09

Public Facilities and Services

PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES GOALS

• GOAL PFS-1 Ensure public facilities and services for future development and growth equitably meet or exceed the LOS standards established by providers.
• GOAL PFS-2 Address past deficiencies and rectify gaps in service, particularly in underserved areas, to ensure all Tacomans benefit from City services.
• GOAL PFS-3 Maintain public facilities to ensure community members can access services that are safe and reliable.
• GOAL PFS-4 Ensure that planned public facilities are financially feasible.
• GOAL PFS-5 Invest in public facilities and services that foster a just, equitable, and resilient Tacoma for all residents.

Public Facilities and Services

9.1 Introductory Context

What is this chapter about?

The Public Facilities and Services Element of the Comprehensive Plan makes the rest of the plan a reality by identifying infrastructure investments that support and implement many of the goals and policies in other elements of the Plan.

The Public Facilities and Services Element fulfills the GMA requirements for capital facilities and utilities. Throughout this element, the term “public facilities” includes all types of public infrastructure, including utilities.

The Public Facilities and Services Element uses two components to comply with GMA requirements for capital facilities. The first component is this chapter which contains the goals and policies.

The goals and policies in this chapter convey the City’s intent to:

Set clear goals for service delivery and system expansion for public rights-of-way, wastewater and stormwater systems, water, parks and recreation, public safety and emergency response, solid waste management, school facilities, technology access, and energy infrastructure.

• Ensure that public facilities and services support the local and regional growth planning objectives.
• Emphasize the development of facilities that serve multiple goals.
• Advance an adaptive management approach to improve reliability and resilience.
• Provide more equitable service delivery.
• Reduce risks to human and environmental health and safety.

Book I: Core Policy Elements 1 Introduction and Vision 2 Growth Strategy 3 Complete Neighborhoods 4 Environment and Watershed Health 5 Housing 6 Transportation 7 Economic Development 8 Parks and Recreation 9 Public Facilities and Services 10 Historic Preservation 11 Engagement and Administration

Contents 9.1 Introductory Context 9.2 Goals and Policies 9.3 Action Steps 9.4 Background Information

The second component is the background information in this chapter. The background information is based in large part on the City’s CFP, which is a separate document and is adopted by reference. The background information fulfills the requirements of GMA to:

• Provide an inventory of existing public facilities.
• Forecast future needs for facilities.
• Propose capital improvements, including new facilities, and their costs.
• Plan for financing proposed capital improvements.
• Inform the capital budget process.

Why is this important?

Public facilities and services are fundamental to the functioning and well-being of communities. Capital projects are not only expensive endeavors, but they also serve communities for decades, which makes investments in public facilities and services even more important. These investments and improvements in public facilities and services offer opportunities to provide additional benefits and value that all Tacomans can experience.

Every aspect of life is connected to the investments the City makes in its public infrastructure. Households and businesses expect high-quality and dependable basic public services, like clean water, reliable sewer and stormwater management services, comprehensive waste, recycling, and composting services, and seamless access to the network of streets and sidewalks that connect communities across Tacoma. Investments in well-built and well-maintained facilities ensure reliable service delivery and help to create resilient systems that can recover from natural hazard events or other emergencies. Cost-effective and dependable services improve quality of life and affordability, they help create a vibrant public realm, and they make Tacoma a more attractive place to live or to do business.

Public agencies aim to provide basic services to all Tacomans. However, for a variety of reasons, not all services are distributed equitably across the city. The agencies charged with managing public facility systems must balance the need to maintain existing services and infrastructure with the need to bring new or improved services to underserved communities, new residents, and businesses. Future investments will need to align with the City’s vision of achieving equitable service delivery to all community members.

Tacoma will see many changes and challenges in the next twenty years – from population growth and development pressures to increasing climate change-related stressors. The agencies that deliver, build, and manage services and facilities must adapt systems and facilities to satisfy multiple uses while meeting federal, state, and regional regulations.

The goals and policies in this chapter support the equitable, efficient, and adaptive management approaches that are needed to provide high-quality and reliable facilities and services to all Tacomans, including those in future generations.

What we heard

The 2024 Community Survey was distributed to over 5,000 households and covers a range of topics related to public facilities and services. This feedback was considered alongside existing engagement on libraries, community safety, and policing. Based on these combined engagement efforts, we heard that residents feel mixed satisfaction levels around Tacoma’s public facilities and services. Over half of residents are satisfied with the quality of public utilities like water, electric, wastewater, solid waste, and stormwater management. People also expressed a positive perception of fire and emergency medical services, like how quickly fire services personnel respond to emergencies. Yet when it comes to community safety and policing, a majority of residents expressed dissatisfaction with police services. This dissatisfaction was also present on the topic of transportation safety and the condition of major roads.

The goals and policies of this element set a vision for improved facilities and services across Tacoma, equitable distribution and access to those services, and to ensure that City departments are listening to the valuable feedback provided by community members.

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“ BETTER RESOURCES FOR THOSE EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE CRISES; INVESTMENTS IN SAFE SPACES, LIKE OUR LIBRARIES, AND HOUSING. ”

COMMUNITY MEMBER INTERVIEW RESPONSE

“ MAKE SURE THAT IF SERVICES ARE FOR BLACK AND BROWN YOUTH, THEY HAVE AND RECEIVE THE SAME LEVEL OF CARE AND SERVICES AS OTHER SERVICES. SERVICES SHOULD BE HIGH QUALITY AND REFLECTIVE OF COMMUNITY, NOT ONE OR THE OTHER. ”

COMMUNITY MEMBER INTERVIEW RESPONSE

How does this chapter address key themes?

Public facilities and services play a critical role in supporting Tacoma’s growth and livability. They are closely tied to the key themes of Equity, Opportunity, Public Health, Safety, and Sustainability in many ways. Since these themes reflect community priorities, they influenced the development of the goals and policies in this chapter.

The City manages services that relate to the delivery of clean water, solid waste processing, transportation network, and electricity, among many more with climate and energy use impacts. While municipal operations account for less than one percent of GHG emissions in 2019, because public facilities and services support the operations of businesses, movement of goods and people, and maintain the general living standard in Tacoma, public facilities and services contribute to the city’s overall GHG emissions in various ways. Therefore, investments in public facilities and services have the potential to reduce GHG emissions, address climate change impacts, and contribute to the City’s overall ability to achieve its climate goals, including net zero emissions by 2050. Working together with partner agencies, utilities, and communities will be crucial in achieving the City’s climate goals. Leveraging investments to address climate change impacts reflect Tacoma’s Climate Adaptation Strategy and highlights one of its goals: Promote resilient facilities and infrastructure that can withstand current and climate impacts and provide multiple benefits.

The increasing possibility of events like flooding and extreme heat has necessitated a shift in public facilities planning. For example, there is greater emphasis on the climate resilience of buildings and infrastructure, and the need to plan for different types of facilities, like cooling centers and green stormwater infrastructure investments. Partner agencies are studying a range of climate change scenarios, from flooding to drought, to help inform infrastructure investment decisions. For example, Tacoma Power is studying the impact of low water conditions to understand how it will continue to meet the growing energy needs of Tacomans. Communities across Tacoma will experience climate change impacts differently. Communities that are historically overburdened with health, social, and environmental inequities will experience impacts more severely. Tacoma’s CAP calls to prioritize these frontline communities, as they are expected to experience the first and worst consequences of climate change. Therefore, as Tacoma approaches its planning, siting, design, and investments in public facilities and services, the need for a targeted equity approach is imperative. Investments in public facilities and services provide the opportunity to address existing inequities and disparities in services and prevent further harms where possible. (Equity and Sustainability)

Public facilities, such as libraries, fire stations, parks, community centers, and schools, are anchor points when it comes to neighborhood amenities that support people reaching their full potential. Ensuring equitable public access to the facilities and services they provide is one of the core ways that a city can support equitable outcomes. Investments in public facilities and services in underserved communities provide opportunities for neighborhood enhancements beyond aesthetics; these investments have the potential to help foster a sense of place, connection, and safety. (Equity, Opportunity, and Safety)

EQUITY

SUSTAINABILITY

OPPORTUNITY

SAFETY

PUBLIC HEALTH

Public facilities deliver critical services that impact public health such as clean water, stormwater management, waste disposal, sewer infrastructure, active recreation, and transportation infrastructure. These investments help avoid many illnesses and injuries and promote physical and mental well-being. Public facilities play a role in achieving equitable health outcomes by addressing service deficiencies and improving access to services within underserved communities. (Public Health)

9.2 Goals and Policies

PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

Tacoma’s population is anticipated to grow significantly in the coming years, increasing demand for housing, schools, roads, and other infrastructure. Development depends on the availability and adequacy of necessary facilities and services to support growth in a way that offers a consistent quality of life. If properly planned for, this growth also creates opportunities for increase infrastructure efficiencies and additional revenue to fund services and facilities.

GOAL PFS–1: Ensure public facilities and services for future development and growth equitably meet or exceed the LOS standards established by providers.

Policy PFS–1.1: Plan and coordinate with service providers, regional governments, institutions, and other partners to guarantee public facilities and services have the necessary capacity, reliability, and availability to meet established levels of service, including those outlined in voter-approved ballot measures.

Policy PFS–1.2: Engage community members, governmental entities, and private sector partners as early as possible in the planning, siting, design, and development of facilities serving and affecting the community.

Policy PFS–1.3: In cases of inconsistency between this Plan and referenced capital facilities plans from other organizations, or among the referenced plans themselves, Tacoma will prioritize collaborative solutions that adhere to the goals and policies in this Plan. If a mutually agreeable solution cannot be reached, the matter will be referred to the Planning Commission for review.

Policy PFS–1.4: Anticipate the public facilities and services needs of PAAs and, when feasible, engage impacted community members and incorporate displacement impact analysis into investment decisions to equitably meet annexation demand.

