The City of Sustainability, also known as the City of Destiny
Recently, the City of Tacoma announced Sustainable Tacoma Grants, awarding up to $5,000 to any non-profit or educational institution planning a project related to sustainable development and climate change mitigation. The grant encourages applicants to “be creative!” and to connect the grant proposal to Tacoma’s Climate Action Plan. Key strategies of the action plan include transportation/fuel reduction, energy reduction, waste reduction/recycling, and smart land use/livable neighborhoods.
This grant is another concrete step that the City of Tacoma has taken to integrate sustainable principles into the City’s daily operations. Previously, the Tacoma City Council passed a comprehensive upzone for several of Tacoma’s mixed use centers. This upzone is intended to accommodate projected population growth inside the City, rather than outside the City (such as on Puyallup Valley farmland). Recognizing the City’s determination to encourage urban infill, the Washington State Department of Commerce awarded the City with a $100,000 grant to fund an upfront environmental analysis of a recently upzoned mixed use center. The upfront environmental analysis will encourage new development by removing one of the biggest barriers to infill development, that is, project-based appeals under the State Environmental Policy Act. The Responsible Developer’s Blog previously discussed the importance of “upfront SEPA.”
Of course, not all of Tacoma’s residents are excited about the idea of new (and more) neighbors. To assuage neighborhood concerns, the City is taking proactive steps to engage residents in a conversation about growth. Last month, the City sponsored a lecture titled Density, Gentrification, & Other Dirty Words. Upcoming lectures are on Sustainable Transportation and Adapting Old Buildings to New Uses. A list of upcoming lectures is available here. The City of Tacoma’s Sustainability Calendar is available here.
Expect to see Tacoma taking a lead on urban infill in the years to come. The micro-grants, upzones, upfront environmental review, and public outreach are just the beginning.
