[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6660896,"mediaKeyId","2431157-0cca1dfe1d00d85ffea9215883b29207","parentId",2431157,"title","Tacoma staff previews additions to six-year transportation plan; flags match funding gap","audioSeconds",664,"startMs",5548000,"endMs",6212000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2431157-0cca1dfe1d00d85ffea9215883b29207&start=5548&end=6212","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2431157-0cca1dfe1d00d85ffea9215883b29207/thumbnail_5548000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6660896/Tacoma/Pierce-County/Washington/Tacoma-staff-previews-additions-to-six-year-transportation-plan-flags-match-funding-gap","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6660896-5a0a30ca7ee663125b5ddb994a6f8fcd/orig.mp4?Expires=1771190474&Signature=SwhLq0ID~78iKfIaYmUBoAW99foNhvGxmmJL3hfdHoYPFgbOh3toGUcz8np7iyPTpCSVh5zM0crTKe8FcvgCNopOs2dUKCsUicb34SVzmSWPfbHrwmKv~kY0JSay1hkIXckIgvZ~2q3bkTxt4zotn7AhWSE-vSVw~1jOSMqEIthz9GITMRTkaTb~2TlMxLPOf-dP~kcKryMfEvFIswI0QObkEYS4WLbpSnUcHfuCc7EGAuv527v-48PZ2drX4WRwt8SsGM8BDuMYNieTO8wUgl3MWr-z9~Qm5IHufRoz0KVKifhGirQMOPFHOEX7AK~P5KDw65VyN9mqDULNGGyvew__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Tacoma","date","2025-02-26T00:00:00Z","article","City transportation staff on March 11 briefed Tacoma's Infrastructure, Planning & Sustainability Committee on proposed changes to the required six-year transportation improvement program (TIP), presenting a list of projects to add, projects to remove and the timing for public hearing and adoption.

The TIP is a state-required six-year inventory of capital transportation projects that must be submitted annually; in most cases projects must be listed in the TIP to be eligible for state and federal grant funding. Staff said they plan to return to the committee with a full draft on April 23, ask the full City Council for a May 6 study-session recommendation, and seek adoption by July 1 to meet state deadlines.

Staff highlighted scope and funding
Jennifer Camrazel, subdivision manager in Public Works (Transportation), said the city proposes adding about $124 million in potential projects, while removing roughly $35 million of projects that are complete or consolidated. Darius Thompson, assistant division manager for Public Works project delivery, said the newly proposed additions are driven largely by federal and regional grant opportunities such as Reconnecting Communities and Safe Streets for All, alongside historic grant programs the city pursues.

Staff noted that approximately $39 million of city match is unidentified for projects currently proposed for addition; most grants require local match (commonly 12%–20%). The presentation showed grants, partnerships and identified city funds as primary funding sources, with partnerships accounting for a substantial share of the proposed additions and a portion of projects still listed as \"unidentified grant\" funding.

Examples and eligibility
Staff cited examples of projects proposed for addition, including the Eleventh Street paving project and East Roosevelt arterial improvements; Darius Thompson also described recent removals such as completed striping projects, bridge work added as emergency repairs and other completed items. Jennifer Camrazel said staff work to prioritize projects carried forward from the city's Transportation Mobility Plan and noted that not every maintenance activity is part of the TIP (chip sealing and pothole repairs are not capital TIP items).

Timing and next steps
Staff will return to IPS on April 23 with a full draft and a summary of adds/removals. The intended sequence is: IPS feedback in April, a Council study session May 6, public hearing and adoption by July 1 so the updated TIP can be submitted to the state and regional agencies in time. Staff asked committee members to send any project-specific requests to the transportation staff before the April packet is finalized.

Ending
Committee members thanked staff for the work and asked for clarification on bridge emergency additions and how the city's lists feed into regional planning bodies; staff said projects from the TIP are used to populate regional lists managed by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) and to qualify projects for federal funding programs. Staff will return in April with a draft for committee recommendation to the full council.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Tacoma - 20250226_Infrastructure, Planning, and Sustainability - Feb 26, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Public works staff briefed the committee on amendments to the city's required six-year transportation improvement program, proposing roughly $124 million in new projects and noting about $39 million in unidentified city match for grants; staff will return with a full draft in April for council review and a July 1 adoption deadline.","taxTitle","Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington","taxId",2675,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6660901,"Tacoma committee advances urban forestry package after broad public comment and legal questions",3735,1501000,5236000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2431157-0cca1dfe1d00d85ffea9215883b29207&start=1501&end=5236","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2431157-0cca1dfe1d00d85ffea9215883b29207/thumbnail_1501000.jpg","/articles/6660901/Tacoma/Pierce-County/Washington/Tacoma-committee-advances-urban-forestry-package-after-broad-public-comment-and-legal-questions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6660901-30eddb4ad42724f4a387b2214e1a0054/orig.mp4?Expires=1771190474&Signature=gZ~17p57ZkQxp6Ru42yKY1zMSiLznVZGXTIAVKx0rG5ubDDnlzDmrk6w-4bCF4h0QjE8nxQz-oXRZ23MfIn7zURWnSBr411eu~m0EtcDtx9c5~sBt2o5RiGM06BpGM1Cjf3h8iXM3EGki-4dPel8ZGi8BxjqWxBQRF12k~CGYqGEdwDtZMijwwNkmfgkKZ1zh3J8TwVIDBQXj96Td-LIRvDV81TkrYGFKvv8a0YvsU-IJQaI54kfgH7PNJSkojKU0yFVd0q1NJwH-7S5wwCvrSs-w-brSTjEDJCUehE8q2EoYD3uhTQXScXxIRgl0YsM6y6i7Swb~BCpOWnQq2h3OQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Infrastructure, Planning & Sustainability Committee on March 11 voted to advance a council consideration request to expand Tacoma's urban forestry program and further implement the city's 2019 Urban Forest Management Plan, sending the item for a March 25 study session at the full City Council.

