Tacoma council wants to protect city’s sidewalks from damage. Here’s what it proposes

Tacoma City Council began talks Tuesday regarding an ordinance that members hope would help preserve the city’s sidewalks.

Substitute Ordinance No. 28799 would add protections for sidewalks from obstruction and damage caused by loading, unloading and transportation of goods using machinery.

“When we think about sidewalks and our goals of Complete Streets and ensuring pedestrian access and multimodal access for everybody and the kind of investments that we’ve made in sidewalks …, we need to be protecting those assets for generations to come,” Council Member Catherine Ushka, the ordinance sponsor, said at Tuesday’s study session.

Ushka, who represents District 4, said it is currently not illegal to use sidewalks to store materials for long periods of time, even if those materials are blocking storefronts and businesses.

The ordinance, if passed by council, would add new sections to prevent obstruction and damage, establish a sidewalk right-of-use permit process and amend the penalty provision to align with the city’s enforcement code.

Uskha said the substitute ordinance has a primary focus on education and voluntary compliance. She said while someone is loading and unloading, they cannot store items on the sidewalk, and temporary storage is only allowed through a special-use permit.

The sidewalk protections ordinance was first brought forward in late 2021 by Ushka. At the Dec. 7, 2021 council meeting, she said the goal of the ordinance is to “preserve this critical infrastructure and make sure we improve and maintain economic prosperity in Tacoma.”

Before its final reading a week later, Ushka told the council that a constituent had concerns about the ordinance. She said she wanted to work with that person to ensure the ordinance would work for everyone in the city.

Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank founder and supporters wrote to council members on Dec. 13, 2021 about the impact the sidewalk ordinance would have on them.

Ahndrea Blue, the president and CEO of Making A Difference Foundation, wrote that she opposed the change and asked to discuss its impacts with the council. She said in the letter her organization moves millions of pounds of food and other items through the food bank.

“To penalize us with fines due to these issues is not only bad for our organization but the community as well,” Blue wrote. “We rely on volunteers and limited staff, especially during COVID‐19, it is very challenging to get the food moved quickly when it must be hand carried into our location.”

Uskha said at Tuesday’s study session that in cases where there needs to be storage on the sidewalk, businesses can apply for an annual special right-of-use permit, which would range from $50 to $100.

The substitute ordinance was co-sponsored by Council Member John Hines, District 1, and Deputy Mayor Kristina Walker, at-large.

Ushka said the city’s municipal code has not been updated in 90 years and does not reflect the city’s goals regarding infrastructure for pedestrian access.

Joe Bushnell, District 5, said he was supportive of the ordinance, but questioned how it would impact construction projects.

Kurtis Kingsolver, the interim deputy city manager, said the city has a separate permit for construction.

The ordinance will have its first reading at the Jan. 31 council meeting.