Certain new developments will soon be more expensive to build in Tacoma after the City Council voted to implement new fees to account for the impact those projects will have on the city’s transportation system.
Called “transportation impact fees,” the fees are a way for cities and localities to require that developers help shoulder the burden on local infrastructure that results from new developments like housing or businesses – having “growth pay for growth,” as city leaders often say. The city of Tacoma has not imposed such one-time fees, but the Tacoma City Council voted 6-3 at its Dec. 9 meeting to implement them effective June 1, 2026.
City officials have estimated the fees will raise about $16 million annually, or about $164 million in 10 years. Per state law, the city can only use the money for “capacity building projects,” city staff said earlier this month. That includes projects like pedestrian crossing safety improvements on Sixth avenue, according to the city. The move comes after voters in Tacoma rejected a tax hike in April that sought to renew and make permanent the city’s existing streets levy…