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Burnham Ridge, another big subdivision, proposed between Highway 16 and Cushman Trail
Like pollen to honeybees, the forestland stretching between Highway 16 and the Cushman Trail in northwestern Gig Harbor continues to attract developers.
Burnham Ridge is the latest subdivision proposed there. The project would create 42 new single-family building lots on six parcels totaling 15.25 acres, just south of the existing North Creek neighborhood. The site borders the freeway to the west, while its easternmost edge runs along the Cushman Trail.
Burnham Ridge is still at an early stage. Its developers met with city officials last week to discuss their plans and gather information that will help in future permit filings.
Both the 77-home Harbor Winds project, and the proposed 42-home Burnham Ridge development on land owned by Charles Borquist, sit next to Highway 16 to the west and the Cushman Trail to the east. Borquist’s Burnham Ridge site, outlined in yellow on this map, is at the most preliminary stage. About one-half mile north on Burnham Drive, on the land outlined in blue, Rush Residential has broken ground on its own 20-home development called Burnham Ridge. The two Burnham ridge projects are not related. Map by Tony De Paul, GIS specialist, Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer.
Harbor Winds and Burnham Ridge
If Burnham Ridge’s location sounds familiar, you’ve probably heard about Harbor Winds. The latter is a proposed development of 77 single-family lots on 25.5 acres east of Highway 16, near 93rd Street and 49th Street Court.
Harbor Winds borders Burnham Ridge’s southern edge. Of the two proposed new neighborhoods, Harbor Winds has progressed further: Its developer filed a preliminary plat application with the city of Gig Harbor in July. The city solicited public comment on Harbor Winds and plans to schedule a public hearing.
Burnham Ridge, in contrast, held its pre-application conference with city officials last Wednesday. A video recording of that meeting is available on the Gig Harbor public portal. Burnham Ridge has not yet filed a preliminary plat application.
Paperwork filed for the conference identifies Burnham Ridge’s landowner as Charles Borquist. A resident of Gig Harbor’s Midway neighborhood, Borquist also works as a financial advisor. Property records show he assembled the land for Burnham Ridge between 2004 and 2006, paying a total of $926,500 for the six parcels.
In 2015, Apex Engineering of Tacoma filed with the city of Gig Harbor to subdivide the land into 54 single-family lots. That project was also called Burnham Ridge. However, a project manager with Apex withdrew the permit applications in September 2016. Borquist did not respond to requests for comment on either the earlier Burnham Ridge proposal or the current one.
Project’s backers
Puyallup-based engineering firm CES NW Inc. represents the new Burnham Ridge project. It has filed the applications, created conceptual drawings and advocated for the development at the pre-application conference. CES NW appears to play the same role in the Harbor Winds project. In fact, Harbor Winds is in the filenames of some of documents filed by the firm in support of Burnham Ridge, presumably by mistake.
Last week’s conference introduced a new potential Burnham Ridge advocate. Greg Francis, principal of GF Development LLC, joined the event remotely and helped question city engineers and planners about how best to move the project forward.
According to its website, GF Development “acquires, entitles, and repositions residential land across Idaho, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and California.”
“The work is focused and narrow by design: take undervalued or underutilized parcels through rezoning, subdivision, infrastructure, and approvals, and deliver finished lots to regional and national homebuilders.”
In a phone interview, Francis confirmed that his company holds an option to purchase the Burnham Ridge land from Borquist.
Burnham Ridge’s 42 building lots occupy the northwest corner of its 15.25-acre, boomerang-shaped site in this conceptual drawing prepared by CES NW Inc. The development’s proposed entry from Prospect Place in the adjoining North Creek neighborhood may not be feasible because of the steeply sloping terrain, according to city officials who commented at the project’s Sept. 16 pre-application conference.
