City Council Study Session Summary: October 14, 2025
City Council Study Session Summary: October 14, 2025
The Tacoma City Council held a study session on October 14, 2025, from 12:00 PM to discuss legislative agendas, a University of Washington street vacation fee waiver, the interim city manager's workplan, a camping ordinance amendment, and a schoolyard funding request. The session included presentations, councilmember questions, and feedback, but no formal votes were taken. Several items are scheduled for further discussion or action at upcoming meetings.
State and Federal Legislative Agendas
- Presenters: Andrea Roper, Alex MacBain (Senior Government Affairs Advisors), and Jen Cavino (Cavino Smith & Simon) provided an overview of the 2026 state and federal legislative agendas.
- State: Alex MacBain noted the 2026 session is a short 60-day session. Key emerging themes include budget challenges (revenue forecast down $400 million for the 25-27 biennium), preserving state-shared revenues, and responding to federal actions. Draft priorities include preserving services amid federal cuts, fiscal sustainability (protecting local revenues and pursuing progressive tax options), capital requests, and issues of importance (wastewater treatment nutrient regulations, transfer of state obligations, sidewalk utility, transportation projects, and the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge).
- Federal: Jen Cavino discussed the federal landscape, including a government shutdown, expiring authorizations (Farm Bill, NFIP, TANF), and upcoming debates on surface transportation reauthorization, housing supply legislation (The Road to Housing Act), and public safety grants. Andrea Roper outlined five federal priorities: preserving critical funding for residents (Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, Social Services Block Grant), infrastructure investment (safe streets, freight mobility, Fishing Wars Bridge), housing and homeownership (LIHTC, HOME, CDBG, vouchers), community safety (expanding funding for non-sworn personnel and violence reduction), and supporting human rights and dignity (including immigration reform).
- Council Feedback: Councilmembers asked about housing vouchers, detention center rulemaking, detox capacity, and the need to support immigrants and refugees. Councilmember Walker requested adding language to support immigrants and refugees. Councilmember Scott asked for more specific detox language. Councilmember Hines raised concerns about potential budget clawbacks. The team will incorporate feedback and return for a joint study session with TPU in late October, with final adoption expected in November.
University of Washington Street Vacation Waiver
- Presenters: Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lang, Sylvia James, Ben Muck, Joe Lawless, and Dylan Harrison.
- Request: UW Tacoma requested a waiver of compensation (approximately $3 million) for vacation of two right-of-way segments as part of the campus master plan to create a new campus core, housing and dining (500 beds), and green space. The waivers are intended to allow the university to use state-appropriated land acquisition funds for other parcels instead of street compensation.
- Council Discussion: Councilmember Rumba asked about the transformer issue and impact on businesses. Deputy Mayor Daniels asked about previous waivers; staff will research three prior waivers. Councilmember Bushnell asked about utility infrastructure; easements will be maintained. Councilmember Diaz asked about grocery store plans and community engagement for the Swiss building renovation. Councilmember Scott expressed appreciation. Councilmember Hines joked about a sports arena.
- Outcome: No decision was made. Council requested a historical summary of prior street vacation waivers before moving forward.
Interim City Manager Workplan Update
- Presenter: Interim City Manager Hyun Kim.
- Summary: Kim presented a workplan aligned with council expectations: assisting council with policymaking (updating materials, transition support), organizational performance (revenue strategy roadmap, balanced 2026 budget, department capacity analysis, "missing middle" permitting pilot starting January 2026, and air quality partnership with Department of Ecology), communication (increased neighborhood/business engagement, improved meeting cadence), and strategies/status (Tacoma 2035 update in November, Tacoma Rescue Mission shelter expansion monitoring, and pursuit of DOE interlocal agreement for air quality funding).
- Council Feedback: Councilmember Walker thanked for clarity. Councilmember Rumba requested more time to review and commended Kim's transparent budget letter. Councilmember Hines praised the permitting pilot and DOE partnership.
- Outcome: The workplan will be brought back for a full council discussion next week.
Council Action Memorandum – Amending Title 8 (Camping and Storage on Public Property)
- Presenter: Councilmember Hines.
- Proposal: Hines introduced a revised ordinance based on previous feedback. Key changes: language directing violators to therapeutic courts when qualified; reducing buffer zones around schools, parks, and libraries from 5 blocks to 2 blocks; reducing buffers around shelters outside downtown from 10 blocks to 5 blocks; maintaining 10-block buffers around downtown shelters. The goal is to address community impacts of encampments while preserving public access to facilities.
