Develop the full potential of Tacoma's shoreline in accord with the unusual opportunities presented by its relation to the City and surrounding area, its natural resource values, and its unique aesthetic qualities offered by water, topography, views, and maritime character; and to develop a physical environment which is both ordered and diversified and which integrates water, shipping activities, and other shoreline uses with the structure of the City while achieving a net gain of ecological function.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.1.)
The shoreline use element considers the use and development of shorelines and adjacent land areas for housing, business, industry, transportation, recreation, education, public institutions, utilities and other categories of public and private land use with respect to the general distribution, location and extent of such uses and developments.
A. 
Shoreline land use goal. To preserve and develop shorelines in a manner that allows for an orderly balance of uses.
B. 
Shoreline land use objectives.
1. 
Encourage new water-dependent, water-related, and water-enjoyment uses in priority order.
2. 
Support the City Comprehensive Plan policies as they relate to the shoreline.
3. 
Implement regulations and standards in a manner consistent with all relevant constitutional and other legal limitations on the regulation of private property.
4. 
Encourage mixed use developments that include and support water-oriented uses and provide a substantial public benefit consistent with the public access and ecological restoration goals and policies of the Act.
5. 
Balance the location, design, and management of shoreline uses throughout the city to prevent a net loss of shoreline ecological functions and processes over time.
6. 
Encourage shoreline uses and development that enhance shoreline ecological functions and/or processes or employ innovative features that further the purposes of this Program.
7. 
Discourage new non-water-oriented industrial uses from locating inside shoreline jurisdiction, in order to reserve adequate land supply to serve future water-dependent and water-related industrial uses.
8. 
Promote and encourage uses and facilities that require and take advantage of the deep water of Commencement Bay and the associated Waterways.
9. 
Support the long-term and widespread economic contribution of our international container ports and related industrial lands and transportation systems, and ensure that container ports continue to function effectively alongside vibrant city waterfronts.
10. 
Encourage shoreline uses and development that enhance and/or increase public access to the shoreline.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.2.)
The economic development element provides for the location and design of industries, transportation facilities, port facilities, tourist facilities, commerce and other developments that are particularly dependent upon a shoreline location and/or use of the shorelines of the state.
A. 
Economic development goal. To create and maintain a dynamic and diversified economic environment that can coexist harmoniously with the natural and human environments.
B. 
Economic development objectives.
1. 
Preference should be given to water-dependent uses. Secondary preference should be given to water-related and water-enjoyment uses.
2. 
Encourage new economic development to locate in areas that are already developed with similar uses.
3. 
Encourage new economic uses that create family wage jobs and employment.
4. 
Ensure that only those new industries that are either water-dependent or water-related operate in the shoreline area.
5. 
Implement economic development policies contained in the Comprehensive Plan in shoreline areas consistent with this Program and the Act.
6. 
Encourage economic development that has minimal adverse effects and mitigates unavoidable impacts upon shoreline ecological functions and processes and the built environment.
7. 
Support the long-term and widespread economic contribution of our international container ports and related industrial lands and transportation systems, and ensure that container ports continue to function effectively alongside vibrant city waterfronts.
8. 
Encourage shoreline development that has a positive effect upon economic and social activities of value to the City and region.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.3.)
The shoreline conservation element provides for the protection of natural resources, and shoreline ecological functions and processes. Resources to be conserved and protected include, but are not limited to, wetlands; riparian, nearshore, and aquatic habitats; priority fish and wildlife habitats and species; floodplains; feeder bluffs and other geological features; cultural and historic resources; as well as scenic vistas and aesthetics.
A. 
Conservation goal. To conserve shoreline resources and important shoreline features, and protect shoreline ecological functions and the processes that sustain them to the maximum extent practicable.
B. 
Conservation objectives.
1. 
Ensure new shoreline developments achieve no net loss of shoreline ecological functions and processes.
2. 
Prioritize protection and/or conservation of shoreline areas that are ecologically intact and minimally developed or degraded.
3. 
Acquire or otherwise protect a maximum amount of prime habitat for conservation purposes.
4. 
Conserve urban open space to provide habitat for wildlife and native plants.
5. 
Require that all shoreline uses conform to applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to environmental quality and resource protection.
6. 
Encourage public and private property owners to protect beneficial shoreline plants and animals.
7. 
Conserve, to the greatest extent feasible, the streams and ravines, steep slopes, and the anadromous fish runs of Commencement Bay and the City of Tacoma.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.4.)
This element provides for the timely restoration and enhancement of ecologically impaired areas in a manner that achieves a net gain in shoreline ecological functions and processes above baseline conditions as of the adoption of this Program.
A. 
