Gig Harbor planning staff outlines work plan after council adopts comprehensive plan; council reduced density in one area

Eric Baker, community development director for the city of Gig Harbor, told the Planning Commission on April 17 that the City Council adopted the city’s comprehensive plan on Monday and made a small number of targeted changes to the Planning Commission’s recommendations.

Baker said the most significant change was to the area the presentation identified as the Henderson Platte area on the west side of the state highway. "Instead of being 32 dwelling units an acre, it will be zone 6 to 12 dwelling units an acre," Baker said. He said that change effectively shifts likely future development on that site toward "missing middle" housing such as townhomes or small cottage clusters rather than higher-density multifamily.

The change followed public concern about connectivity and access across the highway and review during the council deliberations, Baker said. He also said the council redesignated the Village at Harbor Hill area north of Swiftwater Elementary School from Planned Community Development Business Park to Planned Community Development Commercial to allow a residential component consistent with an existing development agreement that anticipates multifamily and some affordable housing.

Why it matters: Baker framed the actions and the work plan as part of a multi-year effort to meet the jurisdiction’s housing goals and to manage regional demand for services that draw people into Gig Harbor — the hospital, YMCA and a regional Costco. He said the plan is intended to increase housing diversity, especially for people earning around 80 percent of area…