• Visit the One Tacoma Social Pinpoint site to learn more about comprehensive planning, directly share your comments on our Ideas Wall, and view a calendar of upcoming in-person events and meetings. 
• Sign up to receive regular project updates and invitations to upcoming surveys, events, focus groups, and community meetings.
• Complete the Community Survey hosted by the Office of Strategy – Coming Soon.
• What is important to you for Tacoma’s future? Email us at onetacoma@cityoftacoma.org.

The City of Tacoma is updating its Comprehensive Plan (to 2050) and concurrently will refresh its Strategic Plan (to 2035) and develop a Community Safety Action Strategy. All three plans require community engagement to inform policies and strategies and, locally, it is a long-standing priority of the City of Tacoma to invest in engagement in service of equity and empowerment in all policies. For example, RCW 36.70A.140 of the Growth Management Act requires local jurisdictions to provide for “early and continuous public participation.” However, beyond the regulatory public comment and hearing, much is up to local jurisdiction to decide how much to invest in ensuring equitable and inclusive public participation.

The Tacoma community has been extensively engaged in recent years for many intersecting initiatives. Several partner agencies are planning community engagement on a similar timeline. However, there are likely to be remaining gaps. This community engagement strategy is intended to maximize leverage of existing data and existing engagement efforts to minimize respondent burden and confusion. Additional resources or “new engagement” should be focused on thematic gaps and/or gaps by community group. This plan also anticipates leveraging external partner engagement opportunities to inform all three plans.

One Tacoma Community Engagement Plan

• One Tacoma Interactive Map
• One Tacoma Plan Homepage
• How the Plan is Implemented
• Map Index

• Transportation Master Plan Update
• Community Safety Plan
• 2035 Strategic Plan update 
• Neighborhood Planning 
• Tideflats Subarea Plan
• Picture Pac Ave Subarea Plan
• Urban Design Review Program
• Home In Tacoma
• Stormwater Management Program (SWMP) Plan

What is a comprehensive plan?

A comprehensive plan is a tool that helps cities proactively respond to growth and change. It is a long-range plan that looks ahead 25 years to anticipate the needs of current and future residents, business owners, workers, and visitors of a city. The plan is organized into sections that cover a range of issues including housing, land use, transportation, utilities, parks, economic development, and more.

What is the One Tacoma Plan?

The One Tacoma Plan is the City of Tacoma’s comprehensive plan, which is being updated in 2024 and 2025. This once in a decade update process is an opportunity for anyone who cares about the future of Tacoma to join together and think about the kind of community we want to become and believe we can achieve by 2050. The update process will also coordinate and align with other planning efforts currently in-progress, including the Transportation Master Plan, Community Safety Plan, the Metro Parks Tacoma Strategic Plan, the Strategic Plan update for Tacoma 2035, the Stormwater Comprehensive Plan, Home in Tacoma, and the Tideflats and Picture Pac Ave Subarea Plans. The One Tacoma Plan update process will be completed in 2025.

Why is this plan important?

The One Tacoma Plan affects everyone who cares about the future of Tacoma over the next 25 years. It allows us to plan for a changing city that keeps us safe, allows us to live sustainably with our land and water, and contributes to our physical, social, and economic health. The One Tacoma Plan can help maintain our quality of life while also building a more equitable future that offers the same opportunities to everyone.

How is this plan used?

Comprehensive plans guide city decisions on how we use land and water, improve city streets, create options for transportation, build housing, and take care of public facilities and services such as parks, libraries, and utilities. City staff use the Comprehensive Plan to direct and coordinate actions, policies, and programs that serve community members to improve everyone’s quality of life.

Why do we need a comprehensive plan?

Tacoma’s comprehensive plan is required by the State Growth Management Act. The GMA was enacted in 1990 and amended in 1991 in response to rapid population growth and concerns with suburban sprawl, environmental protection, quality of life, and related issues. The One Tacoma Plan is a coordinated effort to ensure the City has sufficient capacity of land planned for and zoned to accommodate its housing and job growth targets.