Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor | City should adopt nautical measurements in its zoning ordinance
Gig Harbor is the maritime city. We say it in our plans, celebrate it in our public spaces and rely on it as a central part of our civic identity. That identity should be reflected not only in signs, festivals, and waterfront improvements, but also in the basic rules that shape the city.
It is time for the city to adopt nautical measurements for dimensional standards in its zoning ordinance.
This is not simply a symbolic issue. The zoning ordinance is, in places, badly out of date. In some zoning districts, it still regulates pay phones, a use category that suggests the regulations have not fully made peace with the arrival of the smartphone. Against that backdrop, continuing to measure a maritime city exclusively in terrestrial units feels like another missed opportunity.
Setbacks, lot widths, building heights, buffers and sign dimensions could be expressed through measurements more appropriate to a harbor community, including fathoms, cables, and nautical miles where appropriate.
Gig Harbor already regulates design, scale, views, landscaping, signs, parking, and land use in the name of community character. Measurement is no less fundamental. If the city’s regulations are meant to reflect local identity, then they should speak in the language of the harbor.
Larry Yates
Gig Harbor