Gig Harbor staff seek council sign‑off to pursue city boundary change for 30 Eighth Avenue roundabout

Gig Harbor city staff on April 17 sought council authorization for the mayor to negotiate a boundary‑adjustment agreement with Pierce County so the city can acquire right‑of‑way and build a planned roundabout at the intersection described in the presentation as 50 Sixth Street and 38 Avenue.

The request, presented by Stephanie Seibel of city staff, would move the city boundary to encompass the roundabout footprint before right‑of‑way acquisitions so the city can acquire property and perform later maintenance without separate county permits. Seibel told the council the change is intended to keep the project on schedule with current design and grant funding timelines.

Seibel said the boundary move is the “cleanest path forward” to allow acquisition of right‑of‑way on the west side of the intersection without involving the county directly. She described the procedural steps the city and county must follow: each jurisdiction would pass a resolution authorizing their executive to enter an agreement, the two sides would finalize a draft agreement as needed, and then both would adopt ordinances to effect the new boundary.

Council members asked staff to clarify near‑term costs and outreach. Council Member Henderson asked whether the boundary change costs the city; Seibel replied there is no immediate cost to the city for the boundary adjustment itself, and that acquisition and construction costs would come later. Council Member Luke asked whether neighbors were willing to sell; staff said the city had permission to survey one parcel but that some property owners previously opposed the roundabout and the city does not yet know current willingness to sell. Staff said if owners refuse, they would return to council to discuss alternate approaches to acquiring needed property.

The council’s discussion provided guidance to staff to proceed with negotiating the boundary‑adjustment agreement; the study session record does not show a formal ordinance or roll‑call vote adopting the boundary change during this meeting. Seibel and other staff indicated additional formal steps with the county and future council approvals (resolutions and ordinances) will be required before the boundary change and right‑of‑way acquisitions are complete.

Next steps: staff will continue negotiations with the county and pursue right‑of‑way acquisition work; formal county and city resolutions and subsequent ordinances will be required to finalize any boundary change and to place the new roundabout fully inside city limits.