Gig Harbor: Dock policy hurts businesses

We recently took our boat to Gig Harbor and tied up at the Jerisch public dock at 7 p.m. for dinner at a downtown restaurant. When we got back to our boat just after 9 p.m., we had a received a ticket for $100 for not registering and paying for overnight moorage. We did not stay overnight, and when I called the city to inquire about this, I learned that the law now says that if your boat is there after 7, you must pay for overnight moorage at $1 per foot.

According to the person at the city, the police department does not have an officer available to do check later in the evening. The city employee suggested we might want to frequent restaurants that have their own moorage if we will be coming for dinner and staying after 7.

This policy seems custom made to support the Tides and Anthonys to the exclusion of other restaurants. I would not mind paying for moorage for the time I’m there, but I’m not going to pay for overnight moorage just to stay for a couple of hours.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor: Dock policy hurts businesses."