by Michelle Mood Tacoma City Planning Department has: NO LEGAL OBLIGATION to promote health justice. NO LEGAL OBLIGATION to promote racial equity. NO LEGAL OBLIGATION to protect us from the climate emergency.       I’ve been working with many organizations and individuals diligently engaging the City of Tacoma Planning and Development Services(PDS) about their development work, such as permitting of projects around the city that pave over wetlands in The Tidal Flats for more storage containers or adding 125 acres of construction in South Tacoma for a project producing ..read more

by Michelle Mood Alert! Alert! The City of Tacoma Planning and Development Services Department has a chance to reduce health inequity and environmental injustice in South Tacoma! Will they go for it? Let’s look at the permitting process schematic presented to City Mayor Woodards and City Council this past summer — This is the permitting flow chart for Bridge Industrial’s planned 2.5 million square feet warehouse in South Tacoma (“LU21-0125”). Look at the top, blue sections, at the fourth blue block, when “experts provide comments and revisions if needed for granting the request.” Well, the ex ..read more

Bridge Industrial is trying to get a 2.5 million square foot warehouse in South Tacoma permitted (LU21-0125). The City of Tacoma Planning and Development Services department is overseeing the project but so far that office has not indicated a full Environmental Impact Statement will be completed. The proposal estimates that traffic will be increased by 5,000 vehicle trips a day, but the size requires more like 10,000-12,000 new vehicle trips per day.  Take Action!    Comments about this project can be directed to Principal Planner Shirley Schultz at shirley.schutz@cityoftacoma ..read more

Puget Sound Energy is yet again trying to increase rates for residential gas and electric customers. Part of this will be to pay for the construction costs of their Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility that the Puyallup Tribe is still fighting in court. There will be a public hearing and the Utilities and Transportation Commission need to hear from you that these increases should be denied. Public Hearing Wednesday September 28th starting at 6pm Click here to join by Zoom   By phone: dial 253-215-8782 and use Conference ID 834 6224 4485 and Passcode 772950. UTC website: https//utc.wa.gov ..read more

by Heidi Stephens Stay tuned for information and the latest updates about the STEGZ! The post South Tacoma Economic Green Zone appeared first on 350 Tacoma ..read more

by Michelle Mood                                  2.5 million square feet planned for South Tacoma  by Bridge Point Industrial 2.0 million square feet planned for Milton by Bridge Point Industrial 1 million sq. ft. already under construction 2.3 million square feet planned in Fredrickson “FRED310 Phase 1” Total of 6.8 million square feet of new construction for Pierce County! A recent publication in The News Tribune shock ..read more

by Michelle Mood Almost 80 people are killed or seriously injured in Tacoma in traffic accidents every year, or one every five days. We are twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured if we are walking when that accident occurs. Tacoma’s City Council is helping to change all that, committing to joining the Vision Zero Action Network and abiding to a Vision Zero goal that eliminates traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the City of Tacoma by 2035 (2020 Council  Resolution 40559)! Vision Zero is a global initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries whi ..read more

This is important and part of what we have all been fighting for the last 5 years! Right now, we are in what’s called a Scoping Phase of the Tideflats Subarea Plan. Here’s what that means: Back in April, four scenarios for what the Tideflats could look like in the future – called “alternatives” (like the map above) – were developed to study their environmental and public health impacts. This type of study is called an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Each alternative lays out different visions for the Subarea Plan, including how we prioritize habitat restoration, where housing should go ..read more

There is a Port meeting on Wednesday, July 13 from 5:30pm to 7pm online about cutting down trees to make way for more off-dock container storage– please join and testify in favor of protecting these trees! Sent 13 May 2022 Dear Port of Tacoma, It has come to our attention that some of the last remaining trees in the port may be slated for removal in order to create more off-deck container storage (parcels 72, 85, 87). Is there a way we can work together to help protect these trees? And plant additional trees throughout the port to help improve the environment for workers and wildlife, fight t ..read more

by Michelle Mood They are among the more than a dozen local organizations that have written letters opposing the 2.5 million square foot warehouse proposed for South Tacoma currently under permit review in the City of Tacoma Planning and Development Services Department (LU21-0125).  This warehouse will disturb an active Superfund site and the onsite stream and four wetlands which replenish salmon creeks downstream as well Tacoma’s largest aquifer, which is below the site. The Teamsters? Against a warehouse that will hire more truckers?! Yes. Of course opposition to this gargantuan constru ..read more