- Council Discussion: Councilmember Scott expressed concern that the ordinance is not tied to the city's homelessness strategy and lacks clarity on services (detox, substance abuse). Councilmember Diaz asked about fiscal impacts and the role of the HEAL team (outreach, services). Councilmember Rumba announced she will bring a motion for a low-barrier shelter site. Councilmember Walker requested highlighting existing shelters during the evening meeting. Councilmember Bushnell noted the stability site is at capacity and suggested transitioning other sites to low barrier. Councilmember Scott further questioned costs ($11M annually) and timing (winter), arguing the ordinance is piecemeal. Councilmember Hines responded that therapeutic courts have capacity, costs are already budgeted, and winter brings expanded shelter capacity. He emphasized the ordinance is about managing community impacts and public safety, not ending homelessness.
- Outcome: No vote at study session. First reading of the ordinance was scheduled for that evening's council meeting. Councilmember Rumba will bring a resolution for a low-barrier site next week.
Council Consideration Request – Larchmont Community Schoolyard Project
- Presenter: Councilmember Bushnell.
- Request: Bushnell requested $32,380.44 to complete the community schoolyard project at Larchmont Elementary, the final school in a five-school project. Federal grant funding (approx. $1M) was cut; partners (Trust for Public Lands, Parks Tacoma, Tacoma Public Schools) have raised $880,000. The city's contribution would close the gap.
- Council Discussion: Councilmember Walker expressed support. Councilmember Rumba asked for confirmation that the facility will be open to the public outside school hours; Bushnell confirmed.
- Outcome: The request will be considered at a future meeting; council expressed strong support.
Key Outcomes
- Legislative Agendas: Staff will incorporate feedback and present a second preview with TPU in late October; final adoption in November.
- UW Street Vacation: Council will receive a historical summary of prior waivers before further action.
- Interim City Manager Workplan: Will be discussed again next week.
- Camping Ordinance: First reading scheduled for October 14, 2025 evening meeting; councilmember to introduce resolution for low-barrier shelter.
- Larchmont Schoolyard: Funding request to be voted on in a future meeting.
- Executive Sessions: The council convened into executive session for pending/potential litigation and a closed session for labor negotiations, with the Committee of the Whole scheduled to start at 3:30 PM.
Meeting Transcript
All right. I would like to call to order the city council study session of October 14th, 2025. Clerk, will you please call the role? Councilmember Bushnell. President. Deputy Mayor Daniels. Here. Councilmember Diaz. Councilmember Hines. Councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Sidalgay. Here. Councilmember Scott. Absent. Councilmember Walker. Here. Mayor Woodards. Absent. Materials will sent to you at 1104. Thank you. All right. So the first item on our agenda today is the state and the legislative agendas. And for that, I would like to call the city manager's office, government affairs advisor Alex McBain to provide introductions and begin the presentation. Along with Alex, we've got Andrea Roper, our government affairs advisor, and not Jen Cavino, we've got Amina today. Welcome. Yes, uh, thank you, Deputy Mayor. Good afternoon. Um here to um talk about the R-ledge agenda and to introduce our government relations team. As you mentioned, uh Andrea Roper who will focus on mostly the federal and regional thing, myself, Alice McBain on the state. We have Amina Tiore with us, who's with from uh Gordon Thomas, sorry. Gordon Thomas Honeywell. Um and you all know um Brianna Murray, who's um unable to join us here today, but we'll be um getting back with any questions that we have. Um, and then Jen Cavino is with us remotely from uh Cavino Smith and Simon also and I'll hand it over to Andrea to get us started. Perfect. And just to give you a sense of the agenda for today's flow, um Alex will be presenting on the state agenda. He'll give a little preview of what to expect in the state session next year. He'll then kick it over to Jen Cavino who will give a brief update um on the 119th Congress, second session, and what to expect in the year ahead. Um, and then I will chat about our federal legislative priorities. We're happy to take questions at any time or hold them to the end, whatever works best for council. To give a sense of the schedule and just what to expect for the month plus ahead, we'll do a second preview of our legislative agendas, incorporating any feedback you may have today. We'll come back to a joint study session in later in October. We'll be joined with our counterparts at TPU for that discussion. And then after that, we'll return in November for council's consideration and ideally adoption of the final citywide state and federal legislative agenda. Our goal is to have this agenda um finalized ahead of the legislative delegation briefing in December, and information for that event is forthcoming. Um and then, of course, in January kicks off uh the second session of Congress as well as a short session for Alex. And just to orient you briefly to the materials that you have in front of you. So the government relations team uses two core documents. The first is our longer legislative priority or legislative positions document, and this is a comprehensive document that captures our values and positions on a wide variety of issues. Um it's really intended to serve as a guide to both Alex and I on how we engage on legislative issues both at the state and federal level.
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