This Tacoma neighborhood lacks a true business district. Why is that?
Sometimes, Northeast Tacoma can feel like its own small town. It’s separated from the rest of the city by Commencement Bay, and it can be a bit of a hike to get there.
Plus, there are only a few businesses that dot the roads and intersections, compared to dense business districts in every other Tacoma neighborhood — Downtown, North End, West End, Central, Eastside, South End and South Tacoma. Why is that?
Northeast Tacoma has six small commercial zoning districts. Two are on the border of Federal Way, just technically within Tacoma lines, and most of the others envelop just one or two businesses.
In 1993, the city proposed adding a mixed-use center (a zoning district that allows for a mix of residential and commercial uses) in Northeast Tacoma. But the Tacoma City Council scrapped it a few years later due to community concerns and resident pushback, according to city spokesperson Maria Lee.
Residents wanted to keep Northeast Tacoma mostly residential, and it appears that sentiment hasn’t changed much.
“Browns Point, Dash Point, Northeast Tacoma was designed to be sort of a quiet, retreat community, right? Sort of the antithesis of the hustle and bustle of the city,” Mark Kawula, chair of the Northeast Tacoma Neighborhood Council, told The News Tribune in a recent interview.
Market demand in the area has been historically low, Lee said. After living in Northeast Tacoma for around four years, Kawula agrees.
Northeast Tacoma has enough for residents to get by, like a grocery store and an urgent-care clinic, Kawula said. Browns Point, which blends into Northeast Tacoma but is not technically part of the city, also has a few restaurants, a barbershop and a convenience store, among other businesses.
Additionally, residents can easily pop over to Federal Way for everything else they need, Kawula said.
There is a possibility of a zoning update for the neighborhood.
Home in Tacoma, a 2025 city initiative to expand and diversify housing, made it so that certain residential zoning districts could accommodate limited commercial use, i.e., businesses with size limits and restraints on their hours of operation.
“That could be something like a pizzeria or some other kind of restaurant,” said Chris Karnes, who serves on the Tacoma Planning Commission.
Those types of businesses would be added to existing commercial areas, like the intersection of Norpoint Way Northeast and 29th Street Northeast, which currently has a taco truck, a gas station-convenience store and a dispensary.
Zoning updates are also an action item included in One Tacoma, a 25-year growth plan.
Any zoning change would have to go through a comprehensive review process, and residents’ input would be a big part of that, Lee said.
The new light rail station in Federal Way could also be an “impetus” for a zoning update, Karnes said. If there was a mixed-use center in Northeast Tacoma, Pierce Transit would be encouraged to increase public transportation between the neighborhood and the station.
Northeast Tacoma residents might not want more public transportation, either.
“There isn’t much of a demand at the moment for services like buses and public transit, and those two things [public transit and more zoning for businesses] kind of go hand in hand,” Kawula said.
Northeast Tacoma’s steep and hilly topography also makes it a bit unfriendly to new construction, and much of the area is view-sensitive, which limits how tall buildings can be.
“Its historical development pattern has been sort of typified by a lot of cul-de-sacs,” Karnes said.
A local business owner’s perspective
How would the handful of local business owners feel about new businesses in the neighborhood? It’s complicated, said Shane Leek, owner of The SandBar & Grill and Browns Point Diner.
“There’s a limit to what would work and then what would then become detrimental,” Leek said.
Having grown up in Dash Point, Leek said the area always has been “kind of removed from everything.”
Most of the customers at The SandBar & Grill are residents of Northeast Tacoma or Federal Way, he said.
“We get some random folks from Tacoma, but to go all the way across the port or around 509 … more than often, if they stop by, they’re headed somewhere,” Leek said.
There’s a possibility that some other type of business would really draw people to the neighborhood, Leek said, but he’s not sure what that would look like.
As for Kawula, he could envision more development along the waterfront. But again, it would have to be something that has residents’ support and attracts people outside Northeast Tacoma.
Locals could be open to positive and “meaningful” change in the neighborhood, Kawula said, but it would still be tough.
“People that live here are very protective, and rightfully so,” Kawula said “The community is gorgeous, and again, if you’re protecting your peace, and you love the quiet, calm, slow pace that we have here … that’s gonna start to reflect how much business activity we have.”
