Tacoma City Council Study Session - May 6, 2025
Tacoma City Council Study Session - May 6, 2025
The Tacoma City Council held a study session on May 6, 2025, to discuss several agenda items. The meeting started at 12:00 PM and included presentations from city staff and council members.
Discussion Items
1. Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Public Works Director Ramiro Chavez and Assistant Division Manager Jennifer Kammerzell presented the proposed amendments to the TIP, required by state law. A public hearing was scheduled for May 20, 2025. Key changes include removing approximately $34 million in completed projects and adding about $126 million in 18 new projects, including Sound Transit South Tacoma Station access improvements and a citywide neighborhood greenway program. Council Member Walker noted the program's importance for grant eligibility and clarified that the neighborhood greenway program is new. The Transportation and Mobility Plan update is expected in late May.
2. Historic Preservation Annual Update Historic Preservation Officer Reuben McKnight and Analyst Susan Johnson provided an update on 2024-2025 activities: 22 design reviews, five new landmark nominations, $316,000 in tax incentives, and progress on the Black History Survey. Upcoming comprehensive plan amendments will align preservation with housing, equity, and sustainability goals. McKnight discussed state law changes requiring owner consent for nominations of properties under 125 years and a 40-year age threshold. Council Member Hines questioned the impact on the city's ability to compel landmark designation. No votes were taken.
3. Council Consideration Request: Urban Forest Resolution (Council Member Walker) Council Member Walker presented a phased resolution developed by the IPS Committee. Four phases: (1) public engagement and consultant hire using non-general fund resources, (2) budget proposals including options for business districts and new revenue to expand tree maintenance, (3) planning commission review starting January 2026 of new land use regulations (tree canopy management, permit fees for canopy loss, parking lot requirements, and commercial/industrial tree requirements), and (4) implementation budget considerations. Council Member Rumbaugh expressed concerns about single-family zoning regulations and enforcement, and suggested reviewing heritage tree protections. Council Member Diaz asked about enforcement. The resolution is expected for a vote next week.
4. Council Consideration Request: Animal Overpopulation & Pig Regulations (Council Member Hines) Council Member Hines introduced an ordinance amending Titles 5 and 17. Key changes: define community cats to enable trap-neuter-release, ban sale of companion animals without a business license, require spay/neuter for impounded animals, increase license fees (with discounted rates for low-income BCAP recipients), and new pig regulations (indoor pigs under 100 lbs with licensing and neutering; outdoor pigs subject to 11 conditions including setbacks). Council members discussed enforcement, fee revenue, and pig weight. Council Member Rumbaugh asked about enforcement and licensing. The ordinance will have its first reading on May 13, 2025.
5. Discussion: International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) Adoption (Council Member Rumbaugh) Council Member Rumbaugh sought feedback on the Community Vitality and Safety Committee's review of adopting the IPMC to consolidate and streamline code enforcement. Key questions included when penalties should escalate (immediate threats, repeat offenses, commercial vs. residential), appropriate penalty structures (examples from Vancouver and Bellevue), and balancing voluntary compliance with accountability. Council members provided input: Council Member Bushnell emphasized off-ramps for elderly/disabled and a limit on repeat abatements; Council Member Walker suggested a violation severity table and voluntary correction agreements; Council Member Diaz cautioned against misdemeanors for minor issues and proposed linking with BCAP; Council Member Hines favored escalation for health/safety threats with clearer triggers. No vote was taken; feedback will inform CVS committee recommendations.
Key Outcomes
- The council scheduled a public hearing for the Six-Year TIP on May 20, 2025.
- The Urban Forest resolution will be presented for a vote at the next regular council meeting (likely May 13, 2025).
- The Animal Overpopulation and Pig Ordinance will have a first reading on May 13, 2025.
- The IPMC discussion will continue at the CVS committee, with staff conducting follow-up outreach.
- Proclamations were noted for Affordable Housing Week (May 5-9), National Small Business Week (May 4-10), and Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May).
Meeting Transcript
I'd like to call to order the City Council study session of May 6, 2025. Clerk, will you please call the role? Councilmember Bushnell, absent. Deputy Mayor Daniels. Here. Councilmember Diaz. Here. Councilmember Hines, absent. Councilmember Ramba here. Councilmember Sidalgay absent. Councilmember Scott, absent. Councilmember Walker. Here. Mayor Woodards? Here. Mayor and Council members, the study session material sent to you at 11.06. All right. Thank you very much. Our first agenda item today is the six-year transportation improvement program. And I'm going to call on public works director Ramiro Chavez to begin the presentation. Thank you. Council members. Thank you for the opportunity to present the proposed amendment to the six-year comprehensive transportation improvement program. My name is Ramiro Chavez, Poly Wars Director for the City of Tacoma. I am joined this afternoon with uh Jennifer Camersville and who she will lead the presentation this afternoon. As many of you are aware, the revised code of Washington mandates that each city in town's legislative body annually prepare and adopt a comprehensive transportation program. This process must include at least one public hearing. Included on this evening's uh City Council's consent agenda is a request to a schedule a public hearing for May 20th, 2025. Regarding Tacoma's amended 2025 comprehensive transportation improvement program in the 2026-2031 update. Well, the purpose of tonight's agenda item is solely to establish the hearing date. Please note that when the public hearing is held, Jennifer will provide a presentation similar in content to the one you're about to hear. Today's presentation will offer an overview of the program, highlight key updates and considerations for this year, and outline the proposed timeline for adoption. With that said, I will now turn to the presentation to Jennifer. Thank you. Thank you, Romero. So today's presentation is a briefing in preparation of bringing forward to a public hearing and then first reading for the six-year program. Um tonight or this afternoon, I intend to provide an overview of the needs for adopting the six-year program, summary of new and removed projects, as well as highlighting a couple of projects that are of interest, and then the relationship with the city's priorities and then the timeline. As Rora explained, the six-year program is required by state law. It mandates that local jurisdictions annually adopt and submit to the state a six-year program of transportation improvements. The State Department of Transportation and the Puget Sound Regional Council use local six-year programs as tools for coordinating the transportation programs of local jurisdictions with those of regional agencies. PSRC also monitors local six-year programs for projects of regional significance, which needs to be modeled for regional air quality conformity with federal standards, and then also to track projects supported by federal funds. The updated program must be adopted by July 1st of each year. The six-year program also serves as an inventory of projects and a rough plan for the development of the local transportation system, and as such represents an important planning component under the state's Growth Management Act. The primary importance of the local program is to Tacoma is that in most cases, projects must be included to be eligible for state and federal funding. Typically, projects listed in the first two years of the document are shown as having secured funding. All projects in the last four years can be partially or completely unfunded. The current six-year program includes close to 120 projects. State law does require capital projects such as roadways, reconstruction, bridges, non-motorized facilities such as sidewalks and trails, and then other capital-related projects to be included. It does not include maintenance projects such as Chipseal and Pothole Repairs. Most streets initiative projects are considered maintenance and would be included in the maintenance plan.
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