Millville businesses say they want to keep area’s charm, too

Gig Harbor’s historic Millville district is almost something out of a postcard. Historic homes facing the harbor, filled with sailboats and the smell of pizza from nearby restaurants mixes with the saltwater. Residents and tourists alike walk up and down Harborview Drive, many with a dog in tow, while they shop at local stores and enjoy the occasional sunny day.

It’s this picturesque scene that has stirred some debate between Millville residents, city council members and business owners who all have a different idea on how businesses in the mixed-use district of Millville should be conducted. While business owners and residents alike don’t see restaurants in the area as a cause for concern, other residents are afraid future business will bring more traffic, limit parking and create noise late into the night. This debate has sparked Gig Harbor City Council member Jeni Woock to look into possibly bringing back mandatory closing times for future businesses in the Millville district.

A RESIDENT SPEAKS OUT FOR HOMEOWNERS RIGHTS

During the Jan. 29 city council meeting, Millville resident Jackie Olivier spoke to the newly elected council, asking for them to reconsider an ordinance passed in 2015 that extended the types of restaurants allowed in the district, the type of alcoholic beverages that could be served and restaurant closing times.

Olivier described Millville as “a little hamlet” in an interview with The Peninsula Gateway. She said it changed seven years ago when restaurants pushed to have extended closing times.

“It used to be they had to close at 7 and they couldn’t serve beer and wine, it was a funny set of rules but it kept it quaint,” Olivier said. “They came around with a petition to have a closing time at 9 p.m. and to serve beer and wine. And I thought, ‘Sure, why not? Nine o’clock is a decent hour.’ But then it went from there to changing zoning to having a no-closing time.”

Olivier said ever since restaurants have been allowed to serve alcohol and stay open later, parking, traffic and noise issues have increased. She said herself, along with other residents, have had issues with people who have been drinking, walking up and down their sidewalks near their homes.

During the Jan. 29 meeting, Olivier suggested bringing back a 10 p.m. hard closing time for restaurants. This idea peaked the interest of Woock.

Woock also was against the change in ordinance in 2011 and 2015, which extended operating hours and restaurant types in Millville.

“I love living in town. I love looking out the window and seeing people walking their dogs,” Olivier said. “And I just want a little quiet time after 10 p.m. at night. I think everyone deserves that.”

THE ORDINANCES

In 2011, an ordinance was passed by the Gig Harbor City Council to allow different types of restaurants to operate within the historic Millville district.

Ordinance No. 1213 states that type 1 restaurants, which are mostly coffee shops and delis, would be allowed to sell beer and wine within mixed-use districts. It extended mandatory closing times from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

In 2015, a second ordinance, Ordinance No. 1312, was passed that allows type two and three restaurants, as defined by chapter 17.04.702, to operate in the area with a conditional-use permit. The conditional uses of these larger types of restaurants include restricting the type of equipment the restaurant is allowed, which includes no deep-fat fryers; allowing only beer and wine to be sold; limiting the size of the bar within the restaurant and eliminating mandatory closing times, which were replaced with a mandatory last seating of 9:30 p.m.

According to the city of Gig Harbor’s website, the Millville district sits between Rosedale Street towards Stinson Avenue and includes Harborview Drive, Ross Avenue, Novak Street and Dorotich Street.

The support for these ordinance changes were largely from a mix of business owners and Millville residents, including the Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance.

John Moist, general manager at Arabella’s Landing Marina, worked closely with his boss, Stan Stearns, who Moist said owns “everything from Dorotich Street down to the Old Ross House.” Moist said Stearns and his company have been working to relocate the popular Brix 25 restaurant to the area.

“We own the Netshed No. 9 restaurant building,” Moist said. “We also own the old Ship-to-Shore building, which will become Brix 25. So we’ve got a number of buildings.”

Moist said the ordinances the alliance pushed for and were passed put all of the residents’ concerns into consideration and so far restaurants in the area have been more than compliant.

“I don’t think the council is going to be able to change the ordinance,” Moist said. “They are rattling swords.”

