Exit133

November 17, 2011 · Exit133

Tacoma City Council Meeting - November 15, 2011

Due to technical difficulties this week’s City Council meeting notes were delayed.  We apologize.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. This was a long meeting by recent standards. Here are our notes:

CONSENT AGENDA

PROCLAMATIONS, RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nothing to proclaim.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Comments primarily concerned the shoreline master plan. While in the past, we’ve heard a lot from citizens and Walk The Waterfront, this week was primarily focused on the Chamber of Commerce, Port, and unions. Businesses use the waterfront too …

REGULAR AGENDA

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution No. 38363 Recognizing the formal name change of the Upper Tacoma Business District to the Hilltop Business District.

  • Eric Crittendon, president of the Hilltop Business Association, commented that he won’t have to explain where “Upper Tacoma” is anymore and that re-naming makes a difference.
  • Hilltop Action Coalition was excited that the neighborhood, which wants to be known as Hilltop, was “returning to our roots.”
  • Councilmember Walker said that that the Hilltop name was “hijacked” 20 years ago, so she’s happy to see that “we’re taking back our name.”

FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES

Ordinance No. 28028 Amends Chapter 1.44 of the Municipal Code, relating to City Council election districts, to amend the councilmanic district boundaries.

FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES

Ordinance No. 28029 Authorizing a decrease in the 2012 property tax levy in terms of both dollars and percentage, for a decrease of $849,036.73 from the 2011 levy amount, for the Emergency Medical Services levy.

Ordinance No. 28030 Fixing the amount of the Emergency Medical Services tax levies necessary to identify the amount of the estimated revenues from property tax levies to match estimated expenditures for debt service and other funding requirements.

Ordinance No. 28031 Authorizing an increase in 2011 general property tax revenue in 2012 in terms of both dollars and percentage, for an increase of $277,082 from the previous year’s actual levy amount, for the general property tax levy in 2012.

Ordinance No. 28032 Fixing the amount of the 2012 Ad Valorem tax levies necessary to identify the amount of the estimated revenues from property tax levies to match estimated expenditures for debt service and other funding requirements.

Ordinance No. 28033 Granting a ten-year non-exclusive telecommunications franchise to Sprint Communications Company, L.P., and providing for severability. 

Ordinance No. 28034 Adopting the Shoreline Master Program, which amends the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Use Regulatory Code, establishes both new and modified environmental designations and zoning classifications, amends zoning district boundaries, and reclassifies certain properties to the new and revised shoreline zoning districts.

A vote on this ordinance, plus a large stack of amendments, has been delayed for two weeks. We’ll have a follow up post in a bit about some of the changes.

Ordinance No. 28035 Amending Chapter 1.12 of the Municipal Code, relating to the Compensation Plan, to implement rates of pay and compensation for non-represented employees, and changes in classifications to reflect the organizational structure.

The “changes in classification” here are title changes only, without fiscal impact (i.e. TPU “energy services” employees changing to “conservation services” to better reflect the work done).

Ordinance No. 28036 Amending Chapter 1.24 of the Municipal Code, relating to the Personnel Rules, to add a new Section 1.24.880 Leave Without Pay.

Ordinance No. 28037 Amending Chapter 1.12 of the Municipal Code, relating to the Compensation Plan, to add a new Section 1.12.265 Leave Without Pay.

PUBLIC HEARINGS AND APPEALS

This is the date set for a public hearing by the City Council on the Six-Year Comprehensive Transportation Program for amended year 2011 and 2012-2017.

  • The long missing Alan Douglas from University Place came forward and asked that the city build on progress and not on negative. Make it all happen and make sure we do it right.

It’s been a while since we’ve sat through such an epic conversation. We’ll have more on the shoreline master plan amendments later this week-ish.

That’s it for now.

4 comments

  • talus November 17, 2011

    I look forward to the update on the shoreline issues. From the meeting, it appeared as if the council is preparing to compromise away Tacoma’s ability to fully realize its biggest potential asset: a restored, mixed-use waterfront on both sides of the Foss and maximizing shoreline access from downtown to Old Town.

  • RR Anderson November 18, 2011

    Tacoma Pierce County chamber of commerce once again finds a way to screw us all in exchange for a few Fat Cats

  • Tac Dweller November 18, 2011

    I can see why you may consider it a compromise…
    If your are to “restore” the water front it gives you 1 of two options…

    1) Restore it to it’s high industrial use that was the economic engine that built Tacoma.

    2) Restore it to what it was before the white man “improved” it. This would return the port area into a swampy bog and Ruston Way into a 6 mile Salt Marsh, unfit for use as a human walking path.

    It seems to me what you mean to ask for is additional high impact terra-forming to allow multiple uses and points of direct access. (The other side of restoration, but doesn’t have the same buzz word effect.)

    I would caution you to be wary of asking for the one thing then complaining when you get it.

    This may never be fully acomplished until BNSF removes their soot spewing, view blocking rail lines.

  • talus November 18, 2011

    @3: Point taken, I shouldn’t have used the word “restoration.” I don’t want the Foss literally restored, I want more public access and a transition zone between offices and condos downtown and on the west side of the waterway and heavy industry to the east.

    And to be clear about downtown to Old Town, what I’d like to see is a better/actual bike path, improved shoreline access where feasible in light of existence of the railroad and the grain terminal, and the removal of the big ships at Sperry Dock.

    In an ideal world, it would be great to see the railroad move exclusively inland, but we probably have to wait for sea level rise for that.