Multiple Burnham Ridges
The forested area east of Highway 16 as it approaches Gig Harbor North has bloomed with subdivisions that are completed, proposed and under construction. Running from south to north lie the Harbor Winds and Burnham Ridge proposed developments, both with freeway and Cushman Trail frontage. Next comes North Creek, a neighborhood of some 80 houses built in the early 2020s on steep hills backing up to the freeway.
Just north of there is … another project called Burnham Ridge? At 10118 Burnham Drive, Rush Residential has broken ground and is shaping the land for its Burnham Ridge development of 20 houses on just over 6 acres.
(How could two projects, by different developers and separated by less than a half mile, choose the same name? For one thing, the southerly Burnham Ridge is in the city of Gig Harbor, while Rush’s Burnham Ridge sits on a swath of unincorporated Pierce County. Otherwise, planning officials would likely have flagged the duplicate names. In this article, unless otherwise noted, “Burnham Ridge” refers to the 42-lot proposal on Borquist’s land.)
Development along Burnham Drive has stirred opposition. When the city asked for public comment on Harbor Winds, more than 80 residents responded, overwhelmingly against the project. Most objected to increased traffic on surrounding roads. (The 77-home Harbor Winds’ traffic study found it would add 887 weekday daily trips to nearby roads in 2031. Burnham Ridge, with 42 new homes, would require such a study later.)
Hoping to exploit new code
At the pre-application conference last week, Burnham Ridge proponents got some good news, and some bad.
“We are aware that the preliminary site plan [for Burnham Ridge] does not meet current zoning requirements,” according to CES NW’s narrative. But it noted Gig Harbor is updating its zoning to facilitate higher residential density called for in the 2024 Gig Harbor Comprehensive Plan.
“We believe the revised zoning code currently being updated will allow for smaller lots and reduced building setbacks,” the narrative states. “It is our intent to submit the project under the new code.”
At the conference, Nestor Guevara, senior planner, confirmed the zoning code changes would soon go before the Gig Harbor City Council. The council could adopt the changes by the end of October. However, he noted, the new code is “not a finished product” and could still change.
Much of the conference focused on engineering challenges posed by Burnham Ridge’s terrain. CES NW’s narrative said the property’s steep slopes would make it difficult to meet a city requirement that road grades not exceed 15%. “The project will need roadway grades to be 19% – 20% in some areas.”
Access
CES NW’s drawing shows access to the Burnham Ridge site through an extension of Prospect Place, a street in the North Creek neighborhood that currently dead-ends.
Steve Demmer, senior engineer for Public Works, informed CES NW principal Craig Deaver during the conference that access via Prospect Place “doesn’t appear to be feasible” due to the steep slope.
David Boyer, city fire marshal and assistant building official, told Deaver that 15% grade is a hard limit for roads. Emergency vehicles struggle to scale steeper slopes. “We don’t entertain any more than that, even as a variance.”
The dead-end of Prospect Place in the North Creek neighborhood works well for shooting hoops. The Burnham Ridge proposal, presented to city of Gig Harbor officials, broached the idea of continuing this road into the new development immediately south of North Creek. Photo by Ted Kenney
The parties then discussed providing access to Burnham Ridge by extending 96th Street up a gravel slope that runs along the southern edge of North Creek.
Deaver said the slope there is 22% and noted the challenge of cutting it down to 15% while managing sewer, water and power lines there and avoiding wetland. “We’re going to have roadway grades that are cutting through, in and adjacent to wetlands. Is this the [the city’s] preference?” he asked.
Demmer responded, “We don’t have a preference. Right now we just want you to meet our public works standards.”
“So if you present a design that’s meeting out public works standards, it would be our preference.”
Another potential Burnham Ridge access route would extend 96th Street uphill along the path of this dirt road. But engineers would have to reduce the slope’s 22% grade to 15% – the maximum allowed by the city – or less. The house shown in the photo is in North Creek, a neighborhood north of the Burnham Ridge’s 15.25 acre site. Photo by Ted Kenney