Proposed Port of Tacoma regulations are ‘not ideal,’ but they’ll work. It’s time to move on
The Tacoma City Council has debated the future land uses of industrial lands, including the Tacoma Tideflats, for the last five years. After an extensive public process, the Council will soon consider proposed amendments to the land use code ordinance that will replace the current “Interim” regulations.
In a nutshell, land use zoning regulations establish the basic framework as to where different uses are permitted and the intensity to which they can be developed. The regulations relating to industrial lands in Tacoma are especially important as they affect the quality of our environment, thousands of jobs, and the future prosperity of our community and region.
Like so many issues in the public realm these days the debate over the future of the Tideflats has been contentious at times and painstaking throughout. The draft regulations now being considered are not perfect. Neither the business community, neighborhood representatives, or environmental activists are getting everything they wanted.
The bad news is that the new regulations don’t go far enough in creating a more cost effective and predictable regulatory environment. For example, businesses will face the prospect of the ongoing Tideflats Subarea Planning Process, imposing new restrictions around industrial investment and job growth. This introduces a lack of predictability that inhibits the ability of businesses to make decisions to grow here rather than somewhere else.
The good news is that if adopted, the regulations would mark a significant increase in environmental protections for the City of Tacoma. These include a ban on new fossil fuel, coal, smelting, and mining facilities. They would also prohibit significant increases in existing fossil fuel facilities for traditional fuel production. Outright prohibitions on several categories of chemical manufacturing categories are also included.
Further good news for everyone is that the brakes could finally be applied to the ongoing carousel of six-month extensions of the interim regulations.
Recently, the City’s Infrastructure Planning and Sustainability Committee held nine public meetings to obtain feedback on their proposed amendments to the regulations. In addition, they held separate meetings with stakeholders from the environmental community and energy industry to specifically discuss fossil fuel regulations. The Puyallup Tribe was also invited to participate.
Unfortunately, as the process is nearing completion, we continue to see false statements made about the new regulations and the intentions of some of our most important industrial employers. One is that they give a free pass to fossil fuel companies for expansion. The truth is the proposed rules state, “Existing petroleum tankage may be expanded solely for production of Cleaner Fuels and may not be increased more than 15% for that purpose.”
It is understandable that a lot of attention has been focused on Port operations while developing the new regulations. The Port is an important driver of our economy and a highly visible part of the fabric of our city and county. Operations at the Port support more than 42,000 jobs, $3 billion in labor income and produce more than $100 million annually in state and local taxes to support education, roads, police and fire protection for our community. Yet the Tideflats is far more than the Port of Tacoma. Dozens of private businesses operate on the Tideflats alongside the port making everything from pizza boxes to heavy duty highway structures.
Speaking of the Port, it is worth noting that it has invested more than $300 million in environmental initiatives and continues to implement measures to improve environmental performance and sustainability in its operations. The cornerstone of the Port’s Clean Air Strategy is to get to zero-emissions by 2050, and since its launch in 2008, the Port has reduced diesel emissions by 80% and greenhouse gas emissions by 20%.
The public rightly expects ports and cities to balance economic growth with societal and environmental impacts. The new regulations are not ideal, no one is completely happy with them, but they do offer a framework that everyone can live with. It is time to put something in place that allows the community to move on.
However, this Council cannot reward entities and individuals who choose to inappropriately villainize those who actually approached discussions in good faith, especially when those same groups believe this community should accept one hundred percent of what they want, no matter how many jobs, businesses, and working families it robs from this city.
Frank Boykin is the Director of the Manufacturing Industrial Council, a program of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber.
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.