NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
June 8, 2023
On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, at approximately 5:15 p.m., the City Council will conduct a public hearing on the 2023 Annual Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Regulatory Code, as recommended by the Planning Commission. For additional details, please see the attached information.
The meeting will be conducted in a hybrid format that includes an in-person component and a remote option. To attend in person, the meeting will be held in the Council Chambers, on the first floor of the Tacoma Municipal Building, located at 747 Market Street. The meeting can be attended remotely by dialing 253-215-8782 or through Zoom at www.zoom.us/j/84834233126, and entering the meeting ID 848 3423 3126, and passcode 349099 when prompted. The meeting will be broadcast on TV Tacoma and live streamed.
Oral comments will be taken during the City Council meeting. Those wishing to submit written comments may do so by email to the City Clerk’s Office at cityclerk@cityoftacoma.org or by mail at 733 Market Street, Room 11, Tacoma, WA 98402, by 5:00 p.m., on Monday, June 26, 2023. Written comments will be compiled, forwarded to the City Council, and posted on the City’s webpage at www.cityoftacoma.org/writtencomments.
Resolution No. 41205, which set the public hearing date, can be viewed in its entirety on the City’s website at www.cityoftacoma.org/recentlegis by clicking on the link for June 6, 2023, or by requesting a copy from the City Clerk’s Office at 253-591-5505.
For more information, please contact Stephen Atkinson, Principal Planner, at atkinson@cityoftacoma.org or 253-905-4146.
Doris Sorum City Clerk
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
SUBJECT OF THE PUBLIC HEARING:
The subject of the public hearing
is the 2023 Annual Amendment to the One Tacoma Comprehensive Plan and the Land Use Regulatory Code (2023 Amendment). The 2023 Amendment consists of the following six applications (notes in italics indicate the Planning Commission’s recommendations):
1. MOR FURNITURE – LAND USE DESIGNATION CHANGE (Exhibit 1.a Not Recommended for Adoption; Exhibit 1.b Recommended for Adoption)
Proposed by Wesco Management, LLC – this application seeks to change the Land Use Designation for a 1.24-acre parcel located at 1824 South 49th Street owned by Wesco Management, LLC, from “Low-Scale Residential” to “General Commercial.” This would allow the applicant to apply for a future site rezone to support a range of potential commercial or residential uses at the site. The applicant owns four Commercial Zoned parcels bordering directly to the north of the subject site along South 48th Street.
*Exhibit 1.a: Land Use Designation Change to General Commercial, Not Recommended for Adoption *Exhibit 1.b: Remove “School” Designation at Subject site on Parks + Recreation Facilities Map, Recommended for Adoption
2. ELECTRIC FENCES (Not Recommended for Adoption)
Local businesses, particularly ones that store vehicles or other equipment outside, are seeking ways to reduce theft and have posed electric fences as a solution. This proposal would apply Citywide in C-1 and C-2 Commercial Districts, CIX Industrial Mixed-Use District, CCX Commercial Mixed Use, DMU Downtown Mixed Use, and the WR Warehouse Residential District. The draft code would permit electric fences with standards focused on safety and maintaining a pleasant pedestrian experience. 3. SHIPPING CONTAINERS (Recommended for Adoption)
This proposal would allow shipping containers to be used as an accessory structure in C-1 and C-2 Commercial Districts and on residentially zoned properties that are operating with an approved Conditional Use Permit (such as parks, schools, and churches). The placement of shipping containers would be subject to certain development standards and, depending on size, may require a building permit. The proposal would also broaden the potential use of shipping containers as a temporary structure. 4. DELIVERY – ONLY RETAIL
BUSINESSES (Recommended for Adoption)
This proposal would apply Citywide in zoning districts allowing for retail commercial uses. Add commissary kitchens as a subset of “Retail” uses in the Tacoma Municipal Code land use tables so that commissary kitchens are no longer an unlisted use and would be required to meet “Retail” use and development standards (parking, loading, etc.). Additional regulations would add size limitations for commissary kitchens in mixed-use districts and a requirement for an in-person, direct-to-customer sale component for retail establishments located on a designated pedestrian street. These measures would add clarity around delivery-only retail use and standards in Tacoma Municipal Code.
5. COMMERCIAL ZONING UP-
DATE – PHASE I (Recommended for Adoption)
The commercial zoning update is a Citywide update to the commercial zoning code (districts C-1, C-2, PDB, and T), to be conducted as two phases. Phase I, conducted as part of the 2023 Amendment package, includes a comprehensive review of the design standards for projects which include residential development in “neighborhood commercial nodes.” This review and update is required prior to the expansion of the multi-family tax exemption (MFTE) program to neighborhood commercial nodes, as passed in Amended Ordinance No. 28798. The overall project aims to address inconsistencies between the Comprehensive Plan goals and policies with existing zoning standards, including the encouragement of pedestrian-oriented building design, parking area design strategies to reduce the prominence of vehicular parking, transition areas, minimization of impacts of auto-oriented uses, and establishing site and building design elements that promote pedestrian use and active street fronts.
6. MINOR PLAN AND CODE
AMENDMENTS (Recommended for Adoption)
This proposal includes seven technical, non-policy amendments to the One Tacoma Comprehensive Plan (Plan) and the Land Use Regulatory Code (Code), intended to keep information current, correct errors, address inconsistencies, improve clarity, and enhance applicability of the Plan and the Code.
1. Standards for Ground-level
Utilities
2. Landmarks Preservation Com-
mission Membership
3. Critical Areas Preservation Ordi-
nance Clarifications
4. Home Address Signage
5. Overlay Zoning Maps
6. Platting and Subdivision Vesting
7. Land Use Table Reorganization
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please visit the Planning Services Division’s website at www.cityoftacoma.org/2023amendment.
CONTACTS
Stephen Atkinson, Principal Planner, 253-905-4146, satkinson@cityof.ta-coma.org Jana Magoon, Land Use Planning Manager, 253-882-9713, jmagoon@
cityoftacoma.org
Adam Nolan, Associate Planner, 253-320-8119, anolan@cityoftacoma.org
Wesley Rhodes, Senior Planner, 253-208-0083, wrhodes@cityoftacoma.org
IDX-978560
June 9, 2023
