OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Tacoma City Council Study Session - May 14, 2024: Sound Transit, Housing, Website, and Climate Updates

City Council Study Session — Tuesday, May 14, 2024
BodyTacoma, Washington
SessionCity Council Study Session
DateTuesday, May 14, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

I'd like to call to order the city council study session of May 14th, 2024.

0:09

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

0:11

Councilmember Bushnell.

0:13

Councilmember Daniels.

0:14

Absent, Councilmember Diaz.

0:16

Here.

0:17

Deputy Mayor Hines.

0:18

Here.

0:18

Councilmember Ramba.

0:20

Here.

0:20

Councilmember Scott?

0:21

Here.

0:22

Councilmember Ashka.

0:23

Absent.

0:24

Councilmember Walker.

0:25

Here.

0:25

Mayor Winnard's here.

0:27

Mayor and Council members, the study session material sent to you at 11.06.

0:30

Great.

0:31

Thank you very much.

0:33

We have several presentations today.

0:35

And our first one, we're going to start with the Sound Transit Transportation Project updates.

0:40

And I'd now like to call on Sound Transit Interim CEO, Jarance Barman, to begin the presentation.

0:50

Welcome.

0:54

Thank you.

0:55

I'm very happy to be here.

0:56

And thank you for the gracious welcome.

1:00

Excuse me.

1:01

So obviously, as the new interim CEO, I have not had the opportunity to talk to the Tacoma City Council before.

1:07

So I'm very happy to be here today in what I hope would be one of many conversations going forward.

1:13

So I thought I would just give a few introductory comments, talking about the Sound Transit program, a little bit my role as the new interim CEO, and then see if the council members have any questions, and I'm, of course, would be happy to answer any of those.

1:27

And I know my staff team is here then to give you more detailed update on the many projects that are actually happening in Pierce County affecting or directly inside the city of Tacoma.

1:38

So very briefly, I took office about four months ago, and this is very loud in my ears.

1:44

I hope it's working for the council.

1:47

So I took office about four months ago.

1:50

I have a one-year contract as the interim CEO, so I have eight months left to go.

1:54

But I'm not counting.

2:20

So that really is what's guiding a lot of the work I'm doing.

2:23

A big part of that is making sure we accelerate and make fast decision making on product capital delivery.

2:30

And I would like to think that some of my background, which I want to share with you very briefly, would help in my assessment of how to make that happen.

2:48

But most of my career has been managing large transportation departments.

2:57

So obviously, I've been in the mix of how you execute and deliver large uh transportation infrastructure projects in a public environment for a long time.

3:06

The nice thing that I will share with the Tacoma City Council is that uh Sound Transit, we have a lot of very good, very dedicated staff.

3:15

So we have a very strong foundation to build on as we look for ways to execute on all the projects that will benefit the region, including Pierce County and City of Tacoma.

3:24

I want to emphasize that I take my responsibility of running a regional agency very seriously.

3:30

Something I've had on several occasions have had to explain to folks and stakeholders in King County, City of Seattle, and so forth.

3:38

No.

3:39

Sound transit, we are a regional agency, and our job is to execute on the whole program, including those that benefit Pierce County and Snowmark counties.

3:57

The opening of a Tacoma T Link last year.

4:04

And I know many of you probably have significant questions on how we progress on the other additional projects.

4:10

The large one being, of course, the Tacoma Dome Link Extension Project, where we expect the draft EIS to be released late this year.

4:19

And frankly, that's going to be a vehicle for really making sure we do good progress on how we connect Tacoma and South Pierce County to the rest of the regional system.

4:29

And as you also know the sounder system, which is of immense uh value to Pierce County and City of Tacoma is another key uh component of our regional mass transit system.

4:40

We are continuously looking for ways to improve that system, but you also know that we are dependent on our relationship with Burlington Northern in terms of how much service we can actually run through the sounder system.

4:53

So that's sort of some introduct introductory comments.

5:00

Uh, my emphasis on uh understanding that we have a regional agenda uh that we need to really execute on, and we will later in this presentation talk about each of the individual projects.

5:07

But I think I'll stop right there and see if uh the council members have any questions or comments aimed aimed my way before I pass the Gavin on.

5:17

No.

5:17

Thank you very much for being here.

5:19

Thank you for the introduction.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████████39%
Public Transportation███████████████15%
Zoning And Land Use██████████████14%
Technology and Innovation█████████████13%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Climate Change███3%
Affordable Housing█1%
Community Engagement█1%
Regional Cooperation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Tacoma City Council Study Session - May 14, 2024

The Tacoma City Council held a study session on May 14, 2024, to receive updates on Sound Transit projects, the Home in Tacoma Phase 2 zoning reforms, the city website redesign, and a funding request for the Pierce County Climate Conversation. No formal votes were taken on agenda items; the council later moved into executive sessions.

