Gig Harbor imposes moratorium on Airbnb-style rentals. Here’s what that means

Aimed at controlling the growth of Airbnb-style rentals, Gig Harbor City Council passed an emergency ordinance recently that imposes a six-month moratorium on permits for short-term rental housing.

The ordinance was passed unanimously Sept. 27.

Technically, the ordinance declares a six-month moratorium on accepting or processing applications for Lodging Level 1, the category under which short-term rentals fall. Airbnb-style rentals already permitted and applications already in process would not be affected, said Katrina Knutson, the city’s community development director.

By law governing emergency ordinances, a public hearing will have to held within 60 days. Mayor Kit Kuhn said that hearing would be scheduled for the next council meeting, Oct. 11.

The moratorium will give staff and the council time to consider how to handle short-term rentals, said Carl de Simas, the city’s senior planner. Public hearings and work-study sessions open to the public would be part of the process, he said.

‘Why is this an emergency?’

“The question before you is, should the city stop taking in applications while staff drafts regulations for short-term rentals,” he said. Because the city code does not classify short-term rentals as a stand-alone use, that means the moratorium needs to apply to all of Lodging Level 1 uses, he explained.

According to city code, “Lodging Level 1” means a single-family residence which provides overnight lodging for guests, and may provide meals for overnight guests, not to exceed five guest rooms.

The council generally supported the idea, although there was some discomfort with passing it as an emergency measure, bypassing the usual process of first and second readings — and public comment — before the council.

“Why is this an emergency?” asked Councilmember Robyn Denson. “I’m struggling with the lack of public process. At some point, do we have to defend to the public why we took this action precluding some of their rights?”

City Attorney Daniel Kenny said that under the usual procedure, the ordinance would not become effective for five days, leaving a gap during which applicants could rush to file and be vested before the moratorium could take effect.

“In other words, you could have a run on the bank,” interjected Mayor Kuhn.

Councilmember Le Rodenberg, who chairs the council’s planning committee, said he supports a moratorium “one hundred percent.”

“I do feel it’s an emergency,” he said. After a meeting on the subject by his committee, “We got some letters from the public, both pro and con, that make it clear there are enough issues we don’t have answers for.”

Laura Pettitt, the city’s tourism and communications director, said there appear to be about 44 currently operating short-term rental units inside the city limits, based on figures from a state agency that tracks them. Airbnb’s website lists 99 places to stay in the Gig Harbor area — including two yachts in the harbor — with an average price of $200 a night. Many of them allow between four and six guests at a time.

Complaints, tourism

“There are many people who rent these that are respectful, but we know people rent out Airbnb’s for bachelor parties or multi-family gatherings,” Knutson said in an interview with The Gateway last year. “That’s where we get the complaints of noise and impacts of people trying to live their everyday life in our neighborhood.”

Knutson noted that bed-and-breakfasts can drive up the cost of housing, because those units do not go on the market

“That can have an impact on community character and the housing stock and drive up the need for additional units in the area,” Knutson said in 2020. “It’s something we need to be considerate about as we try to address affordable housing for people who want to live here.”

On the other hand, Pettitt noted in an interview last year, Airbnbs encourage tourism and bring money into the economy.

Knutson told the council the process envisioned by her office would include public hearings by the Planning Commission, followed by work-study sessions with the council, which would also be open to the public.

The emergency ordinance excludes units occupied by the owner for at least six months of the year and in which fewer than three rooms are rented; rental units occupied longer than 30 days by the same person; and temporary housing operated by a government agency or a charity.

Sewer sticker shock

In other business, the council learned that yet another major sewage pumping station overhaul will cost over twice the amount originally budgeted. Trent Ward, the city engineer, informed council members that rehabilitation of Lift Station No. 12 on Woodhill Drive in the city’s north end would cost $3,170,214. The winning bidder was Stellar J Construction of Woodland.

Additional costs for design, materials testing and a set-aside for change orders brought the total cost to around $3.9 million, according to a memorandum from Ward. The original budget was for $1.7 million.

“We’ve seen many times this year that public works contracts have come in well above the budgeted amount, and this one is looking to cost the city a lot more than anticipated,” said Jeff Langhelm, the city public works director. Previously, Langhelm had explained that construction firms were hedging their bids to cover the rising costs of materials in short supply due to the pandemic.

He told the council the city’s only choices were to award the contract, or reject all bids and rebid the project.

“It’s not easy to accept,” he said, but because the plant is badly in need of repair, “we can’t reduce the scope, and if we rebid, we don’t believe the bids will come in any less.”

The council faced a similar quandary in August, when it learned that rehabilitating Pump Station No. 6, near the intersection of Ryan Street and Cascade Avenue in the Soundview neighborhood, would cost more than $1 million more than budgeted.

Councilmember Denson asked if the latest project could be put off until better economic times. Langhelm said that wasn’t an option.

“We have deferred this for years,” he said, and some of the pumps are so old that parts aren’t made for them anymore. In addition, he said, the concrete wet well has weakened to the point that it is in danger of collapse.

There is enough money in the city’s wastewater fund to cover the larger cost, Langhelm said.

“I don’t like the price tag,” said Councilmember Bob Himes, but he pointed out that “development out there that is in the pipeline right now is significant,” and that capacity is going to be needed. “I’m going to hold my nose and vote for this,” he said.

The contract will be returned for second reading on Oct. 11.

Other business

In other business at the Sept. 27 meeting, the City Council:

▪ Approved a lease with the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce for offices in the city-owned Visitor Center at 3125 Judson St. The chamber will pay $644 a month for half the space in the building.

▪ Approved the appointment of Sue Braaten and Mary DesMarais to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee.

▪ Approved a $49,872 contract with Parametrix, Inc. to design improved sidewalks and crossings from Harbor Ridge Middle School along Prentice Avenue to Fennimore Street and along Fennimore to Peacock Hill. The project is budgeted for 2022.

▪ Proclaimed October as “Healthcare Heroes Month,” in honor of frontline medical workers.

▪ Adopted a new Public Records Act policy that allows city workers to prioritize public records requests out of order and to cap the amount of staff time spent on records requests to eight hours a week. Interim City Clerk Josh Stecker said the change will allow staff to put aside very large requests for a “reasonable time” in order to fill smaller ones more timely.

▪ Accepted a donation of one-third of an acre at 4889 96th St. from North Creek Gig Harbor LLC. The parcel is adjacent to the Cushman Trail and will be used as park land.

▪ Congratulated Darrell Winans and the workers at the city Wastewater Treatment Plant for winning a state excellence award for the fourth year in a row. The state Outstanding Performance award is given to plants that manage to stay within water quality limits every day of the year. Only 150 of the state’s 300 water treatment plants met that standard in 2020, Kevin Leung of the state Department of Ecology told the council. Public Works Director Jeff Langhelm noted that the Gig Harbor plant has won the award for 14 of the last 15 years.

This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.