City of Tacoma Customer Survey - Building and Land Use
The City of Tacoma is committed to continually improving the performance of our development services. The results from this year’s Customer Survey are in and we have compiled and posted them here for your review. If you have difficulty opening the report, please contact Chris James by email at cjames@cityoftacoma.org.
Surface Water Manual Update
City of Tacoma Surface Water Division is updating the , and is holding two Water Management Manual workshops to get your input. The focus is to address updated minimum requirements detailed in the 2008 Surface Water Management Manual, which went into effect Sept. 22, 2008. Click the for workshop times and agenda.
Technical Advisory Group and Task Force
A Task Force and Technical Advisory Group (TAG) have been formed to help develop a high performance permitting process. The meets weekly and is currently focused on improving internal organization. The meets monthly and includes representitives from the design, development and construction community. The group is currently focused on improving customer service. A on options for improving customer service will be presented to the joint TAG and Task Force meeting on November 20, 2008.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please .
Customer Satisfaction Survey
BLUS recently conducted a Customer Satisfaction Survey to get customer input on prioritize and focus our efforts on improvements to the permitting process. The survey has been completed and the results are in. Please click the link to view the . We sincerely appreciate the time you spent in taking this survey.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please .
Focus Group Meetings
BLUS recently conducted a series of Focus Group meetings to get input from developers, design professionals and owners on how to improve our process. See for further detail. As a result of these meetings BLUS has began drafting a plan for the Development Services section of the Division. We sincerely appreciate the time you spent in participating in these meetings.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please .
Postcard Notification
Love getting Postcards… well we love sending them! Our land use planners are hard at work designing a system that will replace those bulky public notices with sleek information packed postcards. Presently about 31,000 notices are sent out by hand a year. The implementation of the new system will cut office processing time and mailing costs in half through electronic generation of information being sent to graphics for printing who then get them directly to the mail room. Of course there are a few steps in between, click on for more detailed information on the process and a look at the new . The current timeline is to have 100% of the notices converted to the new process by January 2009.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please .
Community Based Services (CBS)
It’s long been said that “you can’t stop progress” well CBS is proof of that; a new neighborhood area was selected this past June. Officially defined as Area E, once it's up and running residents will be able to make it their own by giving the area a name that identifies it with them. Take a look at boundaries to see if you live there! CBS concentrates on blight removal, code enforcement and crime prevention/reduction efforts. The program also connects residents to Tacoma CARES, Call 2 Haul, Tacoma Public Utilities and other community resources. A community meeting was held on September 22, 2008 to determine resident priorities.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please .
CPTED
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) pronounced "sep-ted" is an approach to planning and development based on the premise that the design of our environment directly affects behavior. Existing buildings, new developments, parks, schools, and other public projects can be made safer by design principles that decrease the risk for criminal activities to occur and increase our quality of life. See the City’s effort to reduce crime at McCormick Park as reported in the ! CPTED is a natural fit in the City Manager’s Safe and Clean initiative. Check out the brochure to learn how you can make your home safer.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please .
Noise
On April 2, 2008, a new comprehensive noise ordinance went into effect for Tacoma. It was created to help regulate noise levels that exceed the recommended day and night time levels that are considered disruptive to the health and welfare of the community. Learn more by reading !
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please .
Underground Injection Control (UIC)
The State Ecology Department is requiring the City of Tacoma to promote this water quality program. For BLUS that means we would be distributing information at permitting or pre-conference meetings. The attached will give you the scoop on the program.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please .