Design review board approves site exceptions, asks architects to simplify design for Gig Harbor Fire Station 51

The City of Gig Harbor Design Review Board on Jan. 23 approved exceptions that will allow the Gig Harbor Fire District to move forward with permitting for a replacement fire station at 6711 Kimball Drive, but the board continued final design review and instructed the applicant to simplify the front elevation, clarify a pedestrian entry on Kimball and refine landscaping and public plaza details.

The board’s action clears two site-based exceptions—one for front-setback placement of the primary structure and one for driveway widths—so staff can draft a notice of recommendation. Board members also voted to continue the design-review application and asked the project team to return with refined elevations and a clearer architectural expression that better fits the Kimball streetscape.

Board members said the proposed 22,000-square-foot, two-story station largely uses the existing footprint and is functionally arranged to support emergency response, including larger apparatus bays and internal parking and circulation for emergency vehicles. Staff told the board the applicant requested exceptions from municipal code sections cited in the staff report (listed below) and had submitted narratives and exhibits to support the special-circumstance findings the code requires.

City staff told members the applicant is seeking: an exception to code section 17 99 300 B…