By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Residents have kept things from deteriorating by being feisty while giving the outward appearance of being laid-back.

Twenty-five years ago they demanded that Pierce County adopt a comprehensive plan that would protect the rural nature of their land. And they got what they wanted.

City officials previously had slapped severe height restrictions on buildings in their town -- preserving the view for future generations.

How feisty are they?

When Wal-Mart took an option on land for one of its discount megastores in 1995, more than 11,000 people signed petitions opposing the plans. The giant Bentonville, Ark., firm let its option expire.

Brian Morford, owner of Morford's Hallmark and Office Supply, says local businesses have thrived since the Wal-Mart threat went away.

"It is a nice thing to have behind us. On the whole, the community is functioning quite well," he says.

"Local businesses are doing good. There are a lot of new businesses in town. And a lot of new corporate offices have been constructed here in the last year and a half. We have been here for 20 years and have seen some changes, but I can't say that any of the changes have been negative."

But there are nagging fears of trouble in paradise.

The area's undeveloped land continues to attract a constant parade of developers. And proposed construction of a second bridge across the Tacoma Narrows -- sure to be accompanied by increased development pressures -- draws closer to reality.

"We know the city is going to grow," says Mark Robinson, a Puget Sound Navy Shipyard engineer who ran unsuccessfully for the Gig Harbor City Council a few years ago. "But let's don't make another Tacoma out of it."

Robinson sees the existing traffic-clogged Narrows Bridge as "a natural safety valve" that enables Gig Harbor to retain its small-town atmosphere while being just a few miles from heavily urbanized Tacoma.

Robinson is one of a large number of Gig Harbor residents who oppose construction of a second bridge across the Narrows.

"Many residents here are willing to tolerate the traffic problems on the existing bridge if it means they can preserve the rural nature of the area," Robinson says.

Not everybody opposes the new bridge, designed to address serious traffic problems that isolate Gig Harbor and peninsula residents from Tacoma and other communities to the east.

Jerkovich thinks a second bridge should be built.

"The traffic jams are a real hardship for those who have to go back and forth to work. It shouldn't have to be that difficult," he says. "The longer we prolong it, the harder it will be."

But Wilbert says alternatives to construction of a second bridge should be tried first. She'd like to see passenger-only ferry service between Gig Harbor and Tacoma or Seattle.

"We need to be thinking about alternative means of transportation," she says. "There is a Puget Sound waterway out there waiting to be used. If there are enough ferries, people will use them."

Hoppen isn't convinced that's a good idea because it might open the door to jumbo ferries that carry cars as well as passengers. And he isn't sure a second bridge is inevitable. "I think if people are unwilling to pay tolls for the bridge, it may well not happen."

The politically powerful Peninsula Neighborhood Association is pushing alternatives of its own. They include a reversible lane on the existing bridge, ramp metering, ride-sharing and improved public transit.