Policy PFS–1.5: The extension of utility services within Tacoma’s PAAs should be timed with the occurrence of the planned annexation.

Policy PFS–1.6: Involve impacted community members in decision-making processes of essential public facilities through timely notification, public meetings, advisory committees, and hearings.

Policy PFS–1.7: Ensure that impacts to Tacoma in conflict with this Plan from regional or statewide essential public facilities are equitably mitigated.

Policy PFS–1.8: Notify and coordinate with adjacent jurisdictions that are affected by the siting of essential public facilities. Cooperatively establish inter-local agreements to ensure an equitable distribution of facilities and that all jurisdictions share the burdens and benefits of providing essential public facilities.

Policy PFS–1.9: Protect the viability of existing airports as essential public facilities by encouraging compatible land uses and reducing hazards that may endanger the lives and property of the public and aviation users.

Policy PFS–1.10: The City of Tacoma affirms its commitment to the democratic principle that essential public services needed for modern day to day living are best delivered through transparent, local, and accountable public ownership and operation.

Policy PFS–1.11: Uphold transparent public stewardship of essential utilities by respecting Section 4.6 of the City Charter and submitting any proposed sale, lease, or disposition of utility systems, or portions thereof, that are essential to continued effective service to voter approval through a public referendum, including any stated betterments or previously surplus and leased properties or infrastructure related to utilities.

Policy PFS–1.12: Where feasible, utility providers should coordinate infrastructure (storm water, potable water, and wastewater) maintenance, replacements, or upgrade projects with any new developments to further support water quality protection.

Policy PFS–1.13: When possible, collaborate with schools districts on 1) school siting to ensure new schools alleviate service deficiencies and support 15-minute neighborhoods and 2) incorporating climate responsive school designs such as energy-efficient technologies, material reuse, and permeable pavement.

Policy PFS–1.14: Advance equitable access to opportunities and daily needs by prioritizing investments to public service and facilities that complement 15-minute neighborhoods; linking Tacomans together with a citywide system of public transit, active transportation, and telecommunications infrastructure.

Delivering Services Equitably

Delivering public services equitably is essential to creating a city where all Tacomans, regardless of their geographic, racial, or socio-economic background, have access to the facilities and services necessary to thrive. Tacoma is committed to addressing historical deficiencies and service gaps by prioritizing investments that benefit underserved areas, improving service delivery, and working together with communities to ensure facilities and services address their needs.

GOAL PFS–2: Address past deficiencies and rectify gaps in service, particularly in underserved areas, to ensure all Tacomans benefit from City services.

Policy PFS–2.1: Collaborate with service providers, regional governments, institutions, and other partners to identify areas that experience inadequate LOS. Together, with underserved communities, work to improve LOS through prioritization of capital projects and advocacy in infrastructure investments.

Policy PFS–2.2: Prioritize public facilities and services that alleviate service deficiencies, meet LOS standards that benefit historically underserved communities, and support 15-minute neighborhoods.

Policy PFS–2.3: Provide equitable LOS by accounting for existing community conditions, considering how decisions will impact varied geographic, racial, and socio-economic groups, and embedding service equity criteria into decision-making processes.

Policy PFS–2.4: Encourage providers, when feasible, to improve service delivery efficiency and access for historically underserved communities through the co-location of facilities.

Policy PFS–2.5: Develop partnerships to increase the allocation of City funds dedicated to participatory budgeting and extend the scope and impact of community-led capital projects that address service gaps and reflect community needs.

Policy PFS–2.6: Require equity impact assessments for all new public facility and service projects to evaluate potential impacts on historically underserved communities, with a focus on preventing displacement and ensuring equitable access.

Policy PFS–2.7: Implement measures to minimize displacement associated with the development of new public facilities.

Policy PFS–2.8: Review and assess the effectiveness of City programs that support equitable access to services and identify areas for improvement and/or expansion.

Policy PFS–2.9: Internet access is an essential service that supports communication, social inclusion, democratic participation, education, economic development, and quality of life. The City will actively advance equitable access to affordable, reliable, and high-speed internet for all residents, businesses, and institutions, with a focus on closing gaps in digital access based on neighborhood, income, race, and housing status by supporting public ownership, operation, and governance of internet infrastructure and related telecommunications systems.

Meeting Today’s Needs and Maintaining Public Facilities for the Future

Tacoma strives to provide adequate public facilities and services, as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, to serve both existing and new development. Such facilities and services will be designed to meet the capital facility needs of the community and to support Tacoma’s land use growth and development strategy. In situations where the public facility is not owned directly by the City, the City will encourage the provision of adequate services and coordinate with the responsible agency. Additionally, the City requires certain public facilities and services to be available concurrent with development, as shown in Exhibit 70.

A significant factor in determining the need for and priorities among capital improvements is the LOS. It is an indicator of the extent or degree of service provided by a facility. The LOS are the minimum thresholds necessary to adequately serve future development, as well as the minimum thresholds to which the City will strive to provide for existing development.

The City will select and budget capital projects through the preparation of the CFP, which is the City’s multi-year plan for capital improvements.

Maintenance of public facilities is important to protect the public’s investment in them. A comprehensive maintenance program includes: 1) an inventory and assessment of existing facilities; 2) a routine preventative maintenance schedule; and 3) an evaluation of the maintenance needs of proposed new facilities.

GOAL PFS-3: Maintain public facilities to ensure community members can access services that are safe and reliable.

Policy PFS-3.1: Use the following LOS, in combination with the current needs analysis of providers, to determine the need for public facilities, test the adequacy of such facilities to serve proposed development concurrent with the impacts of the development, and ensure that appropriate levels of capital resources are allocated, as defined in TMC 13.16 and WAC 365-196-840.

Exhibit 70. LOS Standards for Concurrency

Policy PFS–3.2: Use the following LOS to assist in determining the need for public facilities, and as a management tool for monitoring the sufficiency of the facilities (Exhibit 71).

Policy PFS–3.3: Coordinate with service providers to conduct reviews of LOS standards every three to five years to ensure they are equitable and reflective of community needs, making adjustments as necessary based on performance data and community feedback, while ensuring that overall LOS is maintained or improved over time.

Exhibit 71. LOS Standards Not Subject to Concurrency

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Policy PFS–3.4: Identify the needs, means, and timing for the provision of additional public facilities and services based on forecasted growth and development, adopted LOS, and additional performance measures.

Policy PFS–3.5: Ensure that public facilities and services necessary to support development shall be adequate to serve the development at the time the development is available for occupancy or use, or within a reasonable time as approved by the City, without decreasing current service levels below locally established minimum standards.

Policy PFS–3.6: Collaborate and jointly develop LOS standards for other jurisdictions with services provided by City of Tacoma owned utilities.

Policy PFS–3.7: Allocate resources to ensure equitable access to public facilities and services, and support 15-minute neighborhoods for all Tacomans.

Policy PFS–3.8: Maintain and improve public spaces and facilities to ensure they are safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. Incorporate community feedback to assess usability, accessibility, and where applicable, contribution to community vitality.

Policy PFS–3.9: Develop, adopt, and use schedules and plans for the replacement of public facilities, upon completion of their useful lives, that ensure fiscal responsibility by incorporating lifecycle cost analysis to optimize investment decisions, meeting both current and future community needs.

Policy PFS–3.10: Consider maintenance, replacement, rehabilitation, or reuse of existing facilities to meet the projected needs before planning for major investments in new facilities. Maintenance and upgrades of public facilities should incorporate energy-efficient and carbon-reduction technologies where possible.

Policy PFS–3.11: Prioritize the design, construction, and operation of new public facilities that incorporate durable, low carbon, and energy-efficient technologies and materials allowing for facilities to be adaptable to future uses.

Policy PFS–3.12: Where possible, design and construct new public facilities with deconstruction and material reuse in mind to support circular economy practices and minimize waste.

Policy PFS–3.13: When feasible, prioritize undergrounding utilities in designated centers, business districts, and priority pedestrian areas to aesthetically enhance the public realm and improve the pedestrian experience, while increasing service reliability and reducing maintenance and operational costs over time.

Policy PFS–3.14: Encourage property owners to conduct regular maintenance of their septic system and scheduling replacements for the end of its lifecycle.

Policy PFS–3.15: Ensure service providers have emergency management or response plans to assist in service reconnection or maintain service reliable during an emergency event.

Policy PFS–3.16: Anticipate the public facilities and service needs due to extreme climate events. Ensure community members have access to open and safe public facilities to escape under severe weather conditions and climate hazards, such as, but not limited to, extreme heat and extreme air pollution.

Policy PFS–3.17: Conduct a thorough assessment of the City’s telecommunications infrastructure. This should include evaluating the physical assets, technology in place, network bandwidth, reliability, available funding, and City staff capacity to support a publicly operated internet service.

Financially Feasible

Public facilities and services are expensive, and their costs generally increase from one year to the next. However, the funding available to cover these increasing costs is limited and constrained by various factors. State and federal grant funds are usually restricted to specific types of improvements and are often one-time funds for unique purposes. The amount of grant funding has decreased with changes in policies at state and national levels. Locally, real estate excise taxes and impact fees—key funding sources authorized under the GMA—are highly dependent on the volatile real estate market, making them unreliable during economic downturns. Unless the need for improvements is clear and compelling, Tacomans will be reluctant to support additional taxes for expensive facilities. Despite these financial constraints, it remains critical for the City to secure funding to maintain and expand public facilities and services to continue to deliver reliable services. Meeting current and future needs requires innovative approaches, careful planning, and the efficient use of resources to ensure that the City can continue to provide facilities and services to all Tacomans.

GOAL PFS-4: Ensure that planned public facilities are financially feasible.

Policy PFS-4.1: Identify the public processes and actions needed to determine, develop, and secure the revenue, including increased or new sources, to deliver capital improvement projects and public services that meet or exceed the needs of existing and future development.

