UPDATE: Should Pierce County Allow Bigger, Taller Construction in the Purdy Area?

UPDATE

Gig Harbor Planning Director just left a voicemail that the City Council did approve the resolution. It's now going to the Pierce County Council. I'll have more on this story later.

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ORIGINAL

It's understandable why Gig Harbor maintains strict construction rules for its historic downtown.

After all, the heart of the city includes residential neighborhoods and several small historic buildings - a characteristic in which the Martime City prides itself. Any new construction should generally follow suit, Gig Harbor's planning rules stipulate.

But should those same rules on downtown construction apply to new construction in another part of the community near the water - the unincorporated portion of Pierce County known as the Purdy Commerical Area?

That's the question city leaders are trying to answer, as city staff is prosposing supporting a Pierce County resolution to allow for buildings up to 35 feet tall and 10,000 square feet in size - twice the size of what is currently allowed in Purdy.

The Gig Harbor City Council held a public hearing on the proposed resolution to support Pierce County's proposed height and size increase Monday night.

The Purdy Commerical Area is located in unincorporated Pierce County, but it's also in the city's urban growth area, so Gig Harbor does have a say in how it's developed.

The city had orignally designated the commercial property next to Henderson Bay and Burley Lagoon as “Waterfront Commerical,” which meant it had similar regulations to downtown: buildings couldn't be taller than 16 feet nor larger than 5,000 square feet in size.

But last year, Pierce County asked the city to support changing the height and size limits. City Planning Director Jennifer Kester wrote in her report that an "applicant had expressed interest in constructing a two-story commercial building in Purdy, and that two-story structure would not be permitted under the existing height and gross floor area limitation for the Purdy area."

She didn't give any further details on the applicant's proposal.

Kester added: "The factors that make it appropriate for a 16-foot height limit and 6,000-square-foot gross-floor-area limit within the Waterfront Commercial District in the City of Gig Harbor do not appear to be present within the commercial area of Purdy."

The Gig Harbor City Council is scheduled to vote on the resolution later this month.

So we ask you, Patch users, should buildings in Purdy's commerical area have to follow the same construction rules as Downtown Gig Harbor? Tell us in the comments below.

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