Friday, September 16, 2016

15 downtown changes to be discussed. Did you know about this?






15 Downtown Zoning Changes to Be Discussed on Oct 3.



            The public is urged to attend the Gig Harbor City Council Work Session on October 3, 5:30 pm. On the agenda will be the further destruction of our small, historic, charming and unique downtown.

            The Mayor and City Council set up meetings to discuss rezoning downtown. The public was barred from attending. No recordings were made of these meetings. 

            The Planning Department specifically invited some groups to comment. Everyday citizens did not receive the same invitation.


            The results of these secret meetings were 15 trumped up zoning changes for downtown Gig Harbor. One zoning change would eliminate singe family zoning in ALL of downtown.

            Another of these trumped up changes would rezone the Haub property. This property is home to our Gig Harbor Heron colony.

            The Haubs want to sell this property. This civic-minded family ignored an offer from Citizens for Gig Harbor (C4GH) and a land conservancy group to purchase this land to be used as a park.

The Cheney family wants to purchase this property but the current zoning does not bring in enough money for them. They want to clear cut the trees on this property, and add 35-40 residential units.     

The Cheneys generously donated $25,000.00 to the mayor’s favorite non-profit. If the council votes for the zoning change, the Cheneys might donate the big Egg building to the city. Sea level rise and the Shore Line Master Plan could cause this building to sink or not be viable. What a deal!


            The Haubs and Cheneys want you to know there are no herons. In their greed to pave paradise and develop, the Haubs and Cheneys hired a drilling company. That drilling produced high squeals of noises for over an hour. Herons cannot survive this type of noise and fly away.

            The video of this noise activity brought the state biologist to Gig Harbor. She told the Haubs and Cheneys to stop harassing our herons. The biologist will return in April to see if the city symbol of Gig Harbor, herons, are able to re-establish their heronry. 
 270 + new added cars

            This Cheney property could add 70 cars downtown. Add another 200 from the Judson redevelopment for a gridlocking number of 270 additional vehicles at Judson/Soundview/Harborview Drives. 

            The Olympic Property Group (OPG), developers of Judson Street, said there will be no grocery stores on Judson. OPG told Gig Harbor citizens to get rid of their cars.

            Pierce County told Gig Harbor there will be no new buses if citizens get rid of their cars.

            The Olympic Property Group, Haubs and Cheneys do not live in the area they intend to destroy.  The folks who live in Gig Harbor neighborhoods deserve more say than developers who are here to suck it dry.

            Oct 3, 5:30 pm.  Your presence speaks volumes.
 

            The City Council is waiting to hear if you want downtown protected. 
You can send 1 email to Molly Towslee and she will forward to the entire council.
Email them today at  towsleem@cityofgigharbor.net

Here are the proposed zoning changes for downtown Gig Harbor.
 

• Amend the zoning of 5 parcels adjacent to the intersection of Rosedale and Stinson from Single Family
Residential (R-1) and Residential and Business (RB-1) to Residential and Business (RB-2) or Multiple
Family Residential (R-3).
Amend the zoning of 2 parcels adjacent to the intersection and between Harborview Drive and
Soundview Drive from the existing RB-1 designation to RB-2 or R-3.   (This is the Heron property.)
• Amend the zoning of 1 parcel adjacent to the North-East intersection of Peacock Hill and North
Harborview Drive from the existing RB-1 designation to General Business (B-2).
• Extend the Waterfront Residential (WR) zoning designation to include 7 parcels south of Vernhardson
Street located at the mouth of the Bay, which are currently zoned R-1.
• Amend the definition of Marina in GHMC 17.04 to specifically permit marine fueling services.
• For the Downtown Business (DB), RB-2 and B-2 zoning districts in The Harbor, permit all residential
uses outright if located over a primary first floor non-residential use.
• In The Harbor area, permit outright Accessory Apartments, maintaining the current design and
performance standards.
• Permit outright Home Occupation in the DB Zone.
• Consider conditional or outright permitted Museums in the DB Zone.
• Permit outright Taverns in the DB Zone.
• Permit outright Community Recreation Hall in the DB Zone, consider conditional or outright allowance of
Community Recreation Hall for the Waterfront
Millville (WM) and Waterfront Commercial (WC)
zones.
• Permit outright Bed and Breakfasts (lodging
level 1) in the WR Zone.
• Conditionally permit commercial parking lots in
the DB Zone.
• Prohibit or only conditionally permit Automotive
Fuel Dispensing Facilities in the DB Zone.
• Consider conditional or outright permitted use of
Commercial Entertainment (theaters, concert
halls) in the Waterfront Commercial Zone.
         




Mayor and Council email addresses:
 guernseyj@cityofgigharbor.net
 paynet@cityofgigharbor.net
 kadzikp@cityofgigharbor.net
 perrowm@cityofgigharbor.net
 malichk@cityofgigharbor.net 
EkbergS@cityofgigharbor.net
 lovrovichr@cityofgigharbor.net 
arbenzc@cityofgigharbor.net 
  Mayor and 4 council seats up for re-election in 2017!
 Citizens for the Preservation of Gig Harbor  LLC C4GH: Citizens committed to making Gig Harbor better than we found it! JOIN US!! Sign up for email:  Give us a "like" on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Citizens4GigHarbor