Policy PFS-4.2: Ensure that future developments appropriately contribute to the costs of necessary capital improvements by assessing the proportional impact of the development, the anticipated benefits, and its role in replacing obsolete facilities and equitably reducing existing deficiencies in support of 15-minute neighborhoods.

Policy PFS-4.3: Consider specific funding strategies subject to the policy criteria described for each of the following:

a. Implement impact fees for new development to pay its proportionate share of the public facilities that it needs.

b. Use grants, public/private partnerships, and investments by businesses locating in Tacoma to leverage local funding.

c. Use debt to advance the construction of priority capital improvements and to amortize the cost over the life of the public facility.

d. Encourage public-private partnerships to finance infrastructure and public facilities which fulfill mutual interests of the public and private sectors.

e. Facilitate the formation of local improvement districts to construct needed infrastructure improvements.

Policy PFS-4.4: Maintain a balance between available revenue and needed public facilities by regularly monitoring planned growth, per the Growth Strategy Element, and developing contingency plans that identity strategies for reprioritization of projects, redirection of funding, and/or pursuit of alternative sources of revenue as necessary. Use the City’s CFP to guide short-term actions and ensure alignment with long-term goals of the Public Facilities and Services Element.

Policy PFS-4.5: Coordinate with other service providers of public facilities to align capital improvement plans, maximizing the availability and quality of facilities and services. Together, prioritize new projects based on financial feasibility, the operational and maintenance costs of the capital facility, and its ability to address gaps in service.

Policy PFS–4.6: Leverage private resources by encouraging public-private partnerships that commit to expanding community benefits that are accessible and reflective of community needs.

Policy PFS–4.7: Support Tacoma Public Utilities’ development of an updated Transportation Electrification Plan by 2039, as authorized by RCW 35.92.450, to facilitate the cost-effective integration of both grid-tied and battery-operated electrified transit infrastructure into the transportation network, through rates, incentive programs, financing and large capital investments, while ensuring minimal impact on ratepayers.

Policy PFS–4.8: Work with Tacoma Public Utilities and the Finance Department to establish a dedicated fund that will be used to launch a publicly managed retail internet service either by a department of the City or other public entity in Washington State. This fund should be supported by a portion of the annual revenue earned from the City’s fiber optic network.

Policy PFS–4.9: Revenue from leasing public infrastructure to private entities should be dedicated to invest in future development and the management and operation of the leased public infrastructure.

Co-Benefits of Infrastructure Investments

Public facilities and services are one of the most direct ways to help develop and sustain a safe, healthy, and livable community, as well as a balanced and vibrant economy. Investments in public facilities and services create opportunities to address disparities, stimulate economic growth, and build resilient communities.

Investment in public facilities and services can strengthen local economies by creating pathways for workforce development because these investments can stimulate job creation through construction, maintenance, and operations of the facilities and in the delivery of public services. Infrastructure investments also enhance social well-being by fostering a sense of community and improving access to essential services. Public facilities like parks, community centers, and libraries can serve as social hubs that encourage interaction, promote inclusivity, and strengthen neighborhood connections. Intentional planning, siting, and design of public facilities can also support climate resilience and enhance Tacoma’s environmental assets. Integrating natural infrastructure, such as green roofs, stormwater management systems, and native vegetation, can mimic natural processes and reduce reliance on costly built infrastructure. These projects not only protect the environment, but also enhance public spaces, improve air and water quality, and reduce urban heat island effects.

Ultimately, infrastructure investments are investments in community vitality. They provide a foundation to addressing disparities, enhancing economic opportunities, and creating sustainable, attractive spaces where all Tacomans can live, work, and thrive.

GOAL PFS–5: Invest in public facilities and services that foster a just, equitable, and resilient Tacoma for all residents.

Policy PFS–5.1: Support capital improvement projects that promote equitable and sustainable economic activity and innovation while prioritizing investment in areas with existing service disparities.

Policy PFS–5.2: Prioritize the development of capital improvement projects that enhance tourism and convention trade by investing in multi-modal infrastructure

and amenities that support local businesses and showcase the city's beauty and hospitality. Target outreach for workforce and business development in historically underserved communities to foster economic opportunities and growth for small, women, and minority businesses.

Policy PFS–5.3: Encourage early installation of utility infrastructure to create development-ready sites that contribute to local neighborhood economies and provide opportunities to rectify service deficiencies in underserved areas.

Policy PFS–5.4: Site capital facility improvements within mixed-use and designated centers to support walkability and equitable, multi-modal transit-oriented development.

Policy PFS–5.5: Identify and implement infrastructure improvements that enhance the viability, attractiveness, and sustainability of MICs and stimulate growth of new and existing manufacturing and industrial businesses.

Policy PFS–5.6: Incorporate community benefit agreements in capital projects to ensure that investments deliver direct benefits to local communities, such as job creation, affordable housing, or other social and economic advantages that align with community priorities.

Policy PFS–5.7: Explore the development of incentive zoning amenity standards to encourage the incorporation of community benefits such as public parks, sidewalk and street improvements, trail connections, and green stormwater infrastructure in private developments.

Policy PFS–5.8: Design natural infrastructure into projects whenever feasible to mimic ecological processes and minimize the need for built infrastructure.

Policy PFS–5.9: Ensure public facilities and services incorporate local history and context when making decisions regarding the location, design, and operation of public facilities.

Policy PFS–5.10: Ensure that public facilities preserve registered historical sites and long-standing community institutions that contribute to maintaining the cultural identity of the community, especially in historically underrepresented communities.

Policy PFS–5.11: Support and encourage habitat restoration and biodiversity enhancement within utility properties, allowing for public access where feasible, while accommodating vegetation management necessary for the safe operation and maintenance of utility features.

Policy PFS–5.12: Leading by example, public facilities should be designed and built to serve as models for the private sector. Facilities should apply sustainable and climate-resilient design standards, collaborate with community members and incorporating community feedback into planning and design, and increase accessibility to facilities and services through co-location and equitable transit-oriented design.

Policy PFS–5.13: Prior to the sale of surplus public facilities and properties, determine if the assets can be adapted and used to preserve or expand access to public spaces.

Policy PFS–5.14: Prioritize the expansion of electrified transportation options, including both grid-tied and battery-operated transit systems, as a key strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality, and enhancing the transportation system.

5.3 Action Steps

5.4 Background Information

The GMA requires communities to plan for capital facilities and utilities to ensure that there are adequate LOS in place to meet community needs over time. This section is based in large part on the City’s CFP, which is a separate document and is adopted by reference. The background information fulfills the requirements of the GMA to:

• Provide an inventory of existing public facilities.
• Forecast future needs for facilities.
• Propose capital improvements and their costs.
• Plan for financing proposed capital improvements.
• Inform the capital budget process.

CITY OF TACOMA CAPITAL FACILITIES PROGRAM

The City’s CFP is the companion to this Public Facilities and Services Comprehensive Plan Element. The CFP implements this Element through planning and prioritization of identified projects and through budgeting. It is worth emphasizing that the CFP does not appropriate funds, but it translates the long-term vision, goals, and policies of this Element and assists with the budgeting process to demonstrate the financial feasibility of the goals and policies outlined in this Element. The CFP documents the capital investments and improvements that the City intends to build in a six-year time horizon and the plan for financing these improvements.

The CFP is amended each biennium and is adopted concurrently with the City’s Biennial Budget. The 2025-2030 Capital Facilities Plan was adopted by Tacoma City Council at the same time as the 2025-2026 Capital Budget in November 2024. A total of 221 proposed projects are included in the 2025-2030 CFP. Projects vary in sizes, are located citywide, and fall into the following categories: Community Development, Cultural Facilities, General Government Municipal Facilities, Libraries, Local Improvement Districts, Parks and Open Space, Public Safety, Solid Waste, Surface Water, Tacoma Power, Tacoma Rail, Tacoma Water, Transportation, and Wastewater. Transportation projects, specifically, were identified and selected separately through the City’s TMP.

SERVICES AND PROVIDERS

As shown in Exhibit 72, public facilities and services in Tacoma are provided by the City and by other entities. The following pages contain background information about these different types of public facilities and services. The information, together with the provider plans that are adopted by reference in this element, is intended to meet the GMA requirements and provide a discussion on the ability to maintain and expand services as the City experiences growth. The background information also provides an overview of each provider’s facilities and assets, potential future needs, capital projects, and financing for capital facilities. The City of Tacoma intends to continue to work with service providers to maintain existing infrastructure and invest in expanded or new infrastructure to support planned growth and the development patterns that align with the vision outlined in the Future Land Use Map and Growth Strategy Element.

Eleven different providers serve Tacoma; these facilities are found distributed across the city. Exhibit 73 shows the location of some of the key public facilities in Tacoma.

Exhibit 72. Services Provided by City and Other Entities

ONE TACOMA Chapter 09: Public Facilities and Services

Exhibit 72. Services Provided by City and Other Entities cont.

PROVIDED BY CITY AND OTHER ENTITIES

PROVIDED BY OTHER ENTITIES

ONE TACOMA Chapter 09: Public Facilities and Services

Exhibit 73. Key Public Facilities Map

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ONE TACOMA TACOMA 2050 9-506

LEVEL OF SERVICE STANDARDS AND CONCURRENCY LOS standards are created and utilized to measure the adequacy of services being provided as a city experiences growth. LOS standards are specific to the provider and the services; therefore, they are not uniform standards. Concurrency means adequate public facilities and services are in place to serve new development at the time the development is ready to be occupied. The GMA gives jurisdictions the authority to require concurrency for all public facilities, but specifically requires jurisdictions to establish LOS standards for transportation-related facilities per RCW 36.70A.070.

