Community Government

FISH returns Hunt Street property to city for possible affordable housing

The Gig Harbor City Council unanimously voted on Monday, April 27, to accept an offer from Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank to give back land the city turned over to the food bank in 2018.

FISH told the city it wanted to return the land at the east end of Hunt Street earlier this year. Both parties hoped it could be used for affordable housing. 

The land sat undeveloped for years. FISH intended to build a permanent home there, but instead built a new facility on Burnham Drive.

This land on Hunt Street, adjacent to Highway 16, is a possible future site of affordable housing. Photo by Vince Dice

Possible miscommunication

The FISH board sent the city a proposal in March, but it didn’t mention affordable housing. Instead, it stated that any building on the property had to set aside at least 3,000 square feet of space that could be leased to the food bank.

FISH President Ron Coen characterized this as an option, not a requirement. At a city council study session meeting in March, he said his board had agreed to turn over the property for affordable housing and indicated there must have been some sort of mistake.

“I heard rumors of that [the 3,000 square feet requirement] before, and I don’t know where it came from,” Coen said at the meeting.

Mayor Mary Barber suggested that their lawyers discuss the details. She also directly asked: “Is it your intention that the property be used for affordable housing?”

Coen said yes.

No requirement

It appears that lawyers ironed out whatever issue existed, since FISH signed the property over to the city on April 15. The agreement includes no requirement for the city to set aside land for FISH.

Gig Harbor communications manager Lori Maricle declined to comment on whether the city and food bank had experienced some sort of miscommunication.

“What is most important for people to understand is the long-term benefit to the community if this land is used to expand local housing options,” Barber said in an emailed statement. “We are committed to exploring all avenues that will help our community build more diverse housing in Gig Harbor.”

FISH’s communications coordinator, Sue John, said “this is exactly what we want to have happen—we want to return the land to the city, which gave it to us.”