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 median income, and to focus growth near transit and activity centers so more people who work in Gig Harbor can also live there.

Staff presented a phased 2025–26 schedule of follow-up work the commission will be asked to review or be briefed on, including:

- Zoning map update (to align zoning with the newly adopted land-use map; staff noted the usual six-month window after plan adoption to adopt zoning changes).

- Development regulations updates in phases rather than a single large code package, with accessory dwelling unit rules expected to be adopted next month and other housing regulations to follow.

- Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) update using best available science; Baker said the city’s CAO has not been substantially updated in more than 10 years and that a technical consultant will likely be needed. He warned that CAO changes can affect both new development and some existing properties (for example, expanded stream buffers could affect decks or accessory structures).

- Climate-change element and resiliency work; a draft of that element was scheduled to be available by June 15, and the city planned an open house on April 21 to present the element and take technical questions from consultants.

- Downtown parking study, with data collection through the summer and recommendations expected in October–November; the study will analyze both public and private parking and occupancy by subarea (Finholm, Millville, waterfront) to inform near-term policy options.

- Judson subarea planning (Peninsula Shopping Center corridor) through next fall, potential public–private partnership opportunities for parking and redevelopment.

- Park zoning to align city-owned parks and park design standards with appropriate zones, plus sign and landscaping code clarifications.

- Urban forestry/tree canopy work and examination of the state’s proposed wildland-urban interface requirements, which may require changes to building materials and defensible-space rules; staff said there are potential tensions between canopy goals and wildfire-defensive standards.

Baker said staff intends to phase technical conversations so the public and commissioners are not asked to digest too many major code changes at once. He acknowledged staffing constraints but said new hires were about to arrive: a principal planner starting next week, an associate planner the week after, and two additional postings in recruitment.

Commissioners pressed staff on timing and public engagement. Several members said the multi-year housing and code work had felt rushed during the comprehensive-plan process and asked for more deliberative working sessions. Baker said staff could schedule additional planning-commission work sessions and would try to space major items to allow robust public review. He also said the city will provide links to the specific council text changes to help the commission see wording edits (for example, changes from "shall" to "may" or other action-word revisions).

Public comment: A resident who identified themselves during the public-comment period thanked the commission for its work on the comprehensive plan after the council adoption, saying, "I am just here tonight to thank each of you for all of your work on the Planning Commission." Baker reminded commissioners that several changes the council made were relatively small and that staff would circulate the redlines.

Formal actions taken at the meeting were procedural: the commission approved the March minutes by voice vote, reappointed the current chair to serve the remainder of their term, nominated and approved Mark Burkhart to continue as vice chair, and adjourned. There were no land-use decisions or code adoptions at this meeting.

What to watch next: staff expects accessory dwelling unit regulations to come before the commission the next month; the climate element draft and an open house were scheduled in the weeks after this meeting; the downtown parking study will collect data during summer and report in the fall; and the CAO update — which staff said will require technical review and public outreach — is projected for a deeper review in 2026. Baker also said the Crescent Creek Park property was recently annexed into the city on Monday and that future annexation and interlocal revenue discussions with Pierce County could be part of the 2025–27 work program.

Sources and limits: The article is based on the Planning Commission meeting presentation and discussion on April 17 and on staff statements in that meeting. Where the transcript or staff said details were not yet finalized (for example, consultant scopes, exact CAO buffer distances, or final zoning text), the article notes those items as pending and does not assume outcomes.