For facilities subject to concurrency, the LOS standards are used to determine the need for such facilities and test the service adequacy of the facilities which will serve the proposed development. The LOS standards will examine the impacts of the proposed development, and ensure that appropriate levels of capital resources are allocated to support the maintenance or expansion of services. For facilities not subject to concurrency, the LOS standards are helpful as a management tool to see what facilities and services may be needed in the future and to measure overall performance of City provided services and facilities.

The City of Tacoma maintains a concurrency management system through Tacoma Municipal Code 13.16, which ensures that concurrency facilities and services maintain the minimum LOS standards that will be provided simultaneous to, or within a reasonable time after, development occupancy or use. The concurrency management system provides the necessary regulatory mechanism for evaluating requests for development to ensure that adequate concurrency facilities can be provided within a reasonable time of the development impact. The concurrency management system also provides a framework for determining whether facilities and services sufficiently meet the demands and needs of Tacomans as the city experiences growth; this framework provides a basis for capital facilities planning. The City of Tacoma implements concurrency for electric utilities, solid waste collection, wastewater, stormwater management, potable water, and transportation. The LOS standards subject to concurrency are included in the CFP according to each service provider.

Public Facilities and Services Provided by the City

ELECTRICITY

Tacoma Power is a division of TPU and provides electric service to the greater Tacoma area, including nearby cities of University Place and Fircrest, and portions of Fife, Lakewood, Federal Way, and Steilacoom, portions of Pierce County, and JBLM.

Tacoma Power is governed by a five-member Public Utility Board, which is appointed by Tacoma City Council. While the Public Utility Board is the governing body and provides policy guidance, some matters, such as issuing bonds and fixing utility rates, also require formal Tacoma City Council approval.

Tacoma Power acquires its power from a diverse mix of resources. The utility’s present power is supplied from its own hydroelectric dams, purchases from hydroelectric resources owned by others, purchases from the Bonneville Power Administration, and through contractual arrangements with the Grand Coulee Project Hydroelectric

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Authority and Grant County Public Utility District. Additional power supplies are procured from the wholesale energy market through both short-term and medium-term contracts as needed.

Tacoma Power’s transmission system is interconnected with the regional transmission network and includes high voltage 230 kilovolt (kV) facilities and 115kV facilities. The transmission facilities provide wholesale transfer service, integrate generation and serve retail loads. Tacoma Power also owns, operates, and maintains overhead and underground distribution facilities to serve its customers. This includes both 12.5 kV and 13.8 kV distribution lines, which are fed from distribution substations.

FACILITIES

Tacoma Power operates six hydroelectric dams (Mayfield Dam, Mossyrock Dam, Cushman No. 1 Dam, Cushman No. 2 Dam, Alder Dam, and LaGrande Dam) and one powerhouse located downstream of the Wynoochee Dam, which is owned by the City of Aberdeen. In addition to the hydroelectric dams, there are 2,389 miles of transmission and distribution lines, four main transmission substations, five switching stations, 48 distribution substations, 14 dedicated distribution substations, and eight generation switchyards.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

Over the past decade or so, Tacoma Power has experienced a period of stable customer demand that they have been able to meet comfortably with existing power sources and prudent investment in energy efficiency. However, a combination of new potential sources of growth in demand (building and vehicle electrification, growth of data centers, etc.) and changes to the next contract with Bonneville Power Administration may alter that picture slightly in the coming decades. While Tacoma Power continues to have sufficient energy to meet customer demands and deliver on its LOS, as described in Exhibit 74, into the future under most scenarios, there are some scenarios in which Tacoma Power might need to supplement its current power supply with additional resources. As dictated by Tacoma Municipal Code 13.16, Tacoma Power’s LOS standard is subject to concurrency, which means Tacoma Power will need to find ways to maintain and ensure its LOS as the city experiences growth.

Exhibit 74. Tacoma Power LOS Standard

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget

Tacoma Power prepares an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to assess the utility’s ability to meet customer demand over the next 20 years and it recommends an action plan to meet the demands. Tacoma Power’s last IRP was completed in 2024, and it found that Tacoma Power expects to have sufficient power generating resources to meet customer demand over the next 20 years so long as the utility continues to invest heavily in conservation. However, Tacoma Power’s 2024 IRP identifies several risks that could make it more challenging to meet demand in the 2030s. More frequent and more severe low summer inflows at the utility’s hydropower projects due to climate change, accelerated load growth from electrification, or a very large industrial load, like a data center, could all make it more challenging to meet customer demand by the mid-2030s. While Tacoma Power’s IRP did not identify an immediate need to acquire a new power supply resource, it recommended seeking out smaller, incremental investment opportunities on the supply side, which means exploring potential opportunities to enhance the capabilities of existing hydropower projects, when cost-effective to do so. On the demand side, this means continuing to invest heavily in conservation and scaling up investments in demand response.

Different areas within Tacoma Power’s service area will experience load growth. For example, the South Service Area (which includes communities of south Tacoma), the Tideflats (which includes the Port of Tacoma), and Downtown Tacoma are expected to experience the most load growth compared to other areas within the service area.

Tacoma Power anticipates transmission constraints in meeting future load growth, system reliability, and operational flexibility. It will be necessary to address these transmission constraints in order to operate and maintain a reliable and safe system. Certain high load growth areas will also require one or more new distribution substations and the expansion of the existing distribution substations to meet the future load. Furthermore, aging electrical facilities require replacement programs to ensure the system is reliable.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Tacoma Power organizes its projects into five main categories, as seen in Exhibit 75. For the next six years, Tacoma Power plans to spend over $600 million dollars to maintain its facilities and assets, and to ensure system reliability.

Exhibit 75. 2025-2030 Tacoma Power Capital Projects and Funding Sources.

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP

For more detailed project information, the City of Tacoma’s CFP documents the proposed projects and financing for these proposed projects.

General Municipal Facilities and Other Community Facilities

General government service buildings are designed to meet a broad spectrum of needs, including buildings that directly serve the public and those utilized for City operations as they work to assure that public governmental responsibilities are met.

In addition to general municipal facilities, the City also makes capital investments in other types of community facilities projects, including arenas, stadiums and theaters; exhibition and convention facilities; community and human service facilities; and community development projects.

FACILITIES

The City’s three general municipal facilities provide locations to directly serve the public and to house City employees. Those facilities include the Municipal Service Center, located at 1224 Martin Luther King Jr. Way; Tacoma Municipal Building, located at 747 Market Street; and Tacoma Municipal Building North, located at 733 Market Street.

Public Works facilities include Fleet Services, located at 3639 S Pine Street, Traffic Signal and Streetlight Shop, located at 3401-A So. Orchard St., Asphalt Plant, located at 3010 Center Street, and the Public Works Maintenance Campus , which includes the Historic Street Operation Building located at 2324 South ‘C’ Street, Grounds Maintenance and Sign Shop located at 2308 South Holgate Street, and the Street Operations Upper Yard located at 2335 Jefferson Ave. The existing Public Works Maintenance Campus is located in Tacoma’s Brewery District economic revitalization area, and relocation of the campus will allow for the current site to be marketed for adaptive reuse, mixed-use development, and housing opportunities. The City’s Facility Advisory Committee’s prioritization process and final report findings identified a New Public Works Maintenance Campus project as a top priority.

Neighborhood and community service facilities include three Senior Centers, one Learning Center, and one Resource Center for individuals with disabilities. Cultural facilities include the Tacoma Dome, Cheney Stadium, Rialto Theater, Pantages Theater, Theatre on the Square, and Greater Tacoma Convention Center.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

The recommended LOS standard that the City of Tacoma uses for general government municipal facilities and cultural facilities are based on aligning the facility size with the population size. The facility LOS for general government municipal buildings is 0.88 square feet per capita, described in Exhibit 76. The recommended LOS standard for cultural facilities, specifically within the venue industry, is 0.98 square feet per capita for exhibition and convention facilities and 0.18 seats per capita for arenas, theaters, and stadiums, described in Exhibit 77. General government municipal facilities, community services facilities, and cultural facilities are not subject to Tacoma’s concurrency standard.

Exhibit 76. General Government Municipal Facility LOS

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget

Exhibit 77. Cultural Facility LOS

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget

While certain facilities may adequately serve Tacomans based on the LOS described in Exhibits 76-77, a 2023 report by the City’s Facility Advisory Committee found that many municipal and cultural facilities do not meet the operational needs of staff or address emerging community needs. The report highlights that the established LOS for municipal and cultural facilities do not consider the use case of the facilities.

The aging municipal buildings need to be modernized and updated to ensure the health and safety of the City’s workforce and community members. The long backlog of deferred maintenance for municipal facilities has contributed significantly to these facilities’ suboptimal conditions. Further, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted workplace needs. In the immediate recovery of COVID-19, many sectors, including government, still offer hybrid working environments, which reduces the need for physical office space. Determining what to do with these facilities remain unknown and require more examination. To the extent possible, the Facility Advisory Committee recommends exploring the feasibility of adaptive reuse of municipal facilities. Designing facilities that can be converted from one use to another can help the City adapt to changing technology, evolving service delivery, and unanticipated community needs.

Evolving community needs are an important consideration to determine whether municipal and cultural facilities are adequately serving the public. Many municipal and cultural facilities have the potential of strengthening neighborhood and community resilience through actions such as serving as cooling centers during the hot summers, providing resources for community members experiencing homelessness or seeking mental health services, or hosting events that connect community members together.

Capital Improvements

Within the next six years, there is a need to maintain existing facilities and address the backlog of deferred maintenance for municipal and cultural facilities. As recommended by the Facility Advisory Committee, the capital investments should prioritize safe and healthy working conditions for City employees and community members. Additional capital investments should prioritize community spaces that can meet changing community needs.

Exhibits 78-79 summarize the maintenance and improvement projects slated for the next six years.

Exhibit 78. 2025–2030 General Municipal Facility Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Sources: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 Capital Facilities Program

ONE TACOMA Chapter 09: Public Facilities and Services

Exhibit 79. 2025–2030 Community and Cultural Facilities Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Sources: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 Capital Facilities Program

For more detailed project information, the City of Tacoma’s CFP documents the proposed projects and financing for these proposed projects.

