the recent establishment
of the Illahee Preserve (2003), and grants to improve conditions in the Illahee
Creek watershed (2005/6). And most
importantly, there is a real concern for the future of Illahee if local
citizens are not actively and materially involved in the planning process. This is an effort for the local
citizens to recognize what originally attracted them to the area, and what
keeps them here, and what they need to do to continue to make improvements to
further enhance the atmosphere and character of the area, to ensure it remains
the unique community they know and love.
When posed
with the question, ÒWhat would you like to see addressed in a community plan?Ó
residents envisioned a community centered around and amongst the abundance of
natural resources in the area, which included Illahee State Park, Illahee
Creek, and the Illahee Preserve, three miles of pristine waterfront, two major
docks, and much more. They wanted to strive to maintain the community charm and
quaintness that Illahee currently offers.
Residents wish to maintain the high quality of the natural
environment. Protection of park
areas, wetlands, streams and wildlife habitat is highly important along with
the need to maintain the connectedness and to accommodate reasonable growth in
the area. These visions and dreams can be accomplished by permitting growth in
those areas where infrastructure enhancements already exist and environmental
protections are insured. This also
means open space designations for the natural resources that need protection
and especially those already specified as park or preserve. It is this mix of land uses that makes
the Illahee area a unique blend of natural resources and open space surrounded
by semi-rural areas, urban areas, and a short perimeter commercial business
strip along a major highway.
Illahee is
an area that has been blessed with a diversity of resources, natural and
manmade, and the community desires a community plan that blends the best of
both of these worlds together into a place where we long to live with nature
and our fellow citizens.
1.4 PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION
(This section will be added after the draft Plan is reviewed by the CAG and the appropriate public meetings are held.)
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