Tacoma City Council
Study Session
Noon, Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Room 16
Tacoma Municipal Building North
728 St. Helens Ave.

Downtown streetscape update
The Tacoma City Council will hear from Tacoma Economic Development Department staff about the design concepts and guidelines for downtown streetscape improvements. Earlier this year the City Council identified streetscape as one of its top priorities. In addition, Destination Downtown, the city’s blueprint for downtown development, calls for an assessment of Tacoma’s current streetscape, and development of a comprehensive streetscape improvement strategy. The council will hear the results of the assessment and recommendations for enhancing downtown.

Tacoma City Council
Regular Meeting
5 p.m., Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Council Chambers
Tacoma Municipal Building
747 Market St.

Golf center revenues
Proposed changes to an agreement between Solid Waste Management and Tacoma Firs Golf Center may drive up revenues if the Council gives the nod, The proposed amendment allows the golf center to construct a cover over the second level of an 80-stall driving range, a move that is expected to increase revenues. In addition, the amendment would allow the city to promote the golf center in regular city publications. In April 2001, the Tacoma Firs Golf Center signed an agreement with the city to operate a golf center, driving range and associated facilities located on 28 acres of the Tacoma Landfill. The golf center pays the city a percentage of its revenues in addition to $3,000 a month in lease payments. The council will take public comment on the measure before voting.

Biking, boarding prohibitions
The City Council will consider a proposal to prohibit skateboarding in the downtown area, including around the County-City Building, Tacoma Dome, LINK Light Rail and the Thea Foss Waterway esplanade area. The council also will consider a proposal to prohibit bicycle riding on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, and the Grand Stair and plaza connecting the Bridge of Glass to the Thea Foss esplanade. The city has proposed the restrictions to ensure safety in public areas frequented by event-goers and tourists. The council took public comment on the ordinance June 24.

Retail recruitment
A measure up for testimony and a vote could move the city in the direction of more places to shop and eat in downtown. Several months ago, the Tacoma Economic Development Department contracted for $40,000 with Maestri Design, a Seattle-based firm with national experience in the analysis and development of urban retail, to perform an initial assessment of current Tacoma’s retail climate and examine opportunities for growth. The resolution would increase the Maestri contract by $57,000 and allow the team to more fully study the issue, including reviewing the city’s downtown code and streetscape/signage to determine their impact on retail, identifying key properties and areas ripe for retail growth, presenting the team’s findings to constituent groups and recommending strategies for increasing Tacoma’s retail base.

This is an incomplete agenda for the July 29, 2003 meeting of the City Council. The Index prints as much as space allows.