Fire and Emergency Medical Service

The Tacoma Fire Department (TFD) has served the community for over 140 years. It delivers the following services: fire suppression, fire prevention, emergency rescue and response, EMS, marine operations, hazardous materials operations, and emergency management and disaster preparedness. Its 72.1-mile service area includes the cities of Tacoma, Fife, and Fircrest, as well as Pierce County Fire District 10.

FACILITIES

TFD has 17 fire stations and 10 support facilities. These include the TFD Headquarters, Fire Training Center, Fire Garage, Fire Prevention, Electrical Shop, Electrical Maintenance Building, Emergency Operations Center, Fire Communications Center, Marine Security Operations Center, and former Fire Station 15. The City of Tacoma owns most of its fire facilities; Stations 12 and 17 are owned by the City of Fife, and the City of Fircrest, respectively. TFD’s fire assets also include 44 fire apparatuses (ladder trucks, engines, ambulances, fireboats, command units, air units, hazardous materials units, water tender units, technical rescue support vehicles, and emergency medical support vehicles and units).

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

The LOS Standard for Fire, EMS, and other emergency response services are known in the emergency services sector as Standards of Cover. The Standards of Cover are based on risk and response standards in accordance with accepted federal guidelines recommended by the National Fire Protection Association (Exhibit 80). These recommended standards are also mostly consistent with best practices published by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. In addition to response time LOS, TFD also monitors that there is sufficient staffing and available apparatuses, including vehicles and equipment, to respond to incidents. TFD has 20 staffed fire apparatuses and 10 staffed EMS units, which meet the recommended LOS indicated in Exhibit 81. These standards are not subject to Tacoma's concurrency standard.

Exhibit 80. Response Time LOS Benchmark

Source: 2023 TFD Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover Study

Exhibit 81. Fire Apparatus and EMS LOS Recommendations

Source: 2023 TFD Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover Study, Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget

In 2023, TFD completed a Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover Study. As reported in this study, TFD is struggling to meet current EMS demands. Further, Tacoma’s population growth has strained TFD’s response times. Call volumes grew more than 40% between 2001 and 2019. EMS calls grew 60% between 2001 and 2019. To meet the growing demand, TFD anticipates adding more units to ensure staff are adequately resourced and maintain responsiveness to incidents.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

In early 2024, TFD completed its Fire Facilities Master Plan, which evaluated facility needs, helped plan for future growth, and identified opportunities to improve service and response times while maintaining and protecting firefighter health and safety. The Fire Facilities Master Plan found that many TFD facilities have exceeded their useful life, are not seismically reinforced, and are undersized for service needs. The analysis conducted for the Fire Facilities Master Plan reflect the City’s Facility Advisory Committee’s 2023 Final Report findings, which noted many of TFD facilities did not meet the operational needs of staff.

The Fire Facilities Master Plan recommends phased investments which will lead to: the relocation of Stations 7, 10, 12, 14, 17; relocation of the Fire Garage, Training Center, and Admin Building; renovations of Stations 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13; renovations of the Electrical Shop, Electrical Maintenance Building, Fire Communications Center/ Emergency Operations Center, and Marine Security Operations Center; rebuilding Stations 1, 15; and building three new fire stations. The estimated combined cost for these projects is $360 million (in 2026 dollars). The estimated costs are for capital improvements and do not include the costs of land acquisition.

Projects proposed in the 2025-2030 Capital Facilities Plan were identified prior to the completion of the Fire Facilities Master Plan. These projects are summarized in Exhibit 82. Projects proposed in the 2024-2029 Capital Facilities Plan will align with the highest priority projects identified in the Fire Facilities Master Plan, selected to address:

• Facilities with the poorest conditions rating or most severely undersized
• Invest in facilities with the highest call volume or highest level of use
• Focus on facilities located in areas with low access to opportunity as identified in the Tacoma Equity Index
• Increase capacity and help cover service gaps

Exhibit 82. 2025-2030 Fire Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP

For more detailed project information, the City of Tacoma’s CFP documents the proposed projects and financing for these proposed projects.

Libraries

Tacoma Public Library (TPL) provides library services to residents of Tacoma by delivering free access to information and supporting learning for all ages. King and Pierce County residents are also eligible for services through reciprocal borrowing agreements. TPL currently offers approximately 1,220,000 physical and electronic items. Additional library resources include access to public computers, printers, mobile Wi-Fi hotspot kits, podcast kits, and free passes to local museums and outdoor venues. In addition to access to TPL’s collection, the public can reserve available rooms within library facilities to host meetings or community gatherings. All TPL facilities operate on a 40-hour a week schedule. Neighborhood Libraries are open Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday through Monday. Additional hours, programs, or services may become available after renovations of the Main Library are complete in 2025.

FACILITIES

TPL provides in-person services at eight library branches, which includes a Main Library and seven neighborhood libraries. The Main Library temporarily closed public access in September 2023 due to renovations and is expected to reopen in 2025. In 2022, TPL received funds to study the best way to restore library services to the Eastside and Hilltop neighborhoods, which were formerly served by the Martin Luther King Jr. Branch and the Swan Creek Branch; these branches closed in 2011 due to financial challenges as the result of the Great Recession. The City of Tacoma no longer owns these properties, having sold the properties in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

The LOS standard for TPL is based on aligning the facility size with the demand, represented by the circulation of materials in the library’s collection according to population size (Exhibit 83). The facility LOS for TPL is 0.078 square feet per capita in the service population and is not subject to Tacoma’s concurrency standard. This LOS standard was adopted with the 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget and 2025-2030 CFP. TPL completed an LOS Study in October 2024, which recommended LOS for four categories: building size, service area population, service (days of operation, hours of operation, number of full-time staff, and available seating, computers with internet, and printers), and collection size. This LOS will be considered for the next review cycle for the CFP.

Exhibit 83. Library LOS

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget.

TPL has seen an increase in use of digital resources and community services in recent years and anticipates that this demand will continue to grow. For example, from 2020 through 2024 TPL partnered with the TPCHD to distribute over 26,000 COVID-19 test kits. In 2023, the TPL partnered with the Tacoma Needle Exchange to dispense Narcan at Moore Library through a vending machine, resulting in the distribution of over 3,000 doses. In order to meet the increased demand, TPL actively partners with institutions and schools throughout Tacoma to promote access to library resources and use of services throughout the city.

Community engagement efforts show that Tacoma residents are overall satisfied with the quality of library services but would like to see more community event spaces within public library locations. In particular, residents mentioned a desire for safe third spaces for youth and families and community gathering spaces for social events, celebrations, and meetings. The 2022 Community Survey shows that District 2 has the highest satisfaction with Public Library Services at 97%, while other districts are in the 83-89% range.

Over the coming years, the City plans to address facility issues at existing library locations. As the City’s Facility Advisory Committee’s 2023 Final Report highlighted, investments in current facilities will extend the useful life of several buildings and continue to bring an important resource to community members. Important upgrades like HVAC replacements, window replacements, and building envelope repairs will improve several branches: Wheelock, Swasey, Fern Hill, and Moore. In 2024, TPL completed a Facility Condition Assessment Report and a LOS Study to catalog the condition of all of the buildings within TPL’s system. The results of the report and study echoed similar findings to the City’s Facility Advisory Committee’s 2023 Final Report. TPL’s facilities are undersized and lack the necessary infrastructure, furnishings, and technologies to meet the growing needs of the communities TPL serves. Many assets and equipment supporting TPL’s operations are nearing the end of its lifecycle or are beyond their useful life. Further, there were assets that would benefit from upgrades to improve energy efficiency and maintain functional standards. All existing TPL facilities were designed and built before the advent of the internet and modern library services have evolved dramatically in the last 30 years. While the physical buildings are structurally sound, they are not equipped or designed for contemporary library services.

Currently, facilities are open 40 per week and could be open as much as 65–70 hours per week with the proper funding. Capital projects planned for the next six years are listed in Exhibit 84.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS A top priority for TPL is maintaining and updating library facilities as summarized in Exhibit 84.

Exhibit 84. 2025–2030 Library Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP

For more detailed project information, the City of Tacoma’s CFP documents the proposed projects and financing for these proposed projects.

Police

The Tacoma Police Department provides law enforcement for the City of Tacoma. The Police Department is comprised of three bureaus:

• Administrative Services Bureau, which includes Hiring, Training, Finance, Crime Analysis, Accreditation, Harrison Range, Information Technology, and Internal Affairs
• Investigations Bureau, which includes Criminal Investigations, Special Investigations, and Forensics Services
• Operations Bureau, which includes Patrol, Community Policing, Traffic, K-9, Animal Control, School Resource Program, Gang Unit, and Special Teams, which includes the Special Weapons and Tactics Team, Marine Services, Mobile Command, Explosive Ordnance Detail

FACILITIES

Police facilities include the Police Headquarters located at 3701 South Pine Street, five substations, a firing range, and a warehouse. Their combined square footage is 141,392 feet.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

Tacoma’s LOS standard for police facilities is 288.58 square feet per 1,000 people and is not subject to Tacoma’s concurrency standard (Exhibit 85).

Exhibit 85. Police Facility LOS

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget

While the LOS described in Exhibit 81 indicates that the City is currently exceeding the standard, the established LOS does not consider the use case of the facilities nor the quality of the facilities to support staff needs and staffing availability. The City’s Facility Advisory Committee’s 2023 Final Report found that facilities within the Police Department’s portfolio do not meet the operational needs of staff.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

The City will consider expanding existing facilities or constructing a new facility to meet the projected need for additional police facilities that can support the operational needs of staff.

The police department has adequate capacity in the near term, but maintenance of existing facilities will be a major priority for the next six years, as seen in Exhibit 86.

