The News Tribune (Lite) - Without tall buildings, where do you put all the people?

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Section: Dan Voelpel

Without tall buildings, where do you put all the people?

DAN VOELPEL; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
The civic debate raging over an upper limit for future buildings in Tacoma’s neighborhood business districts sounds like prospective parents arguing whether to paint their forthcoming baby’s nursery light pink or fuchsia – when they’re expecting a boy.

“Forty-five feet tall is tall enough!” shout fans of traditionally small-scale commercial districts.

“No, 65! With another 20-foot bonus only in the Stadium and Hilltop districts in exchange for public amenities!” say the radicals.

And the referees – the City of Tacoma’s planners, Planning Commission and, ultimately, the City Council – stand idly by, willing to go along with whoever shouts the loudest between the 45ers and 65ers.

But the factions and the refs have so narrowly framed their options that they have lost track of what the height debate really must solve: building tall enough to accommodate many, many more people over the next 30 years.

Because our region is expecting a big baby. By 2040, we must absorb 1.7 million more people and 1.2 million more jobs, according to estimates from the Puget Sound Regional Council.

Where will all those folks go?

To figure that out, the Urban Land Institute hosted an unusual game April 30 for some 250 business, civic and political leaders from throughout the region. They called it “Reality Check.”

The institute divided the dignitaries into more than 25 teams, sat each team in front of its own 8-foot-long map of the Puget Sound region and dumped bags of red and yellow single-block Legos in front of them. Each yellow block represented 2,000 people. Each red block represented 2,000 jobs.

The task? Stack the Legos where you want the people and jobs to grow. Most teams viewed sprawl as bad. Most teams adhered to the theory that growth should go where the utilities and transportation networks already exist.

Consequently, most teams, including mine, packed and stacked their Legos highest atop Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and the cities closest to them.

Note: No one from Tacoma City Hall, not a policymaker nor a staff member, attended the ULI event. Gov. Chris Gregoire did. So did Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Councilman Ron Sims.

ULI, a national nonprofit organization with diverse membership in government, private development and education, advocates responsible use of land to create and sustain thriving communities worldwide.

Tacoma should pay more attention to it if it wants to become a city with more thriving business districts.

Think about the city’s evolution in a world with these trends: higher gas prices; reliance on transit networks; living and working in closer proximity to one another; groceries and entertainment within a walk of home.

Ever since I can remember, Tacoma’s neighborhood business districts have cried out for City Hall to give them money for amenities, streetscape improvements, faade enhancements, marketing assistance to make them more vibrant attractions.

Oakland-Madrona, Proctor, Lower Portland Avenue, McKinley, Lincoln, South Tacoma Way, Sixth Avenue, Hilltop, Stadium, Fern Hill, Old Town.

More than government handouts, these districts need built-in, high-volume customer bases that will support a host of businesses. You get these from taller buildings with condos or apartments over the top of the on-street retail.

All the districts – with the probable exception of Old Town, given its historic character – should refocus their debate on buildings of 85 feet to 125 feet, not 45 to 65.

It won’t happen without some leadership from City Hall.

Peter Huffman, who manages Tacoma’s planning staff, says the predominant public reaction to any discussion of height is to stick with short, low-density development.

“Forty-five is existing maximum allowable height and has been since the 1990s,” Huffman said. “In a lot of neighborhoods, when we talked about 45 feet, it was like, ‘Wait a minute. That’s too high.’”

Only two districts may allow up to 85 feet – Stadium, where some historically tall residential towers went up under 1953-era limits, and Hilltop, which already has two tall hospitals as bookends – and only if a building developer adds extra amenities from a menu of options.

“This is what we’ve heard. There’s the economics. There’s this growth approach you’re talking about,” Huffman said. “But there’s also this balance between scale, community character and quality of life.”

Not exactly. With more people coming over the next 32 years, the scale and character must evolve, and the vibrancy, amenities and quality of life in the districts will improve with the population density that comes with taller buildings.

Dan Voelpel: 253-597-8785

dan.voelpel@thenewstribune.com

What’s next

• Read the latest on building height proposals by going to www.cityoftacoma.org and searching for “building heights.” Then click on “Mixed-use Center Review.”

• Planning Commission public hearing: July 16

• City Council public hearing: Sept. 30