Community Environment Government

City nears finish line on ordinance updates that would increase environmental protections

The city of Gig Harbor is close to finalizing proposed updates to its critical areas code ordinance. 

The ordinance governs the protection of environmentally sensitive areas, including wetlands, streams and fish and wildlife habitats. The city council will hold a public hearing on June 22 before voting on the updates.

The state requires local jurisdictions to update their critical areas ordinances every decade to comply with the best available science. The proposed updates to Gig Harbor’s critical areas code include increasing buffer areas — places where development is prohibited —  around critical areas.

The city Planning Commission recommended minimal changes to the code update.

Balancing protection vs. housing needs

The proposed changes to buffer zones will affect about 380 acres of land, Eric Baker, the city’s community development director, told the city council on June 11.

The buffer zones limit development on private land. Meanwhile, the city also faces a parallel mandate to overhaul its development codes to meet housing needs.

The code update will mostly impact large, single-family developments, Baker said. Denser development, including multifamily and single-family attached homes, have more flexibility.

“I know that it’s kind of awkward that we’re not handling these both at the same time, that one decision comes before the other,” he said of working on the critical areas update before nailing down the city’s housing mandates. “The downside of both of these [is that they] are required by the same statute, and the critical areas regulations have been vetted heavily, and not the following best available science — even if you’re in an urban area — comes with some pretty significant penalties.”

Exceptions

The code update does not necessarily halt all building within a buffer zone. Variances and reasonable-use exceptions are among the tools to get around buffers.

“Can you build exactly what your heart desires? Probably not,” Baker said. “But if you have a residential piece of property, you should have the expectation that for a reasonable-use exception, you can build a residential building on that lot. It probably is not going to be 4,200 square feet, but it would be something. Both variances and reasonable-use exceptions are approved through the hearing examiner.”

The city will hold another public hearing about the critical areas code ordinance update at its June 22 meeting. Depending on public comment, the council may or may not vote on the ordinance update.