During a Jan. 31 city council work session, Woock brought up her idea to bring back mandatory closing times to the Millville district. Woock, who is a member of the city’s Planning and Building Committee, discussed the idea with city staff. Woock said later in an interview with the Gateway, she has learned that it would be nearly impossible to retroactively change the ordinance for any current businesses.

“The original intent of Waterfront Millville was to be busy in the day and to be quiet at night because of the residential area,” Woock said. “Then Stan Stearns wanted to create a personal zoning amendment that would allow restaurants level two and three in Millville. Restaurants in two and three would allow full bars and deep fat-fryers. No one really wanted to smell Burger King all day. So one gentleman created and applied for a personal zoning change. So they have a last seating time of 9:30, but you can go in at 9:29, stay, drink and have a party.”

Woock said going forward, she is looking to give back to residents who want quiet nights. The restaurants currently operating in Millville would be exempt from any future ordinance that decrees a hard closing time.

“Brix 25 would not have a closing hour,” Woock said. “There isn’t anything that can be done about the restaurants that are there now.”

Woock said if the Planning and Building Committee decides they are interested in any future mandatory closing hours, she will work with the committee to bring that in front of the city council. The committee’s next meeting is March 5.

“We were trying to get the restaurants there now, closed at 10 p.m.,” Woock said. “So I don’t know what would happen going forward.”

IS THERE A PROBLEM?

According to records from the Gig Harbor Police Department, in the past three years there have been only two disturbance calls in reference to Millville. Neither calls were related specifically to any restaurants in the Millville area. One call was in reference to a loud car parked in front of what is now Millville Pizza. The second call was for a verbal argument, but when police arrived at the scene, the two suspects arguing had dispersed.

“We haven’t had a lot of disturbance calls in the downtown area,” Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey said. “But we haven’t had a lot of disturbance calls before a larger restaurant.”

Busey said he has worked nights for over 10 years, and he hasn’t seen a large number of calls since the rezoning in 2011 and 2015. Busey said if residents are worried about noise and seeing more issues, they are not calling the police.

The biggest change to the area since the 2015 ordinance is the opening of Millville Pizza, a small shop owned by John Ross and his wife, Alyssa. John Ross is a fifth-generation Gig Harbor resident whose family built a historic home in Millville, known as the “Old Ross House.”

“I love this area,” he said. “I have strong roots here.”

Millville Pizza opened their doors in December 2016. The one-room restaurant has a small beer and wine bar with an open-air kitchen. Alyssa Ross said they have always complied with the current ordinance to not seat any customers past 9:30 p.m.

“We rarely have to stay open past 10 p.m.,” Alyssa Ross said. “Only five percent of our sales in our first year closed after 10 p.m. We are usually our busiest around 8 p.m. and then we really slow down.”

John Ross said his family understands that Gig Harbor, and especially Millville, is a small community and they try to be respectful to their neighbors.

“We talk with our neighbors regularly,” John Ross said. “We don’t promote drinking. It’s not in our style to let people overindulge. We want to maintain the charm without overrunning the area.”

Other Millville residents are happy to see the new changes in their neighborhood and in support of seeing even more restaurants and commerce enter the waterfront district.

Lee Smith and his wife Pamela Peterson have been residents in the Millville district for over six years and are members of the Downtown Gig Harbor Waterfront Alliance. A consultant recommended last year to the alliance in order to keep bringing tourism and commerce to the area, the waterfront could benefit from having more restaurants such as Millville Pizza and Brix 25, they said.

“I am in favor of it,” Smith said. “Millville is a small section. And if you live there, you know that the area is dead by 8 p.m. anyways. There is no issues and it’s vital with keeping commerce going.”

Smith and Peterson said the opposition to the later seating and new business is “totally unfair” and they are afraid a few loud voices may change what they love about their neighborhood.

“I love being able to walk from my house down to get a drink or enjoy some food,” Peterson said. “Being in the waterfront is the heart of Gig Harbor.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2018 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Millville businesses say they want to keep area’s charm, too."