Editorial: If development occurs, it must be responsible

The City of Gig Harbor scored a victory last week when a hearing examiner ruled against a rezone application for the Ancich property. Pioneer and Stinson, LLC, had asked for the undeveloped area at Grandview Street and Pioneer Way to be changed to allow potential buildings at the location to reach a height of 35 feet. But the application was denied, keeping the current height restriction at 16 feet.

There are a couple of early conclusions we can draw from this result, which may be appealed by the developer.

First, city officials — including most of the seven-member council and Mayor Chuck Hunter — are continuing to push for the preservation of the downtown area, as well as the view basin, especially at the area known as the “Gateway to Gig Harbor.” Neighbors also are winning the fight to keep a proposed mixed-use building with office space, condos and underground parking away from the top of the hill.

Secondly, the application nearly satisfied the requirements for a rezone — something for which the developers have been asking for quite some time.

What’s interesting about last week’s decision is that the application passed three of four tests — including whether or not it obstructs a view of the bay, Mount Rainier or the Narrows. It doesn’t, according to the hearing examiner. Instead, the reason the application was denied is because it exceeds the 5 percent grade toward the basin that would be required for buildings to exceed a certain height.

Petty reason? Maybe. Maybe not. The hearing examiner followed the letter of the law rather than interpreting it to fit one argument or the other. Simply put, if the land can’t support buildings up to 35 feet, then the buildings shouldn’t be built.

That’s not to say the developers in this case are trying to make Gig Harbor the next Bellevue or Mercer Island. Pioneer and Stinson, LLC, has made a number of concessions — including leaving more green space than would be required by law — to fit its mixed-use proposal into city regulations. It just hasn’t been enough.

It’s the city council’s job to protect the best interests of the citizens, and the loudest voices are pleading with the council to fight this potential development with everything it has. If the council doesn’t change, Gig Harbor’s direction won’t likely change.

On the single issue of this potential development, the council is trying to act responsibly by attempting to maintain the look and feel of the harbor. But on the whole, there’s a greater fear of precedent here. A fear that, if this one mixed-use development is ever allowed to proceed, then the domino effect that could follow would ruin the quaint feel of the downtown basin.

That’s the rub: The difficult balance between growth and responsibility.

We can’t be afraid of change; in fact, in some cases, we should embrace it. But do the potential benefits outweigh the costs? Gig Harbor has changed significantly in the past 25 years, especially in its three distinct parts of town — downtown, the west side and north. There are pluses and minuses to them all: We shop at specialty shops, Costco and Uptown Gig Harbor, and we love being a more self-sustained community, but, at one time or another, we gave up open space to obtain those commodities. Are we any worse off now than we were when those changes started to occur?

We think Gig Harbor is a great place to live, work and raise a family. And while the downtown basin may not be the best place for a development of this sort, we do think it fits in somewhere — as long as it’s done responsibly.