Public commentators pressed the committee to move quickly to protect large trees and increase planting rates while staff and the city attorney warned that any new regulations affecting private property will require careful legal analysis and planning commission review.

The action matters because Tacoma has a stated goal of reaching a 30% tree canopy by 2030, public speakers said, while current canopy cover stands near 20% and the city is planting fewer than 2,000 trees a year toward an identified target of roughly 10,000 trees annually. Committee discussion focused on five categories of possible action in the memo before members: citywide tree preservation rules for development sites, a permit structure for removing trees on nondevelopment sites, canopy requirements or incentives for parking lots, canopy rules or incentives in commercial/manufacturing zones and very low equity areas, and expanded city services and funding options for trees in the public right of way.

Public comment and staff briefing
Georgette Reuter, introduced as a longtime District 2 resident and member of the Tacoma Urban Forest Friends, urged the committee to follow the city's own planning documents and act quickly to meet the canopy goal. \"We believe that it is urgent for everyone to make a greater effort to protect and expand our vital urban forest,\" Reuter said.

Judy Valerian, who identified herself as working with the same urban forest group, said the 2019 Urban Forest Management Plan contains the data needed and asked the city to quantify the funding required to reach the planting target. \"Unless we quantify that, unless we know that number, we can't...find a way to get the money,\" Valerian said.

Courtney Davis, also from the urban forestry citizen group, urged the committee to protect trees 18 inches and above, citing a planning commission recommendation, and to account for the loss of mature trees when calculating planting needs. Planning Commissioner Rob Crabill supported the memo's scope and suggested a joint task force between planning and sustainability commissions to help manage workload.

Legal and implementation constraints
Steve Victor, the city's chief deputy city attorney, told the committee that regulations that limit land use on private property are subject to state law requiring planning commission review and must meet legal tests commonly described as nexus and proportionality (i.e., a connection between the regulation and the public benefit and a reasonable fit between the restriction and the benefit). Victor cited Seattle's recent approach of dividing the city into tree zones as one defensible model and warned that prior court rulings in other jurisdictions have struck down tree regulations when the supporting analysis was insufficient. \"When we're defending it, ultimately, what the court looks at is what basis do we have to put this regulation? What work did we do?\" Victor said.

Committee members and staff noted other implementation challenges: whether to adopt the \"Home in Tacoma\" tree requirements citywide or to tailor standards by zone and land use; how to treat hazardous or nuisance trees and emergency removals; and how to pay for planting and ongoing maintenance. Urban forestry staff told the committee the city's right-of-way code already defines hazardous, nuisance and invasive trees and that language could be copied into any new provisions for consistency.

Incentives, right-of-way funding and wood-waste diversion
The memo presented nonregulatory tools including tax incentives, pilot programs, and permitting changes. Staff estimated upfront administrative costs for an incentive program could be on the order of tens of thousands of dollars; a staff member said a program to stand up incentives could cost about $50,000 in staff time. Members discussed options to fund expanded city management of street trees, including wastewater excise tax or a stormwater utility rate enhancement, and the feasibility of business-district maintenance agreements. Committee members and commenters also urged that wood-waste diversion and reuse be pursued in parallel; staff noted the council previously passed a resolution to dedicate funds to a wood-waste diversion study and that related work could be separated from the code-focused items.

Planning commission and timing
Because many proposed changes would regulate the use of land, staff and the city attorney said the planning commission must review them; the commission already has a full work plan, so the committee discussed priorities and sequencing. Committee members asked staff to provide a fiscal-impact note for each item (staff time, legal analysis and, for incentives, direct budget impacts) and to identify which items would not require planning commission review (for example, some right-of-way service or funding actions).

Committee decision and next steps
The committee voted to advance the package to the full City Council for a March 25 study session; the motion was made, seconded and adopted. The vote was recorded as adopted without a roll-call tally in the transcript.

Staff indicated they will return to the committee with an edited memo that: summarizes the five potential actions with fiscal notes; incorporates public comments received in writing; includes clarifications on right-of-way exemptions and on the planning commission's likely role; and adds a study item on brownfield considerations for tree planting in industrial areas. The committee also asked staff to note how the urban forestry work should be prioritized relative to the planning commission's existing workload and potential 2026 scheduling needs.

The committee's action moves the urban forestry package to the full council's agenda as an item for study; any regulatory proposals would later return to the planning commission for review and to the council for final adoption.

Ending
Staff said written public comments received in advance will be responded to and that committee members can provide additional guidance to staff before the packet is finalized for the council study session on March 25.","The Infrastructure, Planning & Sustainability Committee moved to send a package of urban forestry actions to the full City Council for a March 25 study session after public commenters urged faster action to meet the city's tree-canopy goals. Staff flagged legal and fiscal work needed before regulatory changes can be adopted.","actionData","errors"]

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Tacoma staff previews additions to six-year transportation plan; flags match funding gap

Tacoma committee advances urban forestry package after broad public comment and legal questions