Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of September 18, 2012

This is a slightly longer agenda than we’ve seen in a while, with a lot of different topics up for discussion. No final readings of ordinances at this week’s meeting, but we do have four first readings.

2013-2014 Budget
The highlight of this Tuesday’s City Council study session will be an update on the community budget input process that gathered public ideas on the budget situation. The presentation will include information from the public meetings held over the summer and from citizen input submitted via surveys and public input boxes. This public input is intended to help guide the City as it tries to close the $60 million gap in the 2013-2014 budget.

2011-2012 Budget Strategy
On another budget-related note, a resolution up for a vote this week would adopt the 2011-2012 Budget Reduction Strategy as presented last week by City Manager Broadnax.

Reducing Barriers to Infill Development
Up for a first reading this week is the ordinance that would reduce barriers to infill development and reuse of existing buildings in Tacoma. We first heard about this ordinance that would make it easier for spaces in historic buildings to be used as live/work and work/live spaces back in April. The proposed changes, designed to help streamline the Land Use Regulatory Code, met with broad support at the public hearing a couple weeks ago. Aside from expanding the “home occupation” use to allow greater flexibility in live/work and work/live spaces, the changes would increase thresholds at which SEPA reviews are triggered and extend parking exemptions for existing buildings.

A second ordinance appears on the agenda with the same goals of streamlining code requirements for the reuse of existing buildings to encourage infill development in Tacoma. This ordinance would make an exception in offsite improvement requirements (requirements related to curbs, gutters, paving, and surface and subsurface drainage) for changes of use, alterations, and additions to buildings for live/work and work/live uses of less than 12,000 square feet or 19 units.

Horseless Carriages and Other Exemptions
An ordinance getting a first reading this week would make minor amendments to the Tacoma Municipal Code based on changes at the state level. Nothing too exciting here, but one section does reference “horseless carriages” …

The State of Washington’s RCW 46.16 allows for trailers, semitrailers, campers, mopeds, collector vehicles, horseless carriages, and motorcycles to display one license plate (Attachment B). In addition, staff proposed an amendment to the TMC to exempt vehicles from states that do not require front license plates.

Brownfield Clean-ups
A resolution on the agenda this week would shift $500,000 in Point Ruston Waterwalk project costs from bond funding, and reallocate that $500,000, plus $100,000 in interest earnings to fund Brownfield remediation projects on the Foss Waterway and at South 21st and Jefferson.

These funds, originally raised from 2009 and 2010 bonds, were a portion of surplus bond funds reallocated earlier this year to several projects, including the Point Ruston Waterwalk, as well as Pacific Avenue Streetscape, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts Phase 2, Tacoma Avenue Bridge Rehabilitation, People’s Pool, and Hillside Terrace. The City has identified these two additional projects for funding as well, so this is a request to re-re-allocate the money.

The Foss clean-up went over budget when it was discovered that significantly more remediation was necessary than originally thought. Then there’s the 21st and Jefferson site. There’s been a notable silence regarding the Asia Pacific Cultural Center’s hopes for locating a new cultural and mixed-use center on this spot, but with the recently agreed to standards for disposition of City-owned property, this clean-up could be a first step towards these vacant lots finding new ownership…

TDR
A pair of resolutions and an ordinance on the agenda for this week’s City Council meeting relate to Transfer Development Rights. The first resolution would authorize the execution of an interlocal agreement with Pierce County to implement a Transfer of Development Rights Program within the City. The second resolution would adopt terms and conditions for transferring development rights from counties to cities under the regional TDR program, allowing transfers between Tacoma and King and Snohomish counties. The ordinance would put TDR administrative provisions in the Tacoma Municipal Code, allowing demonstration projects to move forward. Together these agreements give the City another tool for managing growth.

Appointments
Also on the agenda are appointments to the Human Rights Commission, the Human Services Commission, and the Sustainable Tacoma Commission, and the appointment of Mayor Strickland and Councilmember Mello to the Joint Shoreline Public Access Committee.