This Pierce County city struggled with Airbnb-style rentals. Are its new rules working?
Gig Harbor’s short-term rental regulations have been in place for almost three months.
The city spent over two years drafting 14 ordinances before passing a final resolution Feb. 21.
Short-term rentals are allowed in all zones that would permit residential business and some commercial zones. Each owner needs a short-term rental permit and a business permit to operate a short-term rental.
The city allows one permit per person, meaning an owner can’t operate more than one short-term rental within the city.
According to the city’s permit portal, they have received a total of 21 applications. Eighteen applications have been approved and issued permits as of June 2.
The permit portal will show the status of a permit, any fees owed, short-term rental addresses and more. The application and checklist to open a short-term rental can be found on the city’s Planning Division website.
Applications show current approved short-term rentals are located mainly in the tourist area of Gig Harbor: the Millville District, Finholm District, Peacock Hill, and a few on Soundview Drive.
“Those are the areas we expected to see them in,” Carolyn Allen with the Gig Harbor Short Term Rental Alliance told the Gateway.
Allen said the application process has been going well for owners.
City Administrator Katrina Knuston said the city agrees and is happy to hear compliments from residents.
“It’s been straightforward and concise,” Allen said. “Turn around time has also been good. The city has been very helpful and accommodating as far as like scheduling inspections. We’re just very pleased.”
Some residents raised concerns at public meetings about the regulations that short-term rentals could erode the charm of the city, create noise issues, cause traffic and parking problems, and that the rentals could be used as party houses.
Others were upset they could potentially not know their neighbors if guests are routinely moving in and out.
“So far we’ve had no complaints and no police calls so far since the ordinance opened up,” Allen said.
What owners have to say
From the application date to when a permit is issued takes the city on average 26 days, Carl DeSimas, the city’s community development director, told the Gateway.
“The process went relatively smooth for me,” Paul Kadzik, a short-term rental owner, told the Gateway. “I do feel that the fee is too high.”
Allen said she’s heard owners complain about the permit fee of $650.
One owner, Kathy Rose, moved here six years ago. She wanted to live in a neighborhood where she could rent her home out in the summer.
“We purchased a house that needed an incredible amount of work and we use the income earned in the summer to renovate,” Rose told the Gateway.
Rose and her husband travel during the summer. Having a short-term rental allows their home to not be vacant for months at a time, she said.
“Our neighbors have been wonderful and we’ve never had a problem,” Rose said.
Rose wasn’t a fan of the sign that sat in her front lawn telling her neighbors the home is a short-term rental for a few weeks.
The city requires owners to place a Notice of Application sign in their lawn, Knuston told the Gateway.
“The intent of the signs is to notify neighbors of a proposed land use change,” she said.
The sign needs to stay posted for two weeks.
“Most of these short-term rentals have already been operating for years,” Allen said. “So really not much has changed.”
