May 7, 2024
Urban Design Project Review – Overview of the Proposal
Approved by the City Council on Tuesday, May 7, the Urban Design Project Review will create a new land use permit process for large scale building projects that developers propose in certain mixed-use centers and high-density neighborhood centers throughout Tacoma. The goal of creating the Urban Design Project Review process is to incorporate the consideration of a building project’s relationship with the urban environment, the public realm, connectivity, climate responsiveness, and other urban design concerns.
The legislative package approved by the City Council includes new design guidelines, new and revised design standards, municipal code amendments, and revised administrative procedures. More specifically, the package includes the following:
- Permits will be required for larger developments located within any of the City’s 16 designated Mixed-Use Centers (see map).
- The largest developments will be subject to the highest level of review (through the proposed Urban Design Board of Council-appointed members), while smaller projects will receive administrative review.
- Building size thresholds within Neighborhood Centers will be lower than those of the other Mixed-Use Centers (Downtown, Tacoma Mall and Crossroads Centers).
- All levels of review will include public notice and opportunities for comment. Board-level reviews will include one public meeting at the Concept Design stage.
- NOTE: The areas where this Urban Design Project Review will be required are not subject to the proposed zoning and land use changes that are proposed in the Home in Tacoma project.
Project Timeline – Spring 2024 Status
- The City’s Planning Commission forwarded the Urban Design Project Review package to the City Council’s Infrastructure, Planning, and Sustainability (IPS) Committee at the end of 2023.
- The IPS Committee voted to recommend the package to the full City Council with no changes on February 28.
- The City Council conducted a public hearing on Urban Design Project Review package on April 23.The City Council reviewed the comments received at the April 23 public hearing during the weekly Study Session meeting on April 30, and conducted the first reading of the ordinance at the regular full City Council meeting that same day.
- On May 7, the full City Council conducted the final reading of ordinance and voted to approve the Urban Design Project Review package.
Urban Design Project Review and SEPA - FAQs
Q: What changes now that Urban Design Project Review is approved? How will this be different from before?
A: The Urban Design Project Review (UDPR) is a new land use permit review process that will be applied to some types of proposed building developments located in any of the City’s 16 designated Mixed-Use Centers (see map above). UDPR will be required if the proposed development project is greater in size than the size threshold for that particular Mixed-Use Center.
Previously, if a proposed development conformed to established zoning requirements, a development of any size could have been built with only a construction permit review and an environmental (SEPA) review, unless it was exempt from SEPA review. The UDPR creates a new public land use permit review process in addition to SEPA review that takes into consideration the surrounding urban environment, the public realm, connectivity, climate responsiveness, and other urban design concerns.
Q: What kinds of projects would be subject to Urban Design Project Review, and which projects would not get this type of review?
A: The Urban Design Project Review (UDPR) will be required of developments located in a designated Mixed-Use Center if the proposed building size is greater than the size threshold for that Mixed-Use Center.
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The minimum size threshold for Mixed-Use Centers (Crossroads Centers, Tacoma Mall, and Downtown) is 20,000 square feet.
UDPR permits will not be required of projects that are smaller than these thresholds and will continue to be subject only to prescriptive development and design standards as part of the existing construction permit review process.
Q: Which areas of Tacoma will include Urban Design Project Review as a requirement for some projects?
A: Urban Design Project Review (UDPR) permit program will only apply to areas within 16 designated Mixed-Use Centers. These are only the Neighborhood Centers, Crossroads Centers, Tacoma Mall Regional Growth Area, and the Downtown Regional Growth Area designated by the City’s Comprehensive Plan, all shown on the map above.
All other areas of the City, (including those affected by the Home in Tacoma project currently under consideration,) are not subject to UDPR provisions.
Q: What is a Mixed-Use Center, and how long have these 16 locations been designated as Mixed-Use Centers?
A: The 16 Mixed-Use Centers shown on the map above were established by the City’s Comprehensive Plan in 1993 and amended in 2007 as part of Tacoma’s required response to the State’s Growth Management Act. They are locations where the underlying zoning supports the most intensive residential, commercial, and mixed-use development to accommodate future growth.
Q: How will the new Urban Design Project Review process improve development design outcomes?
A: The City previously regulated the design of new projects through prescriptive Code standards with building permits, but without qualitative review. These requirements varied by zoning and building type, but they were fairly inflexible and did not always reflect the best approach to urban design challenges or support creativity.
The new UDPR provides an opportunity to find the best way a development project can achieve community urban design goals given its unique context. This includes how required standards are applied, as well as exploring thoughtful, more creative solutions. UDPR intends to improve the function, fit, and integration of new buildings with the existing and planned urban context, as well as natural features surrounding them.
Q: Will Urban Design Project Review permits replace or exempt project-level SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) permit review?
A: No. The UDPR review has no effect on whether or not a building project must include a SEPA permit review. The UDPR permit process will be conducted separately from and parallel to the SEPA permit review, when applicable.
Q: Will projects subject to Urban Design Project Review also be subject to SEPA review?
A: Yes. If a SEPA permit review is required for a particular project, staff expect it will occur after the UDPR Concept Design review step, but before the Final Design review steps, and also prior to any construction permit reviews.
Q: If this Urban Design Project Review process had been in place in 2021, would it have stopped the Bridge Industrial development in South Tacoma?
A: No. Urban Design Review does not have any impact, restriction, or change to the allowed industrial uses that are permitted by the established zoning, and the Bridge Industrial project is in an area zoned for commercial/industrial development. Urban Design Project Review will only be applicable to certain medium- to large-scale projects proposed within the 16 Mixed-Use Centers shown on the map above, and the Bridge Industrial project is not located in any of those 16 Mixed-Use Centers.
Want more info?
More detailed answers, links to resources, and additional topics are covered in depth on the City’s Urban Design Program webpage at
cityoftacoma.org/urbandesign.