City Council Meeting - August 12, 2008
Tonight’s meeting was very short, but there were a few items of interest:
Consent Agenda
Resolution # 37565 approves the final plat of “2105 Yakima Townhomes,” a 6-lot, single-family townhome subdivision located at 2105 Yakima Avenue.
Public Comment
Marty Campbell, Chair of the Cross District Association, spoke in support of Ordinance 27737, noting that neighborhood business districts serve as an identity for Tacoma residents and this Ordinance strengthens the Neighborhood Business District Program.
First Reading of Ordinances
Ordinance # 27737 amending Title 1 of the Municipal Code by adding Chapter 1.47 entitled “Neighborhood Business District Program” to establish the roles, responsibilities, and procedures governing the Neighborhood Business District Program.
The Neighborhood Business District Program has been in existence since 1992, but this Ordinance would formalize the Program. It will make it possible to set a criteria for recognizing new business districts, and it will also define the program and how funds are allocated. Councilwoman Ladenburg asked if existing business districts meet the criteria that new business districts will have to follow, and Carol Wolfe from the Community and Economic Development Department reported that all existing business districts are under review and will meet the criteria within a year of this Ordinance’s passing. It will be a two year process for new business districts to be recognized.
Councilman Talbert mentioned that Pacific Avenue folks have been meeting as a group for at least two years and asked if this time would be credited to their evaluation period. More information on that will come next week.
Ordinance # 27739 authorizing an interest-bearing interfund loan, in an amount not to exceed $1,847,000, from the General Fund to the Parking Garage Capital Facilities Fund, and appropriating said sum to provide financing for general contract changes and LEED enhancements to the South Park Plaza Garage rehabilitation project, with repayment due no later than December 31, 2011.
This rehabilitation project began in the summer of 2007, but some needed adjustments to the contract became apparent when environmental hazards were uncovered along with the inflation in construction costs and some code-required changes. As the project progressed, it was clear that some LEED enhancements could be made. Council members Fey and Longergan were concerned with the amount of money budgeted from the General Fund in this Ordinance and that most of the LEED enhancements were not anticipated, and therefore not discussed, at the beginning of the project. If the LEED enhancements were not realized, it would still cost $889,000 to continue the project.
Mayor Baarsma seemed excited about the prospect of LEED enhancements to the South Park Plaza Garage, remarking that it was once the “ugly duckling in downtown,” but now has the potential of being the highest rated LEED building in Washington.
Some concerns have been made about the loan being made to a fund that will primarily be funded by parking meters not yet implemented, and whose money was supposed to be dedicated to expanding parking options. The South Park Garage project will not add very many stalls beyond the existing number.
And then we all ran home to watch Bob Costas.
Filed under: City-Council, City-Council
3 comments
R Really? August 13, 2008
In January the city Manager released his Mobility and Transit Strategy. One of the key points was that the money from the system would stat in the system. And yet before it is even implemented, nearly 2 Mil has been set aside for LEED improvements for a development.
The Mayor seems so excited about the LEED certification that he didn’t seem to care where the money is being redirected from.
The council members all seemed to agree that it would be ok, they could just raise the parking rates in this garage. They didn’t get that there is connection to off street and – on street parking. Or that all new parking plus more would be dedicated to the developers creating a net loss of parking.
E Erik B. August 13, 2008
Mayor Baarsma seemed excited about the prospect of LEED enhancements to the South Park Plaza Garage, remarking that it was once the “ugly duckling in downtown,” but now has the potential of being the highest rated LEED building in Washington.
Mayor Baarsma understates this one.
Of all the actions the Tacoma City Council has taken over the last 5 years, voting to renovate the South Park Plaza Parking Garage has to be one of the best.
Knocking down blocks of historical buildings to build the two parking garages lacking any potential for life helped set downtown Tacoma on a death spiral.
Now we need to knock down and rebuild the North Park Plaza Parking Garage.
J John Sherman August 15, 2008
In re: Ordinance # 27737
If, in future years, more business districts are requested to be established and established within the City of Tacoma; as a result, the City of Tacoma should evaluate the safety of all bicyclists that are banned from riding upon sidewalks within City of Tacoma business districts; therefore pushing the bicyclists to ride only in the business district streets with car, truck, and bus traffic.
I did not see any requirement that anybody needs to make their business district safe for the people that ride a bicycle within a business district within Ordinance # 27737, so where is the City of Tacoma’s consideration for the “green transportation” methods like bicycles and the bicyclists safety; for example, no bicycle lanes mandated for business district streets or bicycle pathways upon the business district sidewalks?
So, here again, City of Tacoma likes to blow hot-air around with its empty pre-thought decision process; for example, about what it (The City of Tacoma and City Council actions) is doing to benefit the neighborhoods and it citizens; but in-fact, as a result of these decisions and like Ordinance # 27737 places the general neighborhood public at increased health and safety risk while following the un-safe rule City of Tacoma allows to remain: “bicycle riding on a sidewalk in a business district is not allowed within City of Tacoma.” See “1602-Bicycle, Moped, Go-Cart Regulations” http://www.cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?hid=3690