Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of January 13, 2015

Tacoma 2025

Last year the City launched its "Tacoma 2025" visioning process. You may remember attending a citywide visioning event last summer, or maybe you participated in the long-term visioning process online - both were part of the extensive outreach by the City, asking the public to comment on what they want for the future of Tacoma.

At this week's city council study session City staff and the project consultant will present what they made out of that process - "Tacoma 2025, shared vision / shared future," a proposed citywide strategic plan. The plan would be intended to guide City decision making and resource allocation, as well as performance tracking and reporting for the coming decade.

A resolution for council approval of the Tacoma 2025 plan is scheduled for the January 27 council agenda. 

Recreational Marijuana

Last week's City Council meeting was dominated by public comment on medical marijuana at the hearing on enforcement of unlicensed operations. Next month the conversation will be on regulation of recreational marijuana. A resolution on this week's consent agenda would set Tuesday, February 3, 2015, at approximately 5:30 p.m., as the date for a public hearing by the City Council on proposed permanent land use regulations of the production, processing, and retail sale of recreational marijuana.

Tacoma has been operating under interim regulation of the new industry since I-502 made recreational marijuana legal in 2013. Now that we've had some time to see how these new operations are working out, the council wants to establish a permanent set of regulations. The Planning Commission has been working on drafting a recommendation for those permanent rules, retaining some of the interim rules, with changes to address concerns that have come up. 

Planning Commission’s proposal for permanent regulations, as of earlier this month, would continue some interim regulations, including a prohibition on all marijuana business uses in residential and shoreline districts; allowing production and processing in intensive industrial zones; and limiting retail uses to most commercial, mixed-use, industrial, and downtown zones. Any marijuana use would continue to be prohibited within 1,000 feet of "sensitive" uses (public parks, playgrounds, recreation/community centers, libraries, child care centers, schools, game arcades, and public transit centers). Retail uses would not be allowed to locate within 1,000 feet of correctional facilities, court houses, or drug rehabilitation facilities, substance abuse facilities, or detoxification centers. All uses would have to continue to comply with odor control standards; and limitations on signage and advertisement, and product visibility, among other things.

Along with continuing these interim provisions, the commission is recommending clarification that all licensed marijuana uses must comply with City requirements. The commission also recommends that areas where production and processing are allowed be extended to include light industrial and commercial industrial mixed-use districts. 

The timeline being proposed would put the public hearing on February 3, followed by a first reading of an ordinance on February 10, followed by a final reading the following week, with an effective date of March 1 - well before the interim regulations are scheduled to expire in May.

Transportation Grants

A second resolution on this week's consent agenda would accept $13,010,976 worth of grants from the Puget Sound Regional Council, the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board, and the Federal Highways Administration, putting the funds into the Transportation Capital and the Paths and Trails funds, to cover various Public Works projects:

• Port of Tacoma Road - $5,940,700
• Pedestrian Improvements in Hilltop & South Downtown - $ 850,000
• Historic Water Ditch Trail Phase 1V Construction - $1,840,104
• S 48 Street and Tacoma Mall Blvd. - $ 750,000
• Schuster Parkway Promenade - $1,170,172
• Traffic Model Update/Mode Choice/Pavement - Management Integration Phase 2 - $ 420,000
• 56th Street and Cirgue Drive Phase I - $2,040,000

Point Defiance Pagoda

A resolution on this week's regular council meeting agenda would designate the Point Defiance Streetcar Station (the Point Defiance Pagoda), located at 5801 Trolley Lane, as a City Landmark and placing it on the Tacoma Register of Historic Places.

Sewer & Solid Waste Bonds

A pair of ordinances that got a first reading last week would give the okay to the issuance of up to $125 million in sewer bonds and up to $75 million in solid waste bonds. The bonds would cover improvements to the solid waste and sewer systems and refund outstanding bonds, for an overall savings for the utilities.

Purchase Resolutions

There are four pruchase resolutions on this week's council meeting agenda:

• A $6,213,899 contract to refurbish the Cleveland Way Stormwater Pump Station
• A $2,129,713 contract for permeable pavement and stormwater improvement on Asotin Street between South 42nd and South 48th Streets; Cushman Avenue between South 44th and South 46th Streets; and South 45th Street from Asotin Street to Cushman Avenue
• A $153,155 addition to extend a contract for a security at the Tacoma Municipal Complex through June of this year, bringing that contract to a cumulative total of $648,578
• A $1.5 million contract for completion of the Foss Esplanade Site 11, Phase 2 project. The project has been bid twice already - the first time all bids submitted came in above the budgeted amount. The second time the contract was awarded, but the winning company was unable to complete the necessary in-water work. That contract was mutually terminated, but a February 15, 2015 deadline for permits for that in-water work is quickly approaching. If the work doesn't get done by the February deadline, the City will have to reapply for permits, leading to further delays. The City has received four bids for the project; those bids will be opened this week. Because of the constrained timeline, the resolution on this week's agenda would simply award the contract to whichever of the four comes in lowest. 

Citizens' Forum

Once again it's your chance to come before the city council to share your thoughts on any issue over which the council has jurisdiction.

Other Items

Two ordinances on this week's council meeting consent agenda for final readings would approve zoning changes in two different locations in Tacoma. The first ordinance would reclassify a portion of the property located at 4810 South Wilkeson from an “R-2” single-family to a “C-2” commercial, and with a modification to allow for construction of a 44,500-square-foot furniture store and associated parking. The second would reclassify two "R-2" single-family residential parcels at 620 and 630 South Pearl, making the 2.23 total acre site "R-4-L" low-density multi-family residential to allow for the construction of a 60-bed extended care facility. 

Monday, January 19, 2015 will be proclaimed as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the City of Tacoma.

Another ordinance on this week's regular council meeting agenda for a final reading of would amend the Compensation Plan, to implement rates of pay and compensation for several groups of represented City employees, as covered by letters of agreement approved by the council at last week's meeting.