Gig Harbor’s city council is set to take its first vote today on sweeping development-code changes that would allow duplexes on nearly any residential lot in the city, part of a broader push to chip away at a housing market where the median home price is approaching $1 million. The proposed updates would also reduce minimum lot sizes in some areas, shrink certain building setbacks, and raise maximum building heights in targeted commercial, business and residential-business center zones.
The first reading of the ordinance and a public hearing were scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today, according to The News Tribune, with a second reading set for October 26. Gig Harbor Community Development Director Eric Baker has told the paper the council could adopt the changes by supermajority vote today or wait for the later reading. Baker, who presented the recommendations to the council on October 1 after city staff and planning commission volunteers crafted them, described the changes as “raising the ceiling of what is possible on the property,” while stressing that existing single-family building options remain and owners may simply choose to build more if they wish.
What the New Rules Would Actually Allow
Under the proposal, duplexes would be permitted on any lot that meets zoning, building and fire requirements, and single-family homes could use new development standards on lots smaller than 8,000 square feet. The code would also allow small increases to allowable hard-surface and impervious areas, while buildings taller than 35 feet would need to sit at least 75 feet from the property line. The proposed height increases would not apply to existing historic district areas, and the updated development standards would leave environmental and design requirements for historic districts, protected wetlands and streams untouched.
Whether any of this translates into new construction, though, will come down to individual property owners weighing market conditions, construction costs and utility availability, among other factors, per the News Tribune’s reporting. That reality sits against a local housing market where prices have stayed stubbornly high: greater Gig Harbor’s median home sale price reached $939,000 in September, close to its historical peak of $950,000 set in July 2025 and a dramatic climb from under $330,000 in 2012, as Hoodline has previously reported. Census Bureau data covering 2020 through 2024 pegs the city’s median owner-occupied home value at $767,100 and median gross monthly rent at $2,301.
State Law Forces the City’s Hand
Gig Harbor’s zoning overhaul traces back to a 2025 update of its comprehensive plan meant to accommodate projected population growth through 2044. Under growth allocations tied to the state Growth Management Act, Pierce County has assigned Gig Harbor a target of 892 new housing units and 2,747 additional jobs between 2020 and 2044, according to the Puget Sound Regional Council, with more than half of those units required to be affordable to low- and moderate-income households…