Tacoma Tideflats need predictable rules to remain backbone of Pierce County economy

While the debates may not generate the headlines of a major D.C. legislative push, those with a stake in the game know that it’s local policy, not federal, that has the greatest impact on a community’s ability to compete.

This is certainly the case in Tacoma, where the outcome of debates over the future of the Tacoma Tideflats stands to shape the future of our entire region.

Since 2017, temporary regulations have governed the development and operation of the Tideflats and the Port of Tacoma. Last October, the City Council requested these regulations be made permanent.

This is, fundamentally, a sound request. Our region, along with the businesses that call the Tideflats and the Port home, benefit from a coordinated, predictable approach to development, environmental review and capital investment.

However, as stakeholders work together on a coordinated approach during hearings this fall, it’s essential they arrive at a consensus providing us a thoughtful, sustainable path to growth.

The stakes are high. The Port of Tacoma and Tideflats support more than 42,000 jobs and generate nearly $3 billion in economic activity. This figure doesn’t include the $9 billion injected into the regional economy by Joint Base Lewis McCord, which relies heavily on the Port.

The Port and Tideflats also produce more than $100 million in state and local taxes every year to fund public services including education, police and fire departments, road improvements and more.

The companies operating out of the Tideflats are vital because of the skilled, living-wage jobs they generate. These jobs enable workers to support a family and a community, even without a college degree.

The skilled workers trained and employed on the Tideflats strengthen all of Tacoma’s workforce, helping to replenish the ranks of other industrial employers while enabling those employers to flourish and create additional opportunities. It’s a textbook symbiotic relationship, and it represents the backbone of Tacoma’s economy.

To sustain this positive impact, Tacoma needs a regulatory scheme which will provide a path to growth for current and future Tideflats employers. The synergy in place today is hugely beneficial but will be difficult to rebuild if it’s lost.

The crucial nature of this issue requires the City Council to focus its efforts on regulations that encourage capital investment and increasing living-wage jobs.

With an effective framework in place, we can attract attention from new companies seeking to contribute in our community for the first time as well as existing companies ready to expand.

The competition for capital is intense, and without regulatory certainty, our region will be hard pressed to earn the benefits that come with such private investments.

Additionally, it’s important to maintain a clear focus on the purpose of the new framework. Ideally, our future regulatory paradigm should effectively balance economic and environmental concerns in a way that stakeholders can agree upon

This is a delicate proposition, and without a deft touch, those most focused on the environmental side could easily miss the mark, damaging both our economy and the environment.

A regulatory framework that encourages investment will motivate our ongoing transition to cleaner, renewable fuels by enabling companies to update facilities to produce these fuels right here in Tacoma. This means we can meet the demand for renewable fuels locally, yielding cleaner and more efficient fleets.

Without the ability to meet the demand for clean fuels locally, they must be trucked or barged in. Imports offset the benefits of cleaner fuel, ironically moving us further from our most ambitious environmental goals.

If we can make the cleaner fuel locally with skilled workers from our community, we should do it.

Tacoma has a long history of cleaning up the air and water on the Tideflats while allowing employers and workers to thrive. This balance must be on full display as the future of the Tideflats is considered.

Mark Martinez is executive secretary of the Pierce County Building & Construction Trades Council AFL-CIO, representing approximately 8,000 men and women. Tom Pierson is president and CEO of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, representing 1,500 business in the South Sound.