Tacoma City Council Study Session - July 14, 2026: Housing, Rules, and Ballot Initiatives
Tacoma City Council Study Session - July 14, 2026: Housing, Rules, and Ballot Initiatives
The Tacoma City Council held a study session on July 14, 2026, with Deputy Mayor Bushnell presiding and councilmembers Diaz, Heinz, Palmer, Rumba, Siddique, Scott, and Walker present (Mayor Ibsen absent). The session covered a mid-year update on the missing middle housing pilot program, a proposed amendment to council rules for community presentations, and a resolution opposing two statewide ballot initiatives. No formal votes were taken on the main agenda items, but the council expressed broad support for the housing program and the opposition to the initiatives, and scheduled a first reading of the rules change for July 28.
Discussion Items
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Middle Housing Pilot Program Update: PDS Director Peter Huffman, joined by Philip Gao, Corey Newton, and Jackie Flowers, presented the six-month check-in on the program launched January 2026. The program aims to accelerate permitting for middle housing (7–20 units) with a focus on infill, reducing city review times, and increasing homeownership through unit lot subdivisions. Six projects are in the system—three multifamily structures and three townhome developments—all submitted just before transportation impact fees took effect. The first review cycle is expected to complete by early August, with permits anticipated in Q3 or Q4 2026. A certified applicant program is planned for Q4 2026, and pre-approved townhouse plans are delayed due to contract negotiations. Councilmember Palmer asked about effects on larger projects and homeownership; Councilmember Siddique inquired about institutionalizing efficiency improvements and potential budget savings from deferring pre-approved plans; Councilmember Rumba raised concerns about services for small-scale homeownership; Councilmember Heinz requested data on permit trends and building code thresholds. Directors confirmed no adverse impact on larger projects and noted efforts to track data and collaborate across departments.
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Council Rules Amendment (Rule 8): Councilmember Rumbaugh, co-sponsored by Councilmembers Palmer and Walker, proposed amending the council rules to allow community groups to request up to 15-minute presentations once per month, subject to council approval. The proposal emerged from earlier discussions on community forum changes. Councilmember Scott suggested adding an annual limit per organization and clarifying that council may ask questions after presentations. Councilmember Palmer supported adding criteria for prioritizing presentations. The item will be considered for first reading on July 28 and second reading on August 4.
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Opposition to Initiatives IL 26-001 and IL 26-638: Councilmember Diaz, co-sponsored by Councilmembers Scott and Palmer, introduced a resolution opposing two statewide ballot measures. IL 26-001 would require schools to disclose sensitive student records to parents, potentially outing LGBTQ+ students without safeguards. IL 26-638 would mandate medical sex certification exams for girls participating in sports, excluding boys. Councilmembers Rumbaugh, Scott, Palmer, and Walker expressed strong support, citing personal experiences and the need to protect vulnerable youth. The resolution will be voted on at the July 28 council meeting.
Key Outcomes
- The council received the middle housing update and will review data in January 2027 for a program evaluation and potential expansion.
- The council rules amendment (Rule 8) will proceed to first reading on July 28, with possible revisions to include annual limits and Q&A procedures.
- The resolution opposing initiatives IL 26-001 and IL 26-638 will be voted on July 28.
- The council unanimously approved a motion to convene an executive session for up to 30 minutes regarding pending litigation.
Public Comments & Testimony
No public comments were made during the study session, though two opportunities for public comment were announced for the regular meeting later that evening.
Meeting Transcript
I would like to call to order the city council study session on July 14, 2026. Clerk will please call the roll. Deputy Mayor Bushnell. Present. Councilmember Diaz. Councilmember Heinz. Councilmember Palmer. Councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Sidalgay? Here. Councilmember Scott? Councilmember Walker? Here. Mayor Ibsen, absent. All right. Thank you very much. Our first agenda item is the middle housing pilot program update. And I would like to call on PDS Director Peter Huffman to begin the presentation. It looks like we have Director Flowers here as well and Corey and everybody else. Yeah, good afternoon, Council and Deputy Mayor. Thanks for having us this afternoon. Yeah, with me to my right is uh Philip Gao, who is the manager of pre-application services, application services, excuse me, in planning and development services. Uh next to Philip is Corey Newton, who's assistant director of the new EPW department, environment and public works. And then next to Corey is Tacoma Public Utilities Director, Jackie Flower. So this is going to be kind of a joint presentation. We're all going to jump in and I hope what it does to you is it illustrates that this uh middle housing program is a true partnership across departments and utilities to try to make this work the best we can. So next slide, please. So today uh what we're going to talk about is what is the program. Um it's been a while since we briefed the council, and there are some new council members. Um it was uh in October of last year. We came to the council and introduced the council to the process. Uh we're going to talk about why we're doing this, um, what we've seen so far in the six months that it's been in place since January, and what are the next steps? Next slide, please. So what is the program? The program really uh started for, you know, it's a real push to implement home and Tacoma. Um if you recall, one of the big focuses on HOMA Tacoma was to look at what we call middle housing. Uh so we've had pretty good success in the council's leadership on detached ADUs and seeing a lot of detached ADUs. Uh we've been pretty successful in seeing duplexes and triplexes. But what's missing in Tacoma and what's missing nationwide is what in our planning world we call middle housing, and that's typically considered about 10 units up to 20 units. Uh once you get past 20 units, which we've seen quite a bit in Tacoma, you see the larger mixed-use commercial development, particular uh particularly in our mixed-use center. So Thoma Tacoma really focused on that middle housing that you know the buzzword is missing middle housing. And so that's what we uh focused on as part of this program. It is a pilot, uh, so we put it in place in January, and it'll go to uh January 27, and I'll get in some details on the next steps there. What it uh also does is it limits uh multifamily development to seven to twenty units. That's that definition of middle housing. So there is a limitation on the number of units. Once you get over the 20-unit threshold, it starts triggering some uh different code parameters and requirements that makes it a little bit more complicated to develop, and it's really focused on infill housing. Home of Tacoma is really focused on infill housing. So based on our analysis, we can you know with seven to twenty units, you can get in that infill housing, whether it's a vacant lot or an underutilized building.
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