Exhibit 86. 2025–2030 Police Capital Projects and Funding Source

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP

Solid Waste

The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Division of the Environmental Services Department, a utility that has been serving Tacoma since 1929, is deeply committed to providing solid waste collection and disposal services. This commitment extends to all residents, including single and multi-family housing units, commercial and industrial customers, and all other solid waste customers within the City limits. Every other week garbage collection service is mandatory for all residents. Recycling and food/yard waste collection is an optional biweekly service that is available at no additional cost to residential customers. There are self-haul options for garbage, recycling, yard waste, and household hazardous waste disposal at the Tacoma Recovery and Transfer Center and satellite recycling stations. Since 2021, glass recycling for single-family residential customers and duplexes were only accepted at select drop-off location. In 2024, SWM temporarily paused curbside pick-up of glass recycling for multidwelling and commercial customers due to unexpected changes in the international glass market. SWM also offers Call-2-Haul curbside collection services for residential and commercial customers to dispose of bulk items that are not part of customer's regular curbside pick-up.

The City has contracts for the processing and sale or disposal of municipal solid waste, recyclables, and organics.

FACILITIES

Since 1960, the City has owned and operated an approximately 235-acre municipal waste site at 3510 South Mullen Street, known as the Tacoma Landfill. This site was declared a federal superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1983 and has been operating under a Federal Consent Decree since 1988. All remedial actions required under the consent decree have been completed, including final closing and capping of 115 acres of filled area, a gas migration control system, and a ground water extraction and treatment system. The final active landfill cell, which is referred to as the Central Area, was closed and the final landfill cap installed in 2013. With the closure of the active landfill, the site continues to operate as a base of operations for SWM and as a transfer station and material recovery facility. The site’s name was changed in 2014 to the Tacoma Recovery and Transfer Center to reflect the changes in the operation. A household hazardous waste facility is also located at the RTC. An inter-agency agreement established between the City of Tacoma and the Pierce County Solid Waste Division in 1992 ensures access to the household hazardous waste facility for all residents of Pierce County. SWM completed an operations plan for the Recovery and Transfer Center in 2021 and intends to develop a Master Site Plan for the Recovery and Transfer Center. SWM is also installing compactors downtown to enable efficient collections as the City densifies. There are six drop-off locations for glass recycling and additional drop-off locations are under consideration.

Through a contract with Pierce County, the City delivers all items that cannot be processed (i.e. non-recyclable materials) and waste to the 304th Street Landfill located in Pierce County. The contract is effective through February 1, 2030.

The City operates its own fleet of automated collection vehicles. Fifty-five of the 69 collection trucks have been converted from diesel to compressed natural gas. Six additional compressed natural gas fueled trucks will join the fleet. There are also 12 electric vehicles in the fleet. The City plans to continue to convert the remaining collection trucks to compressed natural gas. An integrated Automatic Vehicle Location Collections Management Solution is being installed on collection vehicles and equipment which utilizes "Smart Truck" technologies to improve fleet safety, sustainability, efficiencies, maintenance, and customer service using vehicle telematics. A 1.4-acre property was recently purchased and improvements are underway.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

SWM reports that Tacoma generates about 378,000 tons of material every year; roughly 55% of the material is diverted from the landfill through recycling and composting, and the remaining 165,000 tons goes to the landfill. The LOS for solid waste, which is subject to concurrency, is calculated based on the existing available disposal operation and the generated waste per capital per year as described in Exhibit 87. The actual tonnages of materials disposed are anticipated to be within the levels of available capacity. Further, additional capacity is available through the 304th Street Landfill.

Exhibit 87. Solid Waste LOS

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget

Since 2014, the City has been committed to a 70% waste diversion goal by 2028. As Tacoma continues to grow, strategies for diverting waste will become more crucial to manage the volume of waste that will be generated in the future. SWM is currently developing a waste management plan and is studying ways to divert waste from the landfill, which may help to reduce the rate of increasing demand for solid waste service between now and 2040. Additionally, the development of an asset management plan will support effective planning for asset maintenance and replacement. Equipment investments aim to support increased resource recovery and thus diversion from the landfill will be a priority. The City does not anticipate constructing a new landfill in the future.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS For the next 6 years, SWM plans to spend over $27 million dollars to maintain its facilities and assets, and to ensure it is delivering services in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Capital projects planned for the next six years are summarized in Exhibit 88.

Exhibit 88. 2025-2030 Solid Waste Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP

For more detailed project information, the City of Tacoma’s CFP documents the proposed projects and financing for these proposed projects.

Stormwater

Between 1880 and 1928, the City’s collection systems for wastewater and stormwater were separately constructed and were interconnected only at the head of ravines or near the points of final disposal. Between 1928 and 1946, a combined system was constructed where wastewater sewage and stormwater from stormwater runoff were conveyed to Commencement Bay in the same pipe. During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, the City sold bonds to finance both the construction of new stormwater systems (both large diameter pipes and holding basins) and the separation of the combined systems from the 1930s and 1940s. A stormwater utility was formed in 1979 to provide funding for these activities. Today, the Environmental Services Department is responsible for constructing new storm lines and oversees the operation and maintenance of the existing ones.

The stormwater within the City is conveyed to various receiving waters in and around Tacoma. All stormwater eventually ends up in the Puget Sound.

Tacoma has an NPDES Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology that it operates under. The Permit requires Tacoma to do a variety of activities to be in compliance.

FACILITIES

As of June 2024, the City’s stormwater infrastructure includes over 663 miles of pipe and ditch flow paths, 32 holding basins and ponds, three pump stations, 153 outfalls, 800 discharge points (pipes to open channels), over 11,000 manholes, and over 19,000 catch basins. Once stormwater enters the system, it is conveyed to various watercourses or bodies in and around the city. All stormwater eventually ends up in the Puget Sound. There are a limited number of streets within the city that have no storm pipes or ditches. Stormwater on these streets flows to the nearest stormwater facility or is absorbed into the ground. These streets are not concentrated in any particular area.

Stormwater runoff is treated to remove pollutants for 16% of the city’s area via private and city owned stormwater treatment. These facilities and/or flow control facilities are scattered throughout the city. Most facilities are small and treat/retain stormwater runoff from a parcel or part of a parcel. The City operates several large regional stormwater treatment facilities , which treat stormwater runoff up to 350 acres.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

The existing stormwater system was designed to handle a selected design storm at the anticipated level of development at the time of design (1950-60s) and during early system expansion. The collection system capacity is not uniformly distributed throughout the system and no guarantee can be made that there is capacity in every line for every new development. Increasing development in the city over the past 50 years and increasingly intense storms have caused localized flooding. As the area’s population grows, determinations are made by the City on a case-by-case basis for new developments to ensure that capacity is either available in the existing collection system or is required to be provided by the applicant.

The LOS for stormwater is monitored and measured in four ways: on-site management, conveyance system capacity, flow control or detention facility capacity, and treatment facility capacity. The LOS for stormwater is subject to concurrency.

CONVEYANCE SYSTEM CAPACITY

The LOS for the conveyance system is to identify and evaluate offsite water quantity, erosion, slope stability, and impacts to receiving waterbodies that may be caused or aggravated by a proposed project, and to determine measures for preventing impacts and for not aggravating existing issues. This is measured by how the system responds according to a design storm, which refers to a specific magnitude of a rainfall event over a specific duration, as defined in the current stormwater management manual. Private and public projects that discharge stormwater directly or indirectly to any of the following may have to provide mitigation for Infrastructure Protection:

• To a conveyance system without capacity to convey the fully developed design event as determined through a full backwater quantitative analysis and/or Inlet and Gutter Capacity Analysis, or
• To a capacity problem downstream of the project as determined by Environmental Services/Site Development Group, or
• To any other problem, such as downstream stabilization issues, as determined by Environmental Services/Site Development Group.

Mitigation may include upsizing the existing stormwater conveyance system, installing additional catch basins, onsite stormwater detention, or other mitigation measures.

FLOW CONTROL/DETENTION FACILITY CAPACITY Projects that meet or exceed certain thresholds outlined in the current Stormwater Management Manual are required to construct flow control facilities and/or land use management BMPs.

The LOS standard for flow control facilities is as follows:

• Stormwater discharges shall match developed discharge durations to pre-developed discharge durations for the range of pre-developed discharge rates from 50% of the two year return period flowrate, up to the full 50-year return period flowrate or per the current Stormwater Management Manual.

TREATMENT FACILITY CAPACITY Projects that meet or exceed certain thresholds outlined in the current Stormwater Management Manual are required to construct stormwater treatment facilities. All new treatment facilities shall be designed using either the water quality design flow volume or the water quality design flow rate.

• The water quality design flow volumes shall be calculated using an approved continuous simulation model, assuming a 15-minute timestep or per the current Stormwater Management Manual.

The City is developing a comprehensive stormwater plan in 2024-2025. This plan will provide a long-term strategy for compliance with the NPDES Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit, operating and maintaining City’s stormwater infrastructure and facilities, anticipating expansion of stormwater services for growth and where none exists, and evaluating the impact of climate change modeling estimates on currentrequirements.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS The City is constantly working to maintain, upgrade, and expand its stormwater system. It anticipates continuing to do so for the foreseeable future, with an increasing emphasis on green infrastructure. Determinations are made by the City on a case-by-case basis regarding whether there is adequate capacity to serve new development within established LOS standards. If this cannot be accomplished, detention facilities are required that comply with the current Stormwater Management Manual. Capital projects planned for the next six years are listed in Exhibit 89.

Exhibit 89. 2025–2030 Stormwater Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Sources: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP, City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department

For more detailed project information, the City of Tacoma’s CFP documents the proposed projects and financing for these proposed projects.