Restoration goal. To re-establish, rehabilitate and/or otherwise improve impaired shoreline ecological functions and/or processes through voluntary and incentive-based public and private programs and actions that are consistent with the Shoreline Master Program Restoration Plan and other approved restoration plans.
B. 
Restoration objectives.
1. 
Restore, replenish, and maintain publicly-owned shoreline beach properties to as natural a condition as possible.
2. 
Over time the City will strive to reduce the total amount of shoreline armoring and restore natural shoreline functions.
3. 
Identify, enhance and restore shoreline areas that have exceptional geological, ecological or biological significance, or are required to support publicly-owned natural resources, or are required for resource conservation and improvements to urban life.
4. 
Coordinate with federal and State agencies that have jurisdiction over fish and wildlife resources.
5. 
Encourage and facilitate voluntary, cooperative restoration and enhancement programs between local, state, and federal public agencies, tribes, non-profit organizations, and landowners to address shorelines with impaired ecological functions and/or processes.
6. 
Direct restoration and enhancement efforts towards improving the habitat of priority wildlife species.
7. 
Ensure restoration and enhancement is consistent with and, where practicable, prioritized based on the biological recovery goals for early Chinook, bull trout populations and other species and/or populations for which a recovery plan is available.
8. 
Integrate restoration and enhancement with other parallel natural resource management efforts such as the WRIA 10 and 12 Salmon Habitat and Protections Strategy, Lower Puyallup Watershed Action Plan, NRDA Trustees Commencement Bay Natural Resource Restoration Plan, and the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.5.)
This element provides for minimization and/or prevention of flood damages within the City of Tacoma shoreline jurisdiction.
A. 
Flood prevention and flood damage minimization goal. Protect shoreline resources and shoreline development and ensure public safety through land use controls and implementation of federal, state and local flood hazard programs, development standards and building codes.
B. 
Flood prevention and flood damage minimization objectives.
1. 
Manage flood protection in accordance with the City’s current flood hazard regulations, including Flood Hazard and Coastal High Hazard Areas, and the Surface Water Management Manual for general and specific flood hazard protections.
2. 
Participate in regional efforts on flood protection issues, coordinating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the State of Washington, Pierce County as well as other jurisdictions, particularly those with jurisdiction of the Puyallup River and neighboring Puget Sound shorelines.
3. 
Discourage development in floodplains, channel migration zones and coastal high hazard areas associated with the City’s shorelines that would individually or cumulatively result in an increased risk of flood damage.
4. 
Give preference to flood hazard avoidance and non-structural flood hazard reduction measures over structural measures.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.6.)
The archaeological, historic, cultural element provides for protection, preservation and/or restoration of buildings, sites, and areas having archaeological, historic, or cultural value or significance.
A. 
Archaeological, historic and cultural resources goal. Protect and enhance shoreline features of archaeological, historic, and cultural value or significance and to preserve these features for the public benefit through coordination and consultation with the appropriate local, state and federal authorities, including affected Indian tribes.
B. 
Archaeological, historic and cultural resources objectives.
1. 
Recognize the importance of the waterfront to Tacoma’s history and character.
2. 
Recognize the high probability that development may encounter archaeological, historic and cultural resources, and ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect, preserve, and enhance sites and features of archaeological, historic, and cultural value or significance.
3. 
Collaborate on cultural resource management issues with the appropriate tribal, state, federal and local governments and entities.
4. 
Encourage cooperation between public and private entities in the identification, protection and management of cultural resources.
5. 
Where appropriate, make access to such sites available to parties of interest, provided that access to such sites must be designed and managed in a manner that gives maximum protection to the resource.
6. 
Provide opportunities for education related to archaeological, historical and cultural features where appropriate and incorporated into public and private programs and development.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.7.)
The public access element provides for public access to publicly owned or privately owned shoreline areas where the public is granted a right of use or access.
A. 
Public access goal. To increase the ability of the general public to reach, touch, and enjoy the water's edge, to travel on the waters of the state, and/or to view the water and the shoreline from adjacent locations, provided that private rights, the public safety, and shoreline ecological functions and processes are protected consistent with the U.S. and State constitutions, state case law, and state statutes.
B. 
Public access objectives.
1. 
Establish public access to and along the City’s shorelines that is safe and compatible with adjacent and planned uses.
2. 
Develop a system of vistas, view areas, view corridors, scenic drives, trails, and bike paths that capitalize on Tacoma’s unique relationship to Puget Sound.
3. 
The City should take full advantage of public access opportunities throughout the City’s shorelines as identified in an adopted public access plan.
4. 
Establish a linear system of public access along the Tacoma shoreline, starting with high-density intensive-use urban activity on the Thea Foss Waterway, moving to moderate-use paved walkways on Schuster Parkway, to an intensive-use, multimodal pathway along Ruston Way, to a moderate-intensity promenade in Point Defiance Park from the boathouse to Owen Beach, and finally to a completely natural beach walk from Owen Beach to Salmon Beach.