Sound Transit Transportation Projects Update

  • Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran Sparrman introduced the agency's regional focus and commitment to Pierce County projects.
  • Staff presented updates on: South Tacoma Sounder Access Improvements (target 2030), Tacoma Dome Access Improvements ($20M, public engagement summer 2024), Tacoma Dome Link Extension (draft EIS in Q3 2024, in-service 2035), and Sounder S-line strategic plan (revisiting service patterns).
  • The Hilltop Tacoma Link extension opened in fall 2023; ridership increased over 200% to ~3,500 daily riders in March 2024.
  • Council members asked about coordination, parking, future service, and World Cup 2026 impacts. Sound Transit noted challenges with BNSF negotiations and maintenance facility access.

Home in Tacoma Project Phase 2 Update

  • Planning staff updated on the upcoming planning commission recommendation (June 2024) for zoning code changes across single-family areas.
  • Key issues: zoning map (UR1, UR2, UR3), reduced parking requirements (with added areas near transit), new tree planting/retention requirements, and other flexibilities (home businesses, unit lot subdivisions, affordability bonuses).
  • Over 1,500 public comments received; top concerns included zoning, parking, and trees.
  • Council discussed trade-offs between density, tree preservation, and parking. Staff noted that state mandates (HB 1110) require at least 4 units per lot, and Tacoma's proposal goes further.
  • Planning staff member Elliot was recognized for his service; council thanked him for his work on Home in Tacoma.

City of Tacoma Website Design Progress Update

  • Digital Manager Golden Doles presented the redesign project (launch spring 2025) to replace the 11-year-old site.
  • Goals: improved navigation, mobile-first design, accessibility, transparency, security.
  • New domain tacoma.gov secured; a logo refresh was introduced with a horizontal version and new typeface.
  • Community engagement planned via workshops and focus groups in May and June 2024.
  • Council expressed enthusiasm and suggested outreach to commissions and usability testing.

Council Consideration Request – Pierce County Climate Conversation Funding

  • Councilmember Rumbaugh proposed $20,000 from council contingency funds to support facilitation of a multi-jurisdictional climate coordination group.
  • Discussion included the need for sustained funding and broader partner contributions. Councilmember Rumbaugh emphasized Tacoma's leadership and the urgency to maintain momentum.
  • The resolution will be brought forward for a vote on June 4, 2024.

Charter Review and Other Items

  • Staff provided a brief update: materials for a special meeting on Friday, May 17, 2024, will be distributed by end of day May 15, 2024.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken on agenda items.
  • The council moved into a 30-minute executive session on pending litigation (RCW 42.30.110(1)) and a 30-minute closed session on labor strategy (RCW 42.30.140(a)(b)).
  • The meeting adjourned after the closed session.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call to order the city council study session of May 14th, 2024. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Bushnell. Councilmember Daniels. Absent, Councilmember Diaz. Here. Deputy Mayor Hines. Here. Councilmember Ramba. Here. Councilmember Scott? Here. Councilmember Ashka. Absent. Councilmember Walker. Here. Mayor Winnard's here. Mayor and Council members, the study session material sent to you at 11.06. Great. Thank you very much. We have several presentations today. And our first one, we're going to start with the Sound Transit Transportation Project updates. And I'd now like to call on Sound Transit Interim CEO, Jarance Barman, to begin the presentation. Welcome. Thank you. I'm very happy to be here. And thank you for the gracious welcome. Excuse me. So obviously, as the new interim CEO, I have not had the opportunity to talk to the Tacoma City Council before. So I'm very happy to be here today in what I hope would be one of many conversations going forward. So I thought I would just give a few introductory comments, talking about the Sound Transit program, a little bit my role as the new interim CEO, and then see if the council members have any questions, and I'm, of course, would be happy to answer any of those. And I know my staff team is here then to give you more detailed update on the many projects that are actually happening in Pierce County affecting or directly inside the city of Tacoma. So very briefly, I took office about four months ago, and this is very loud in my ears. I hope it's working for the council. So I took office about four months ago. I have a one-year contract as the interim CEO, so I have eight months left to go. But I'm not counting. So that really is what's guiding a lot of the work I'm doing. A big part of that is making sure we accelerate and make fast decision making on product capital delivery. And I would like to think that some of my background, which I want to share with you very briefly, would help in my assessment of how to make that happen. But most of my career has been managing large transportation departments. So obviously, I've been in the mix of how you execute and deliver large uh transportation infrastructure projects in a public environment for a long time. The nice thing that I will share with the Tacoma City Council is that uh Sound Transit, we have a lot of very good, very dedicated staff. So we have a very strong foundation to build on as we look for ways to execute on all the projects that will benefit the region, including Pierce County and City of Tacoma. I want to emphasize that I take my responsibility of running a regional agency very seriously. Something I've had on several occasions have had to explain to folks and stakeholders in King County, City of Seattle, and so forth. No. Sound transit, we are a regional agency, and our job is to execute on the whole program, including those that benefit Pierce County and Snowmark counties. The opening of a Tacoma T Link last year. And I know many of you probably have significant questions on how we progress on the other additional projects.

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