Wastewater

Community sewers were first constructed in Tacoma in 1880. They were designed to follow the shortest route to the tidewaters of Commencement Bay. In 1944, voters passed a $3 million bond issue for the construction of essential sewers and a wastewater treatment plant to serve central, southern, and eastern parts of Tacoma. Construction of the main sewers began in 1949. In the late 1950s, the City began a stormwater/wastewater separation program. By mid-1990s, the City had disconnected the majority of its storm drains from the wastewater sewer system. The City continues to occasionally identify some public storm drains that are connected to the wastewater system; these will need to be disconnected as the stormwater system is extended.

In 1962, the City built a second treatment plant, known as the Western Slopes Treatment Plant, along the Tacoma Narrows to serve the western section of the city. When more stringent water quality controls called for secondary treatment before discharge, the City closed the Western Slopes plant in 1990. Wastewater from Tacoma’s Western Slopes service area is conveyed to the Pierce County Chambers Creek Facility for treatment.

The Central Treatment Plant and North End Wastewater Treatment Plant were built in 1952 and 1968, respectively. The North End Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant were renovated and upgraded in the 1980s and 1990s, bringing them both up to award-winning secondary treatment standards.

The Central and North End Wastewater Treatment Plants provides wastewater service to Tacoma, Ruston, Fircrest, Fife, Milton, parts of Federal Way, and parts of unincorporated Pierce County, including Dash Point and Browns Point. Apart from the City of Ruston, whose wastewater flows to the North End Treatment Plant, all other contract service areas flow to the Central Treatment Plant.

Tacoma has two NPDES Wastewater Discharge Permits issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology that it operates under for the Central and North End Treatment Plants. The Permits require Tacoma to complete monitoring and operational activities to be compliant. The Central and North End Treatment Plants have a total permitted peak hydraulic capacity of 176 million gallons per day (MGD). The City also has an agreement with Pierce County which allows a peak flow transfer of 3.9 MGD from the city's Western Slopes area to Pierce County’s Chambers Creek Treatment Plant. A further restriction on the City's treatment capacity is the amount of flow that can be treated to secondary standards during the maximum flow month. The City’s agreement with Pierce County’s Chambers Creek Treatment Plant for treatment capacity is approximately 1.3 MGD. In addition to the 1.3 MGD treatment capacity through Pierce County, the City's two treatment plants have a secondary treatment capacity of 67.2 MGD.

FACILITIES

Tacoma’s wastewater infrastructure and facilities include more than 700 miles of wastewater sewer pipes, 47 pump stations, and two treatment plants: the Central and North End Wastewater Treatment Plants.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

The collection system capacity is not uniformly distributed throughout the system and no guarantee can be made that there is capacity in every line for every new development. As the area's population grows, determinations are made by the City on a case-by-case basis for new developments to ensure that capacity is either available in the existing collection system or is required to be provided by the applicant.

The LOS for wastewater, which is subject to concurrency, was evaluated using winter water use data as part of the Comprehensive Wastewater Plan update. The LOS is represented by the 200 gallons per capita per day Maximum Month Flow and 400 gallons per capita per day Peak Hydraulic or Peak Instantaneous Flow.

The City is planning to develop a comprehensive sewer plan in the next few years. This plan will provide a long-term strategy for the City’s wastewater facilities. It is anticipated that expanded wastewater capacity will be required before 2040. To meet this need, the City will consider upgrading existing facilities, contracting for additional service, or building new facilities. The City also plans to maintain and expand the existing collection system to serve projected growth.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS Wastewater capital projects are organized into four main categories, as seen in Exhibit 90. For the next six years, the City plans to spend over $150 million dollars to maintain its facilities and assets, and to ensure system reliability and compliance with NPDES permits.

Exhibit 90. 2025–2030 Wastewater Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Sources: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP, City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department

For more detailed project information, the City of Tacoma’s CFP documents the proposed projects and financing for these proposed projects.

Water

Tacoma Water is a division of TPU and provides water service to residences, businesses, and industries located in the cities of Tacoma, University Place, Puyallup, Bonney Lake, Fircrest, Lakewood, Federal Way, the town of Ruston, and portions of Pierce and King Counties. TPU also provides wholesale water supplies to independent water purveyors operating in Pierce and King Counties and is a participant in a regional partnership known as the Regional Water Supply System, formed by Tacoma Water, the Lakehaven Utility District, the City of Kent, and the Covington Water District.

The Green River, located in King County, is Tacoma Water’s primary source of water. The Green River First Diversion Water Right can supply up to 73 million gallons of water each day, but is subject to minimum river flows, as established in an agreement reached with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. The supply under this water right can be replaced with water from seven wells when water in the Green River is turbid, or cloudy. The Green River Second Diversion Water Right can provide up to 65 million gallons of water each day. The supply under the Second Diversion Water Right is subject to minimum streamflow standards and is the source of supply for the Regional Water Supply System. This water right allows water to be stored in the spring behind the Howard Hanson Dam for use in the summer. In addition to surface water sources in the Green River Watershed, Tacoma Water also utilizes groundwater sources that can supply up to approximately 60 million gallons of water with existing infrastructure.

Tacoma Water is regulated by the Washington State Department of Health and is substantially in compliance with drinking water regulations. The Water System Plan represents Tacoma Water’s primary long-term planning document, which has been approved by the Department of Health for use through January 2030.

FACILITIES

TPU’s water utility facilities include three office buildings located at S. 35th St. and S. Union Ave, 130th Ave E. and Reservoir Road and at the Green River Filtration Facility, 1,290 miles of distribution mains, 150 miles of large transmission mains, 25 pump stations, 14 reservoirs, five standpipes, and 32 wells.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

The LOS for Tacoma Water, which is subject to concurrency, is 260 gallons per day per equivalent residential unit and/or as contained in Tacoma Water’s current Washington State Department of Health approved Water System Plan. This LOS represents a four day peak period demand, with a peak factor of 1.40 times the actual average daily residential water consumption of 186 gallons per day per equivalent residential unit per ERU. The four day peak (maximum) is the average use per day of the four highest consecutive days of water use in the summer months.

Tacoma Water conducted a demand forecast in 2024, which took into account peak day requirements and a 0.6% annualized population growth rate, and determined that the utility has sufficient water capacity through 2060. Additional integrated supply and demand planning has identified the need to increase the reliability of groundwater supply to ensure adequate supply through 2070, while also minimizing the frequency of mandatory curtailments.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS Tacoma Water organizes its capital projects into five main categories, as seen in Exhibit 91. For the next six years, the City plans to spend over $120 million dollars to maintain its facilities and assets, and to ensure system reliability.

Exhibit 91. 2025-2030 Water Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP

For more detailed project information, the City of Tacoma’s CFP documents the proposed projects and financing for these proposed projects.

Public Facilities and Services Provided by the City and Other Entities

PARKS

Park service in Tacoma is provided primarily by Parks Tacoma, with supplementary service offerings by the City of Tacoma. Parks Tacoma’s System and Strategic Plan, in combination with its current Capital Improvement Program, provides an inventory of existing facilities, definition of LOS standards, forecast of future needs, list of proposed projects, and financing plans for proposed projects. For City-owned facilities, the City of Tacoma’s 2025-2030 CFP provides the same information. A summary of this information is provided below. For further information, see the Parks and Recreation Element.

FACILITIES

There are 2,808 acres of parks and open space and 83 miles of trail managed by Parks Tacoma. The City also owns and manages 488 acres of open space through its Open Space Program, some of which overlaps with Metro Parks’ system and some that does not, and 78 miles of natural and signature trails. There is an additional 3,400 acres of open space within the City of Tacoma that is privately owned and managed. Parks, open space areas, and trails are distributed throughout the city. Active parks are parks intended to meet community needs for a wide range of recreational activities, such as playing team sports, practicing individual physical activities such as running or bicycling, playing on play equipment, having a picnic, and hosting events and classes. Open space includes properties that function in a healthy natural state for many public benefits including, but not limited to, stormwater management. Generally, these areas are undeveloped and vegetated, but many areas operate under regulation identified in the City’s Critical Areas Preservation code. Not all open space is publicly accessible due to physical environmental constraints, as well as environmental protections. Trail networks connect various green spaces, serve as critical transportation links, enhance the recreation offerings within Tacoma’s parks, and extend to areas of the city where existing recreation opportunities may be more limited.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

The City and Parks Tacoma have identified a need to maintain and expand parks facilities in the future. Additionally, community members have provided input that Tacoma’s parks should have greater connectivity, be managed in a way that promotes environmental stewardship, provide programming that is accessible to all community members, and provide opportunities for special events and activities that improve cultural awareness and support economic development. Public engagement efforts indicate Tacoma residents would like to be able to safely walk, bus, or bike to a local park, community garden, or open green space. The City and Parks Tacoma continue to partner on potential transfers of City-owned parks to Parks Tacoma, and the City continues to develop its relationship with local schools to enhance community access to park facilities on those campuses, particularly in underserved areas. Over the next 20 years, the City aims to engage in more habitat restoration efforts in passive open space properties. More resources may be required to facilitate these efforts in coming years.

One measure of LOS for Tacoma’s parks is measuring by acres per capita, by park type. This measure considers the overall space allocated to various park functions and allows for comparison with peer communities across a common metric. However, with population growth and shifts toward denser development patterns over time, it is challenging to maintain consistent ratios of park acreage to population size. This has led the City and Parks Tacoma to introduce the 10-minute walkshed LOS (Exhibit 92). This is a refreshed standard, reflecting a focus on promoting walkable neighborhoods and equity in access to public resources. Parks are not subject to Tacoma's concurrency standard. Parks Tacoma includes a service area that extends beyond the City of Tacoma, however, and does not include City-managed parks in its inventory, so the City of Tacoma has adapted this 10-minute walkshed standard to its boundary and unique inventory to consider future needs for the parks system.

Exhibit 92. City Parks and Open Space LOS

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Capital projects planned by the City for the next six years are listed in Exhibit 89.

Exhibit 93. 2025–2030 City Parks Capital Projects and Funding Sources.