5. 
Locate, design, manage and maintain public access in a manner that protects shoreline ecological functions and processes and public health and safety.
6. 
Design and manage public access in a manner that ensures compatibility with water-oriented uses.
7. 
Encourage cooperation among the City, landowners, developers, other agencies and organizations to enhance and increase public access to shorelines as specific opportunities arise. Provide for diverse shoreline access and recreational experiences for the citizens of the City of Tacoma and the Puget Sound region.
8. 
Design public access sites to provide continuity of site details to increase the ability of the public to discern public from private spaces.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.8.)
The recreation element provides for the preservation and expansion of water-oriented recreational opportunities that facilitate the public's ability to enjoy the physical and aesthetic qualities of the shoreline through parks, public access to tidelands and beaches, bicycle and pedestrian paths, viewpoints and other recreational amenities.
A. 
Recreation goal. To provide opportunities, spaces, and appropriate facilities for diverse forms of water-oriented recreation that takes advantage of the unique waterfront setting.
B. 
Recreation objectives.
1. 
Locate only water-oriented recreational uses in the shoreline area.
2. 
Locate, design, manage and maintain recreation uses and facilities in a manner that protects shoreline ecological functions and processes and public health and safety.
3. 
Locate, design, and operate recreational development in a manner that minimizes adverse effects on adjacent properties as well as other social, recreational, or economic activities.
4. 
Provide recreation opportunities that meet the diverse needs and interests of the citizens of Tacoma and distribute recreation facilities throughout the City’s shorelines to serve the City’s many neighborhoods and employment centers.
5. 
Acquire additional recreation areas and public access areas with a high recreation value prior to demand to assure that sufficient shoreline recreation opportunities are available to serve future recreational needs.
6. 
Encourage cooperation among public agencies, non-profit groups, and private landowners and developers to increase and diversify recreational opportunities through a variety of means including incorporating water-oriented recreational opportunities into mixed use developments and other innovative techniques.
7. 
Recognize and protect the interest of all people of the state by providing increased recreational opportunities within shorelines of statewide significance and associated shorelands.
8. 
Encourage private and public investment in recreation facilities.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.9.)
The transportation and essential public facilities element provides for the general location and extent of existing and proposed public thoroughfares, transportation routes, terminals, and other public utilities and facilities.
A. 
Transportation and essential public facilities goal. To provide transportation systems and essential public facilities in shoreline areas without adverse effects on existing shoreline use and development or shoreline ecological functions and/or processes.
B. 
Transportation and essential public facilities objectives.
1. 
Locate, develop, manage, and maintain transportation systems and essential public facilities in a manner that protects shoreline ecological functions and processes.
2. 
Locate and design transportation systems and essential public facilities to be harmonious with the existing and future economic and social needs of the community.
3. 
Discourage the development of non-water-dependent transportation systems and essential public facilities unless no feasible alternatives exist.
4. 
Encourage alternate modes of travel and provide multiple use transportation corridors where compatible in association with shoreline transportation development.
5. 
Require that transportation systems and essential public facilities developed in shoreline areas protect and enhance physical and visual shoreline public access.
6. 
Develop a coherent network of motorized and non-motorized transportation facilities that relate the circulation system more closely to the shoreline area that it serves.
7. 
Protect the public's right to use navigable waters, together with the right to use state-owned Harbor Areas for the development of landings, wharves, and associated facilities.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.10.)
This element provides for preservation and/or protection of scenic vistas, views of the water, and other aesthetic qualities of shorelines for public enjoyment.
A. 
View and aesthetics goals. To assure that the public’s ability and opportunity to enjoy shoreline views and aesthetics is protected.
B. 
View and aesthetics objectives.
1. 
Preserve, to the greatest extent feasible, the public’s opportunity to enjoy the physical and aesthetic qualities of the City’s shorelines.
2. 
Identify and protect areas with scenic vistas and areas where the shoreline has high aesthetic value.
3. 
Minimize adverse impacts from new development on views from public property or views enjoyed by a substantial number of residences.
4. 
Enhance the shoreline’s positive and distinct features, unify shoreline areas visually, and give definition to sub-areas.
5. 
Encourage design details such as form, scale, proportion, color, materials, and texture to be compatible with shoreline areas wherever feasible.
6. 
Improve the appearance of the shoreline for those who live and work there and make it a more attractive and interesting place to visit.
7. 
Design shoreline areas for a variety of uses and users and to improve accessibility to all of Tacoma’s residents.
8. 
Design and locate new shoreline uses to take full advantage of the waterfront views and location.
(Ord. 28612 Ex. A, 2019-09-24, previously codified as TSMP Section 3.11.)