Height limits,parking requirements spark controversy

How tall should buildings be in mixed-use centers? What type of parking requirements, if any, should there be in these areas, which generally fall within the boundaries of the business districts in Tacoma?

Tacoma Planning Commission has been examining these and other questions for the past year and recently compiled its recommendations for Tacoma City Council. The council discussed them during its noon study session on June 30 and heard public testimony during the council meeting that evening.

The commission recommends base height limits ranging from 45 to 60 feet. Developers who wish to build higher could do so, if the recommendations are adopted, by agreeing to add certain features.

The commission recommends eliminating parking requirements. Parking has become a problem along Sixth Avenue, where many patrons of restaurants and nightclubs park in front of houses on nearby side streets.

David Boe, vice chair of the commission, said a prior decision to eliminate parking requirements in this part of Sixth Avenue led to its current revival. He expressed support for doing the same elsewhere.

City Manager Eric Anderson sent a letter to council members expressing the city staff’s objection to this. Anderson has been working on a long-range parking strategy for several years. He said he supports the concept of eliminating parking requirements, but opposes this recommendation because it does not include a provision for people to pay to park, as being considered in the wider examination. “We need to go forward in a systematic way,” he remarked.

Nearly 30 people testified before the council.

Ivory Crittendon voiced support for raising the height limit to 65 feet on Hilltop. His family wants to demolish old structures on land they own on the 2100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and build a residential tower of around 90 units.

“We have to build up our community,” he said. “We are spending some good money to improve it.”

Pat McGregor, representing Central Neighborhood Council, said his group is opposed to raising it above 45 feet on Hilltop.

Erik Bjornson, representing North End Neighborhood Council, said parking requirements should be eliminated to create more walkable districts. “It is the right thing to do.”

Steve Appling of Central Neighborhood Council disagreed. “Sixth Avenue is a mess,” he said. “Think carefully before you throw away these parking requirements.”

Numerous McKinley Hill residents voiced strong opposition to both of the hot-button recommendations.

Chris Skelton said incentives should be offered to developers of shorter buildings. “Why destroy our views?” he asked. He suggested taller buildings are better suited across the freeway in the Dome District. “Now that is an area that wants density.”

Representatives of business organizations support the recommendations. Chelsea Levy from Tacoma/Pierce County Chamber of Commerce said “they will attract well-planned growth.”

Ruth Doyle from Master Builders Association of Pierce County said they will provide needed flexibility to developers and help the city meets its requirements to plan for future growth. “Tacoma is behind in its goals to absorb growth,” she remarked.

Bill Evans, a merchant in Proctor District, urged the council to support height increases to 65 feet, as 45 feet is not feasible for developers. “Either we are going to pave to the mountain or we will do creative things in the context of our urban centers,” he said.

Council members Jake Fey and Rick Talbert both said they planned to offer amendments to the recommendations soon. The council is scheduled to have a first reading of the ordinance on July 14 and vote on it on July 21.

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