Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor | Appalled by proposed developments
We live between the Narrows Bridge and Olympic Dr. We were appalled to learn Pierce County and the City of Gig Harbor were not coordinating the impacts of the Trailside Apartments and North Annex developments only 1/10th of a mile from the roundabouts at Burnham/Borgen Blvd, surrounding St. Anthony’s emergency entrances. (3-story apartments, 228 units, and businesses OR additional apartments built by Rush Residential)
We were horrified when the City replied, “Other projects within the City limits are [also] proposed, several along Canterwood Blvd between Baker Way and the Borgen roundabouts.” All in the same ½ mile stretch of road! Rush is also building Burnham Heights (56 units) across 16 there.
Worse, the City considers hospitals “heavy commercial areas/corridors” and stated “Gig Harbor will be no different” than other hospital areas in Tacoma and Kitsap. Is that what we want?
A Rush Traffic Impact Study, otherwise considered insufficient, suggested 7.32 daily car trips/unit. Trailside, North Annex and Burnham Heights, not including “other projects”, will add 2000+ cars entering Highway 16 and the roundabouts daily at Burnham. The offramp already backs up to 16 at peak times.
Noteworthy: the Gig Harbor 2024 Comprehensive Plan update, adopted in April 2025, relies on outdated 2017 traffic data from the Washington DOT. Zoning was changed in 2024 on behalf of Rush.
There are no emergency lanes, no plans to add lanes, wildlife corridors, highway or infrastructure capacity. There was no public comment period prior to permitting Trailside. Only two weeks for North Annex last November. Xfinity laid conduit in December 2025 on Canterwood. Clearly there’s no way to widen the road to St. Anthony now. The only option is to scale back development via SEPA review (see below).
Gig Harbor has nearly two decades to meet 2044 targets: 567 low income, 107 middle income multi-family units, and 218 SFH. We do not need them all built immediately. We do not need them crammed into the hospital area where infrastructure was intended to support just 21 SFH (later altered to 51 townhomes). Those 51 townhomes could meet almost half the 107-unit target with far less impact on the hospital area.
The Judson Subarea Plan expects multifamily high-rise density in the harbor, too. We don’t know how many apartments will be permitted. Do planners remember water rationing in 2023 due to drought advisories in Pierce County, e-coli alerts on Peacock Hill in 2024, snow?
There is already intense congestion on the Olympic and Wollochet onramps, offramps, and surrounding streets. Turn lanes on Wollochet (due summer 2026) won’t help Highway 16, which slows to a crawl every day back onto the Narrows Bridge like it was 23 years ago.
Critically — these streets are nearly impassable for emergency vehicles now. We witnessed this first-hand! Even in winter, parking is tough downtown, at Costco, in the harbor, and then add holidays and summer tourism.
The City said it “grows by 10,000 people during regular working hours impacting traffic at key intersections.” Yet, these developments add thousands more travelers without sufficient upgrades. They expect new residents to work nearby (bike, walk) to minimize traffic, about as realistic as using 2017 traffic data in 2026.
A big difference for new residents — 21-51 homes vs. a high-density plan — is pride of ownership, longevity, building equity, stability, and fostering the values and ambiance of a community. Low-income housing doesn’t have to be an overstressed 3-story “debt trap” with lights, noise and traffic impacting everyone in the area. Rentals don’t provide long-term quality lifestyle opportunities, but they are unlimited profit centers for their owners.
The City and County are also considering tax exemptions for opportunistic developers without reasonable fees or timelines for infrastructure improvements, while they destroy value for current tax-paying residents.
GHMC Chapter 19.10 and others require concurrency BEFORE permits are issued. Meaning, infrastructure comes first, the people living here come first, along with wildlife corridors and greenspace imperatives: impacts to public health, safety, emergency response, water supply, fire flow, wastewater, storm water, open space, wetlands/streams, fish and wildlife habitat, aquifer recharge, flood hazards, site standards (lighting, noise, transitions to neighboring homes and sensitive edges), school bus routes, etc.
SEPA reviews can be utilized to modify or deny construction proposals to avoid, reduce, or compensate for problematic impacts like those above.
SEPA is due right now so please SHARE YOUR CONCERNS with: [email protected], who is responsible for ensuring an accurate SEPA review at the biggest development, Trailside Apartments, and future developments nearby. Ask him to scale back and postpone growth to minimize impacts on infrastructure in the hospital area.
For North Annex (also the hospital area) and Judson downtown, a City Planner can be reached at (253) 851-8136, or contact [email protected].
Stephanie and David Clenney
Gig Harbor
