Gig Harbor: Affordable Housing and Streamlined Growth
The Gig Harbor Planning Department has initiated a state-mandated overhaul of its development code, a significant action poised to redefine the city's future growth trajectory, particularly in the realm of housing affordability and efficient land use. Presented by Development Director Eric Baker and Senior Planner Jeremy Hammar, these proposed changes are far more than technical revisions; they represent a fundamental shift in philosophy designed to encourage the development community to create affordable and diverse housing options within city limits while maintaining essential environmental and aesthetic safeguards. The public will have a critical opportunity to shape the draft changes through workshops and outreach concluding at the end of 2025, with final City Council consideration anticipated for early 2026.
A central impact of this overhaul is the introduction of policies explicitly targeting "missing middle housing." By adjusting zoning laws, particularly in R-2 Medium-Density zones, the city intends to adopt minimum and maximum density ranges. This change is designed to discourage under-building on serviced land and enable the construction of formats like duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhouses, and cottage housing at neighborhood-compatible heights. This initiative directly addresses the scarcity of affordable housing for urban families who cannot meet the financial benchmarks for single-family homes, potentially fostering more diverse, walkable, mixed-income neighborhoods. Furthermore, the code proposes "gentle-density" additions to R-1 single-family zones, such as corner-lot duplexes and cottage housing, which will increase the housing supply without altering the neighborhood's scale or base density.
Crucially, the department is actively removing "artificial barriers" to development. A key component is the effort to streamline processes and definitions. By consolidating confusing and inconsistent terms, such as those referencing "hard surface coverage" or "impervious coverage," the department seeks to make the code easier for developers, planners, and the public to navigate. This clarity is expected to reduce project delays and costs, making the path to obtaining permits more predictable and encouraging faster construction starts. The revision also shifts away from subjective design criteria like "stately appearance" to objective standards, ensuring greater predictability in the approval process. A dedicated focus on modernizing regulations for elder housing and accessory dwelling units (ADUs), including addressing restrictive setbacks, aims to unlock these much-needed housing types.
Beyond residential development, the proposal anticipates a future where commercial centers are utilized more intensively. Suggested updates allow for mixed-use commercial and residential structures in key areas—Gig Harbor North, Downtown, Kimball, and Uptown. This policy encourages the redevelopment of underutilized properties, like single-story commercial buildings, into multi-story structures with ground-floor commerce and upper-level residences. This maximizes existing infrastructure and concentrates higher-intensity zones in designated centers, thus preserving the aesthetic character of the waterfront and the Height Restriction Area.
However, these progressive changes are tempered by a commitment to environmental stewardship. Baker emphasized that even with new flexibility, stringent safeguards will be in place to protect waterways, roads, and sewerage facilities. The city maintains the power to impose an emergency ordinance or a moratorium to halt development if projects are found to be grossly out of compliance, ensuring that future growth is controlled and sustainable. Ultimately, while acknowledging that no single set of changes will solve the affordable housing crisis, the code overhaul represents a necessary "leap of faith" in the development community, setting the stage for a more flexible, efficient, and diverse landscape of future residential and commercial growth in Gig Harbor.