Council backs staff recommendation to advance Peacock Hill half‑street improvements with 3‑foot planter

Gig Harbor city staff recommended and the council endorsed by consensus on April 17 advancing Option C — a continuous 3‑foot planter — for the Peacock Hill Half Street improvement project at the 30% design phase.

Public Works presenter Chloe Weiser reviewed three preliminary roadway profiles. Option A followed city standard with a 5‑foot planter and a 5½‑foot sidewalk, required replacing about 90 private trees, and had an estimated right‑of‑way acquisition cost of about $94,000 and an estimated retaining‑wall cost of about $300,000. Option B used a detached planter with some attached sidewalks, was estimated to require about 59 caliper inches of private tree removals (to be replaced with smaller trees), right‑of‑way acquisition of about $72,000 and retaining wall work about 550 linear feet with an estimated cost of $206,000. Option C proposed a continuous 3‑foot planter, would require replanting about seven private trees, had right‑of‑way estimated at about $72,000, and retaining‑wall length about 325 feet; staff told the council retaining‑wall cost for Option C would be roughly $100,000 less than Option B.

Weiser emphasized the designs are preliminary (30% design) and that figures and dimensions could change. Council members asked technical and safety questions: whether the planter can support street trees, how the corridor’s numerous private side streets affect sight distance, and whether the sidewalk width meets accessibility standards. Staff and the public works director said the city’s current public‑works standards discourage planting street trees in planters narrower than 5 feet because past experience produced unhealthy trees and damage to sidewalks and curbs; shrubs, ground cover or low hedges were presented as alternatives for a 3‑foot planter.

Public Works Director Langhill noted the city engineer can grant variances to public‑works standards, but the engineer must justify that a narrower sidewalk or other variance is “as safe or safer” than the current standard. Council members discussed seeking a variance to slightly narrow the sidewalk (for example, by 6 inches) to gain planter width; staff said any variance would require justification and likely a consultant analysis. Council members also discussed protective planting and low fences or cable barriers combined with hedges to give pedestrians additional separation from traffic.

On stormwater treatment, staff said the project triggers required treatment of roadway runoff and that designers will propose a treatment approach at later design stages; staff explained a true bioretention swale was not feasible in this corridor because required transition wings and slopes would consume the planter width and the project lacks existing drainage infrastructure to tie into without substantial additional construction. Weiser and other staff said the recommended sidewalk detail for future capital projects is ballasted (regular concrete surface with an underdrain/infiltration design), not pervious concrete, and that detail is being used on other recent city projects.

Staff’s recommendation to advance Option C carried council consensus in the study session; the record shows guidance to move forward to develop Option C further and to return with detailed design and any variance requests. The council did not adopt final design ordinances or a construction authorization at this meeting.