Introduction

Over the past year, the City of Gig Harbor has worked diligently with stakeholders to produce regulations around short-term rentals. Short-term rentals are an entirely new land use that had not been previously considered, and the current Gig Harbor Municipal Code does not adequately address this category. The City of Gig Harbor is not alone in this situation, as many cities and counties across the country are also wrestling with how to appropriately plan for this unique category. 

The City Council enacted a six-month moratorium on acceptance of new permits related to this use, in order to provide city staff the time to analyze the land use category and to propose regulations appropriate for Gig Harbor. The moratorium was extended for an additional six months in April 2022. 

Over that time, the City’s Planning Commission studied the issue intensely and gathered extensive public comment.  City Council was set to hold a public hearing to consider an ordinance in September 2022. However, due to the actively evolving local and national legal landscape surrounding short term rentals, the City has decided to pause and evaluate the ordinance against very recent case law developments.

On September 12, 2022, the City Council extended the moratorium allowing the city to evaluate the drafted regulations for Gig Harbor against legal framework currently taking shape across the country.

The City thanks the community for your continued involvement and input into the process. Please reach out the City Staff with questions and or comments.

Principal Planner, Carl de Simas cdesimas@gigharborwa.gov

Associate Planner, Jeremy Hammar, jhammar@gigharborwa.gov appears to be an empty link with target mailto:jhammar@gigharborwa.gov  appears to be an empty link with target mailto:jhammar@gigharborwa.gov 

Public Participation

Public input is welcome and encouraged. Please utilize the various methods provided on this page to get involved. Please refer to the schedule below for more information.