Business Community Government

Proposed changes to density rules get pushback at Planning Commission meeting

Gig Harbor residents voiced significant dissent about proposed changes to city rules governing housing density and dimensions at an Aug. 28 Planning Commission meeting.

Their concerns ranged from the loss of “rural charm” and unworkable code changes to inadequate parking and lack of school capacity. Only one member of the public appeared to support the proposed changes, saying they are necessary.

Unaffordable housing

The city is updating its housing code to comply with a Washington state mandate requiring jurisdictions to accommodate more affordable and diverse housing options. Those include options such as cottage housing, triplexes and duplexes.

In addition to overhauling its housing code, the city council recently indicated support for a tax exemption to encourage developers to build more multifamily housing.

The city needs to build 892 units of housing by 2044. Most of those units need to be affordable to a range of income levels, including low-and very low-income families.

But Gig Harbor’s increasingly expensive housing stock, combined with surging area median income, has made the city unaffordable — including for people who work here or who already live here, such as elders looking to downsize and young people who want to stay here.

Community Development Director Eric Baker told the Planning Commission that the average home price in Gig Harbor has soared upwards of $900,000, and average apartment rents run between $2,000-$2,400 per month. Three-bedroom rentals average more than $3,000 per month.

Proposed changes

Baker briefly discussed a suite of proposed changes to city housing code. These changes are meant to incentivize developers to build a variety of housing options, and include updates to density and height restrictions.

For instance, existing city code states that developers can build to a maximum of 35 feet in height, with lower numbers in the historic preservation district. To build the required amount of housing, Baker said, the city must adjust its allowed heights. These adjustments will not affect the historic preservation district.

He also said that the city is trying to encourage property owners to build “something other than the unaffordable single-family home. We’re not requiring it, but we are trying to encourage it by removing impediments to those other housing types.”

The city will also impose new requirements for hardscapes, which include buildings, sidewalks, driveways and patios. Some hardscapes are pervious surfaces, meaning they are porous and rainwater can soak through, while others are impervious surfaces, meaning rainwater cannot soak through. The city will also make changes to  setbacks, which are the minimum distances allowed between structures and property lines.

Less housing, more traffic

The limited amount of affordable housing is an “impediment” to the city’s workforce and negatively impacts the city’s economic development, Baker said. He noted that the lack of affordable housing also contributes to increased traffic in the area.

“Every time I talk to a new business or a business looking to expand in town, their big question is, ‘Where are my workers going to live?’ And my general answer has to be, ‘Probably not in town,’ which means they’re going to commute from some distance, which is one of the problems and part of our transportation issue,” Baker explained.

Many people who shop, work, or get services in the city “cannot afford to live here,” Baker pointed out. That creates traffic on Highway 16 that “bleeds over into our local roads.”

This includes city staff: 96% of the city’s staff live outside Gig Harbor.

State penalties

The state has no choice but to encourage more diverse housing options. The state will penalize any jurisdiction it deems noncompliant, Baker said.

“We are at risk of being noncompliant. ‘Noncompliant’ is never a good thing to be called,” Baker said.

If the state finds the city noncompliant, he said, it could deem Gig Harbor ineligible for state funding. Over the last five years, Gig Harbor has relied on the state for $16-$20 million in funding for projects, including park redesigns and transportation improvements.

From paper to real life

Several Gig Harbor residents showed up to the meeting to protest the changes.

Karen McDonell said she grew up in Gig Harbor and it is “heartbreaking to see all these changes.” 

“My dad was a fisherman … and so, for me, the thing that just tugs at my heart is that you’re going in the direction away from historic buildings. And I think that’s really something that means a lot to Gig Harbor residents, especially down there in and around the bay,” she said. “What I saw on the presentation was a bunch of modern buildings that don’t seem to fit there. … I just want the historic part of Gig Harbor to be the same.”

Darrin Filand, who runs an architecture firm and chairs the city’s Design Review Board, asked the city to consider its current code requirements, as it is in the process of updating them. He highlighted that many homes in the Millville neighborhood and downtown core areas already exceed certain limitations the city has in place. He asked the city to consider what is “achievable” in real life versus on paper.

Nicole Bennett, a real estate agent, said she worries both about losing “the charm, scale, and historic character that make Gig Harbor special” and the flexibility to build homes to “a reasonable, appropriately scaled, functional” size that are still compliant with city code. She specifically pointed to the city’s proposed changes to impervious surfaces, and said that they weren’t going to create homes that fit the character of the city.

Instead, she said that the city should consider “a narrowly tailored solution” that involves changing certain impervious surface percentages. She also supported the required 12-foot porch setback, because “a welcoming front porch closer to the street is part of the traditional neighborhood character we’re trying to preserve. It creates a connection to the street and helps a new home feel like it belongs to Gig Harbor.”

“Again, we’re not asking to change the character of Gig Harbor. We’re asking for the ability to build within that character. We want a home that fits the neighborhood, respects its history, and meets the city’s requirements,” she said.

Needed changes

Michael, who lives in the Finholm District, briefly thanked city staff for all their hard work. He said he has been to “a lot” of code update meetings.

“These … recommendations — they meet all the criteria the state is asking us to meet. And yet they really balance the needs of this community that has really needed to go through change for years,” he said. “I know individuals that tried to build [accessory dwelling units] here years ago. They couldn’t even do that. So, we’re making progress. … I am in full support of what [staff] have in its current format.”