Annual Land Use Regulatory Code Update
Part of the City’s responsibility in developing and managing the Comprehensive Plan is to review and update the Land Use Regulatory Code each year. This is done to maintain consistency with the goals and objectives in the Comprehensive Plan, to comply with the Washington State Growth Management Act, and to incorporate any new laws, requirements or guidelines that were adopted in the previous year. The intent of the amendment process is to review all of these changes simultaneously, where appropriate, so that the cumulative effects can be considered.
The City is currently utilizing a two-year cycle for Comprehensive Plan amendments, with City-initiated amendments generally processed in odd-year adoption cycles and private-initiated amendments processed in even-year (e.g., 2026 Amendment) adoption cycles.
Code amendments or area-wide rezone applications that do not require a Plan change may be applied for and processed at any time, depending on staffing resources and Planning Commission capacity.
2026 Annual Amendment
The application period for the 2026 Annual Amendment to the One Tacoma Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Regulatory Code is now closed for submissions. Applications received are currently being assessed and will be taken to Planning Commission for their consideration in late 2025.
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Project Summary – McKinley Annexation Applicant: Property owners located at 8717, 8615, and 8801 McKinley Ave E. Staff Contact: Wesley Rhodes, Senior Planner, wrhodes@tacoma.gov Area of Applicability: 8615 McKinley Ave E
1 Parcel: ~2.25 Acres
8717 McKinley Ave E
2 Parcels: ~2.2 and ~2.2 Acres (~4.4 Total)
8801 McKinley Ave E
1 Parcel: ~0.36 AcresCurrent Land Use and Zoning: Regulated under Pierce County’s “Middle Housing” designation, currently the properties have single-family residential use. Neighborhood Council Area: The subject area is adjacent to the South End Neighborhood Council area. Project Proposal: Through pre-annexation planning, identify appropriate land use and zoning districts for the subject site and changes to other maps that include delineations of City boundaries. Map amendments would take effect upon future annexation. The McKinley Potential Annexation area is located to the east of McKinley Ave E., south of E. 86th Street and north of E. 90th Street. This approximately 7-acre area is within both an Urban Growth Area (UGA) and the Parkland/Spanaway Potential Annexation Area (PAA), as designated in both the City of Tacoma’s and Pierce County’s comprehensive plans.
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Project Summary – Special Needs Housing Applicant: Planning and Development Services Staff Contact: Adam Nolan, Senior Planner, anolan@tacoma.gov Area of Applicability: Citywide Current Land Use and Zoning: Various Neighborhood Council Area: Citywide Project Proposal: This staff-initiated amendment is in response to City Council Resolution No. 41311 (adopted in 2023) that directed the Planning Commission to identify appropriate zoning and development standards for siting Enhanced Service Facilities (ESFs), especially in response to updated State laws regarding ESFs. Additional changes will be made for Special Needs Housing to correct inconsistencies with Home in Tacoma and to align TMC definitions with state definitions. -
Project Summary – Minor Amendments Applicant: Planning and Development Services Staff Contact: Marcie Stenmark, Senior Planner, mstenmark@tacoma.gov
Carl Metz, Senior Planner, cmetz@tacoma.govArea of Applicability: Citywide Current Land Use and Zoning: Various Neighborhood Council Area: Citywide Project Proposal: The intent of the Minor Amendments is to keep information current, address inconsistencies or minor errors in the code, increase clarity, and improve provisions that, through implementation of the Plan and administration of the Code, are found to be unclear or not fully meet their intent. The Preliminary Scope of Work for the Minor Plan and Code Amendments is organized as six high-level topic areas:
- Definitions and Terms
- Permitted Uses and Standards
- Urban Residential Zoning Development and Design Standards
- Non-Urban Residential Zoning Design Standards
- Corrections
- Clarifications
Each of these topics includes a number of amendments throughout the Tacoma Municipal Code. More detailed information will be presented at a future Planning Commission meeting.
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Project Summary – Legislative Code Updates Applicant: Planning and Development Services Staff Contact: Stephen Atkinson, Principal Planner, satkinson@tacoma.gov Area of Applicability: Citywide Current Land Use and Zoning: Various Neighborhood Council Area: Various Project Proposal: This proposal would update the Tacoma Municipal Code to address recent state requirements: - Childcare Centers (required by SB 5509) – requires Child Day Care Centers to be permitted in all zoning districts with some limited exceptions for industrial zones.
- Binding Site Plans (required by SB 5611) – would change the types of development projects and locations in the City that could utilize the binding site plan process for platting and subdivisions.
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Target Dates Actions July 31, 2025 Applications due October 1, 2025 Planning Commission completes initial assessment of applications October – January 2025 Planning Commission and Staff conduct analysis of applications; Develop Plan and Code Exhibits February – March 2026 Planning Commission Public Hearing and comment period April 2026 Planning Commission recommendations May – June City Council public hearing and adoption
