Affordable Housing Permit Program

We have a process to make permitting faster and more efficient for projects that create affordable housing units in Tacoma.

Projects that provide 10 or more total housing units with 20% of the units reserved as affordable, and projects that incorporate identified sustainable development features may participate in the program if they meet the criteria of the Priority Review Policy.

Program can be used for the following permit types:

• Work Orders (WO),
• Site Development Permits (SDEV),
• Building Permits for New Commercial Buildings (BLDCN),
• Building Permits for Commercial Alterations (BLDCA),
• Building Permits for New Residential Permits (BLDRN), and
• Building Permits for Residential Alterations (BLDRA).

This program is NOT applicable to land use permits (LU) at this time.

The Affordable Housing Pre-Development Fee Waiver Policy

The Affordable Housing Pre-Development Fee Waiver Policy waives initial pre-development review fees for affordable housing projects proposed and developed by nonprofit organizations and THA (Tacoma Housing Authority).

• Pre-development fees for an initial electronic review are waived for affordable housing projects proposed by nonprofit organizations and THA that meet the criteria outlined in the Priority Review Policy. No fees are charged for letters required for funding provided as part of this process.

How to Get Started

• Use the priority review checklist, which lists specific qualifiers, to see if your project is eligible.
• Items that qualify the project for priority review will be verified by staff prior to assigning the faster due date. We recommend coordinating with staff prior to permit submittal to make sure they are aware of the project’s priority review status.
• If the project is qualifying through the City’s 12-year MFTE program, applicants are encouraged to submit the MFTE application first, as that makes the verification process easier for staff and faster for you.

The program’s affordable housing project coordinator helps guide affordable housing development projects through the permitting process, by:

• Identifying significant development entitlements at the earliest stage in the development process,
• Providing technical support to review staff,
• Implementing permitting process improvements to create more efficient permitting system, and
• Facilitating collaboration amongst review staff and applicants.

Contact Information

Dustin Lawrence

Phone: (253) 312-1323

Email: dlawrence1@cityoftacoma.org