Status
The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on May 16, 2007 to receive public comments on the proposed amendment to the PRD regulations. The amendment addresses two primary issues: "open space" and "PRD district modifications." At the meeting on June 6, the Commission made its recommendations to the City Council; relevant documents were made available on June 13 (see the first 3 documents listed below).
Also, on the "procedural track" (parallel to the "regulatory review track") pursuant to the ordinance, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on February 21 and delivered its findings of fact and recommendations to the City Council on March 7, suggesting that the need for the moratorium was justified and the duration should be extended to one year to allow adequate time to address all matters of concern. The City Council reviewed the Commission's recommendations, conducted a public hearing on March 20, and deliberated on March 27 on whether the moratorium should be affirmed, modified or rescinded. The Council decided that the 6-month moratorium be retained through August 1, 2007.
Relevant Documents
Background
The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 27584, as amended, on January 30, 2007, imposing a six-month moratorium on the acceptance of a variety of land use permit applications affecting existing properties that are zoned Planned Residential Development District (PRD) or the zoning of new areas to a PRD. The moratorium became effective on February 1 and will expire on August 1, 2007, unless extended.
The ordinance requires the Planning Commission to conduct a study to develop revised PRD zoning regulations to address open space requirements, allowed housing types, development standards and any other matters of concern.
The City Council has found that the current PRD zoning regulations are not achieving their intended purpose and are allowing development that does not provide sufficient and appropriate recreational areas, open space and community amenities contemplated by the Tacoma Municipal Code requirements and the Comprehensive Plan.
The need for improvements to the PRD regulations has been identified as part of the Residential Zoning Code Update (RZCU) effort. The RZCU project, however, has been delayed by other priority projects but has recently restarted. The RZCU shall be completed as quickly as possible.
The increasing number of applications to modify or redevelop existing PRDs is expected to result in the permitting of more developments that may be inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Due to the size and scale of PRDs, they have an impact far greater than other types of residential development, creating an emergent need to temporarily halt development under current PRD regulations until the necessary improvements to the PRD regulations can be adopted.
Staff Contact
Brian Boudet, (253) 573-2389, bboudet@cityoftacoma.org