Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of October 27, 2015

Comprehensive Plan 

This year's set of proposed amendments to Tacoma's Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Code have been working their way through public and City processes for months. Now they're ready for a public hearing before the City Council. The proposed amendments are broken down into five categories:

1. Comprehensive Plan Update: These updates amend the Comprehensive Plan as required by the State Growth Management Act; ensure the Plan continues to be consistent with applicable state and regional mandates; update population and employment allocations, and other relevant data; renew the City’s vision and growth strategies based on the community’s needs and desires; enhance the format, style and organization of the Plan; and revise development regulations to be consistent with Plan amendments. 
2. Mixed-Use Centers Review: A review of Tacoma's designated Mixed-Use Centers (MUCs) was undertaken to determine their effectiveness in achieving the City’s intent and vision, and to inform the Comprehensive Plan Update in such areas as the growth strategy, development concept, land use, urban form, housing, transportation, and economic development. This report, which is being proposed for inclusion in the plan, describes strategies for both refining Comprehensive Plan policies and for implementing the policies of the Comprehensive Plan to better achieve State and regional planning policies. 
3. Affordable / Infill Housing Regulations: This set of proposals would amend the Tacoma Municipal Code to implement a package of residential infill/affordable building proposals and affordable housing incentive, bonus, and inclusionary strategies with the goal of increasing housing choice, availability, and affordability in Tacoma.
4. Code Cleanup: These amendments make changes to sections of the Land Use Regulatory Code to update information, address inconsistencies, correct minor errors, provide clarity, and improve administrative efficiency.
5. Narrowmoor Addition Conservation District: This amendment would designate a 129-acre portion of the West Slope Neighborhood as a stand-alone Conservation Special Review District Overlay Zone. 

At this week's study session the council will hear an overview of the proposed amendments, as recommended by the Planning Commission, then at the regular council meeting, the council will hear from citizens at the public hearing. Have an opinion? Share it.

More details available on the Planning Department 2015 Annual Amendment page.

Live/Work/Work/Live

An ordinance that would streamline Tacoma's code to support live/work and work/live uses, particularly in existing and historic buildings, is on the agenda this week for a first reading. Live/work and work/live units are types of mixed-use development that allow for both uses in one space. The idea behind encouraging this type of uses is that it will provide multiple benefits: increased flexibility for property owners and developers, more affordable options for small business owners, and decreased transportation needs based on people living and working in the same space. The idea behind increasing incentives for existing/historic buildings is to encourage adaptive reuse of Tacoma's existing building stock, hopefully leading to increased renovation and occupancy, particularly of historic buildings.

Read more on the live/work/work/live proposal here.

Tacoma Dome Seats

The Tacoma Dome's portable seating is insufficient to satisfy future event requirements. A purchase resolution on this week's council meeting agenda would replace the seats, which are more than 30 years old. The 2,400 new seats, along with associated chair storage trucks and spare parts, would cost the City $227,976, plus sales tax, budgeted from the Tacoma Dome Fund.

Billboards

At this week's city council Infrastructure, Planning, and Sustainability Committee meeting, City staff will present an update on the code amendment process for billboard regulations, including recommendations from the Planning Commission and the Community Working Group, and potential alternatives to some elements of the commission's recommendations. All of this is leading up to a public hearing scheduled for November 17. If you're interested in billboards, and in how the council approaches recommendations from the citizen work group and Planning Commission, this might be worth paying attention to.

Other Items

Two resolutions on this week's council meeting consent agenda would set Tuesday, November 10 as the date for for public hearings by the council for the surplus and sale of two separate pieces of City-owned property.

• Approximately 0.63 of an acre located at 7704 6th Avenue, to Mr. David Sizemore, for the amount of $35,101. 
• Approximately 0.36 of an acre located at the intersection of Military Road and Canyon Road SE, in Pierce County, to WGW, Inc., for the amount of $63,193. 

A resolution on this week's regular council meeting agenda would appoint and reappoint individuals to the City Events and Recognitions Committee.