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP

Parks Tacoma 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Plan focuses on neighborhood and community parks in underserved areas, primarily the Southeast, Southwest and Central planning areas, while preserving flexibility to fulfill commitments to partners and respond to community needs as they arise. The priority is to continue to make progress on equity investment projects and to work to improve park sites in historically underserved neighborhoods. Over $18.9 million across six years of the plan is budgeted for neighborhood and community parks. Anticipated funding sources include a 2014 bond, state funding, federal grant funding, Parks Tacoma Foundation support, partnerships, donations, funding from the City of Tacoma, and other sources. Exhibit 94 summarizes Parks Tacoma’s capital projects for the next six years.

Exhibit 94. 2025–2030 Parks Tacoma Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Source: Parks Tacoma 2025-2026 Biennium Operating + Capital Budget

Transportation

Tacoma’s regional setting has a strong influence on travel patterns and future capital improvement needs. The city is bounded by the Puget Sound and Commencement Bay (a deep water harbor of international significance), as well as the communities of Ruston, Fife, Federal Way, Fircrest, Lakewood, University Place, and unincorporated Pierce County. Tacoma sits just north of a major military installation, the JBLM, and is home to the Port of Tacoma. The city is bisected by two major state facilities (I-5 and SR 16) and includes other highways of regional importance (I-705 and SR 509). The city also hosts a segment of the SR 167 gap, which is among the State’s top priorities for completing the highway system and is currently under construction.

Tacoma is served by Pierce Transit, Sound Transit, numerous regional trails, and other state services such as the Ferry, which connects Tacoma to Vashon Island, and Amtrak’s Cascades route. Given the city’s location, transportation conditions in Tacoma are strongly influenced by a variety of factors such as pass-through JBLM employees, freight vehicles from the Port, and travelers commuting between Pierce County communities and employment centers to the north.

The City coordinates its transportation planning with Pierce Transit along with other jurisdictions it serves, Sound Transit, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Port of Tacoma, and the State of Washington. Through the Tacoma Public Works Department, the City maintains and improves transportation facilities, such as arterial and non-arterial streets, bridges, traffic signals, signs, lighting, trails, sidewalks, and bicycle routes.

FACILITIES

Within Tacoma, there are 741 miles of streets, 1,002 miles of sidewalks, 42 bridges, 62 miles of shared bike lanes, and 19 miles of City-owned trails maintained by the Tacoma Public Works Department. There are 22 support facilities; these include asphalt plants, materials building, tool shop, equipment and material sheds, fleet garages, and storage garages.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

The City anticipates the need for significant investments in transportation facility improvements over the next 25 years given planned growth within the City and the larger region. The TMP includes a travel demand forecast and new multi-modal LOS standards to ensure that the city’s transportation system is built at a rate equal or ahead of the pace of development and in a manner that is sustainable, safe, and equitable. In particular, community members have shared their dissatisfaction with transportation safety and rated the condition of major streets and cleanliness of streets as one of the top issues that the City should address.

The performance measures outlined in the TMP will evaluate the transportation system as a whole and track progress over time. To complete the TMP’s vision, new funding strategies—such as impact fees—will be required.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

The City of Tacoma’s 2025-2030 CFP and TMP provide an inventory of existing facilities, forecast of future needs, list of proposed projects, and financing for proposed projects. A summary of this information is provided in Exhibit 95. For more detailed project information, refer to the documents mentioned in this subsection.

Exhibit 95. 2025-2030 City Transportation Capital Projects and Funding Sources

Source: Adopted 2025-2026 City of Tacoma Biennial Budget, 2025-2030 CFP

Public Facilities and Services Provided by Other Entities

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Telecommunications in Tacoma are provided mainly by private companies. Their infrastructure is located throughout the city and includes lines, poles, cables, antenna, towers, and system hubs. Providers available in Tacoma are: Comcast, CenturyLink, Quantum Fiber, Verizon, T-Mobile, Viasat, HughesNet, EarthLink, Lightcurve, Starlink, and Astound Broadband.

The City has a franchise agreement with private cable provider Comcast. Century Link is another private cable provider that serves the City; it is not required to have a franchise agreement under State Law due to the length of time the company has been in operation.

TPU transferred operational control of Click! Network in 2020 to Lightcurve (formerly known as Rainier Connect North, LLC). TPU through Tacoma Power continues to own the network, but the City does not provide services to Tacomans through Click! Network.

NATURAL GAS

Natural gas service is provided to Tacoma residents and businesses by the Puget Sound Energy (PSE). PSE is a private utility providing natural gas and electric service to homes and businesses in the Puget Sound region of Western Washington and Central Washington, covering 10 counties and approximately 6,000 square miles. As of 2021, PSE provides natural gas service to nearly, 38,000 customers within the City of Tacoma. PSE does not provide electric services to the City of Tacoma.

PSE’s operations and rates are governed by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC). PSE natural gas utility operations and standards are further regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, including the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration.

PSE purchases 100% of its natural-gas supplies. About half the natural gas is obtained from producers and marketers in British Columbia and Alberta, and the rest comes from Rocky Mountain States. PSE controls its gas supply costs by acquiring gas, under contract, from a variety of gas producers and suppliers across the western United States and Canada.

FACILITIES

To provide the City of Tacoma and adjacent communities with natural gas, PSE builds, operates, and maintains an extensive system consisting of transmission and distribution natural gas mains, odorizing stations, pressure regulation stations, heaters, corrosion protection systems, above ground appurtenances, and metering systems. Transmission and distribution mains are located along public right-of-way throughout the city.

All the gas PSE acquires is transported into PSE’s service area through large interstate pipelines owned and operated by Williams Northwest Pipeline. Once PSE obtains possession of the gas, it is distributed to customers through more than 26,000 miles of PSE-owned gas mains and service lines. PSE buys and stores significant amounts of natural gas during the summer months, when wholesale gas prices and customer demand are low, and stores it in large underground facilities. PSE withdraws this natural gas in winter when customer usage is highest, ensuring a reliable supply of gas is available. Located in Tacoma, a Liquefied Natural Gas Facility is one of PSE’s natural gas storage facilities. Commissioned in 2022, the Tacoma Liquefied Natural Gas facility has the ability to liquefy up to 250,000 gallons of natural gas a day and store the product in an 8 million gallon liquefied natural gas storage tank.

LOS STANDARD AND FORECAST OF FUTURE NEEDS

PSE updates and files an IRP with the WUTC every two years. Currently, PSE is conducting engagement for its 2025 IRP cycle. The IRP identifies methods to provide dependable and cost-effective natural gas service that address the needs of retail natural gas customers over a 20-year time period.

According to the 2023 Gas Utility IRP, PSE’s design standard ensures that natural gas supply can meet firm loads on a 13 degree design peak day, corresponding to a 52-heating degree day.

The 2023 Gas Utility IRP selected a zero-growth sensitivity portfolio scenario. Under this preferred portfolio, there would be no new gas customer growth. The lower demand over time reduces supply-side resources because of the reduced year-round pipeline capacity from not renewing some capacity contracts. The pipeline non-renewals are partly from reduced resource need from lowered demand and partly from displacement by other cost-effective resources alternatives, such as conservation and on-system alternative fuels (e.g. renewable natural gas and green hydrogen). As a result, there would be net negative supply-side resources through 2050.

Natural gas energy use is declining — down 7% for residential and 3% for commercial in 2023 -- and PSE forecasts a continued decline over the next five years. This is driven by a number of factors, including building code changes, the elimination of allowances for gas line extensions, continued energy efficiency, and warmer winters on average that mean less demand for heating.

PSE’s commitment to a clean energy transition and the passage of state policies such as the Clean Energy Transformation Act, the Climate Commitment Act, and House Bill 1589 is impacting PSE’s approach to delivering energy to customers. In line with Clean Energy Transformation Act requirements, PSE set targets to reach net zero carbon emissions for natural gas used in customer homes and businesses by 2045, with an interim target of a 30% emissions reduction by 2030. PSE plans to transform its natural gas distribution business through renewable natural gas, new technologies, and policies that would aid in the transition. PSE recently launched a targeted electrification pilot for 10,000 of its natural gas customers to transition to more efficient and sustainable electric technologies for space conditioning and water heating. As PSE works towards compliance with the state’s climate change policies, the utility will likely explore different strategies to meet emission reduction goals, which will impact natural gas customers.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

PSE plans for ongoing work to maintain the integrity and reliability of its natural gas system. Major infrastructure projects support the operations and maintenance of its natural gas plants, system upgrades, replacing and installing new pipes, wires, and new technology equipment.

Schools

TPS is the third largest district in Washington State serving more than 28,000 children in kindergarten through grade 12. The district includes almost all of Tacoma, Browns Point, Dash Point, Ruston, and most of Fircrest, plus portions of Lakewood, Midland, and University Place. The district has 36 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, 10 high schools (comprehensive, magnet, and alternative), and 11 alternative learning sites. TPS is governed by a Board of Directors, an elected body of five citizens representing the entire district. Each board member is elected from the district at-large to serve a six-year term.

Voters approved construction bonds in 2020 and in 2024 that support the replacement or historic modernization of 13 schools. Six of those are now open, and two more will be complete by 2027. The opening dates for the remaining five are being determined. A new skill center, Maritime253, is slated to open in the fall of 2026. This regional Career and Technical Education education center will be a landmark campus on the Tacoma waterfront and will serve high school students from multiple school districts. TPS will operate the Maritime 253 Skills Center, offering students from districts across the South Sound the opportunity to enroll in courses and access career-focused programming.

The voter-approved construction bonds also provide for needed improvements across Tacoma, including replacement of aged and deteriorating roofs; retrofitting buildings for earthquake safety; improvements on playgrounds, playfields, and athletic facilities to meet safety standards; ADA accessibility improvements; and heating, ventilation, and plumbing upgrades for clean air and safe water.

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