Under the current Port Blakely plan, about 140 acres are to beleft as natural forest. Roughly 200 acres are earmarked forbusiness development and about 100 acres have been reserved for1,200 homes. Construction was expected to begin in a few years.

But earlier this month, the Issaquah-based company chose not toget the ball rolling with a required transportation corridor study.The study was to have determined whether the primary access shouldbe around the south or north end of Kitsap Lake. The results ofthat research were expected to determine where ground breakingbegins.

This latest setback comes after Port Blakely Communities hadbeen successful in court, seeing legal challenges dismissed. TheSuquamish Tribe and Kitsap Citizens for Rural Preservation hadattempted to block the development and challenged the annexation ofthe property, citing environmental concerns.