Last Chance to Participate in Survey

Friday (Sept. 3) is the last chance for small businesses to participate in the Small Business Success Index survey.

Businesses have until midnight on Friday, Sept. 3 to participate in an online survey to measure their individual success against a standard of nationwide businesses. Respondents will be anonymous.

Businesses will get their own individual rating for a Small Business Success Index and through their participation will determine the Small Business Success Index for the community.

The survey also focuses on the local business climate to determine how supportive the area is for business success.

Chambers of commerce and business associations around Pierce County are collaborating with the survey, supported by Network Solutions and Rockbridge Associates. The Chamber will use the survey’s results to improve small business support services.

This will be an online survey only. Businesses may participate by following this link.

Business Working Together

Business leadership organizations around Pierce County are working together.

The Puyallup/Sumner Chamber, the Fife Milton Edgewood Chamber, Gig Harbor Peninsula Chamber and the Lakewood Chamber have joined efforts with the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and its South County and University Place-Fircrest divisions.  The Master Builders Assn. of Pierce County, the Tacoma-Pierce County Assn. of Realtors and the Tacoma Downtown Merchants Group are also part of the coalition.  The Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County and the City of Tacoma are involved too.

All these groups are working together encouraging their businesses to help determine the local environment for business and to assess their own business success index. The effort will lead to goals improving our business community. If you wish to be a part of this survey both for the good of the community and to assess your own business, take the survey!

Golden Shovels Turned at New LeMay/Pierce County Refuse Headquarters

Ceremonial shovel-turning marked the beginning of another project at Pierce County’s largest planned industrial site, Frederickson. This project will have a positive impact on continued growth in the Frederickson area.

Chamber President & CEO David Graybill was among company & public officials speaking at the event. Graybill noted the community involvement of the companies, the importance of the investment and the commitment to environmental excellence.

LeMay Inc. / Pierce County Refuse, a Waste Connections Company, broke ground for their new facility at 4109 192nd St. E. The new 63,000 sq ft office/shop, when completed will allow 135 employees to better serve the businesses and residences of Pierce County.

Chamber inputs into County Library Facilities Plan

The Pierce County Library System, working with individuals and community leaders, including Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber staff and volunteer representation, have come up with a facilities master plan that proposes to meet community needs during the next 20 plus years.

Besides the expansion of all current libraries and the relocation of some libraries, the plan calls for an addition of one new library in the Frederickson area. Another hopeful sign of the anticipated growth of Frederickson, an integral area that is part of the Chamber’s Frederickson, Parkland, Spanaway division.

Check out the Pierce County Library 2030: Facilities Master Plan executive summary and summary report here.

Why Must It Be Mfg. or Whsle.?

The Pierce County Council's Community Development Committee spent 2.5 hrs. this afternoon, principally on the proposal changes to the industrially designated lands as defined in the Land Use Code.

To their credit, the Pierce County Council listened and professionally questioned staff and those who testified without being critical and staff responded to comments and questions without being disdainful.

Those speaking against the changes to the Proposal No. 2009-18 that would amend the Pierce County (Land Use) Code were representatives of the Port of Tacoma, Northwest Door, Tacoma-Piece Co. Chamber, Investco and Pacific Rim Real Estate. The rationale for the change that would restrict industrial lands was supported by staff's draft report, A Reasonable Measure to Address Job Growth on Scarce Industrial Lands.

Readers may refer to earlier blogs on this subject to gain some continuity. The News Tribune published an overview of the issue March 21.

Fighting Over Industrial Lands

Pierce County's citizens and economic developers have more time to review and comment on a proposal to reserve/restrict (depending on your perspective) industrial lands for the highest employment density opportunities.

Blogged earlier here, the Pierce County Economic Development Division has initiated a proposal to change the industrial land codes for industrially-designated lands. This proposal is supported by an industrial lands report about the diminishing capacity of large parcel industrially-designated lands.

The Council's Community Development Committee at its Monday afternoon hearing, took testimony, left the record open for written comments until its next meeting and announced plans to take additional verbal and written testimony at that next meeting, called for March 16, 1:30 p.m. at their hearing room on the 10th floor, County-City Building.

The Chamber requests member comment about this proposal and the need to either restrict or reserve industrial lands - as well as your perspective on designating additional industrial lands either within the present Growth Management Boundaries or expanding the GMA Boundaries.

Your comments here, or by email to me or Chelsea will be most appreciated.

Where's the Next Frederickson?

The Pierce County Economic Development Division (EDD) has initiated a proposal to restrict the allowed uses of select industrial lands. These restrictions apply specifically to the Port of Tacoma’s Frederickson industrial park and around Thun Field.

Industrial lands accommodate a wide variety of uses: i.e., manufacturing, transportation facilities, warehousing, etc.

According to several recent studies, the supply of industrial lands continues to diminish (reasonably) as development occurs. The last definitive regional study of industrial lands was done in 1990 by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), using a 1988 database. More recent, proprietary studies have been referred to as citing an increasingly finite horizon for the absorption of industrial lands, perhaps as little as five years at rates consumed until just recently. This break could give us the breathing room to determine what our economic development should be.

The Chamber has long asked “Where is the next Frederickson?” To answer that question, the Chamber championed an industrial lands survey by the PSRC as part of their Vision 2040 update, recently concluded. The regional industrial lands survey is programmed as a short-term project.

The Pierce County EDD has proposed land use development regulation changes...

• separate transportation and logistics uses including cross-dock facilities from warehousing and distribution,
• limit warehousing as a primary use for lots not exceeding 5A., and
• specify that moving & storage is a commercial use and not warehousing,

...that would concern the Port of Tacoma.

The Port of Tacoma originally purchased the land for the Frederickson industrial park as a manufacturing development site, so that the waterfront areas would be reserved for the even more specialized water-dependent uses. Over the several decades of operation, the Port has located several manufacturers there, some of which have expanded beyond original footprints.

The recent location of the IKEA distribution center at Frederickson, and perhaps with the example of Thurston County’s restriction of distribution centers, has occasioned the Pierce County EDD to initiate this proposal. Their concern is that large distribution centers consume an increasingly scarce resource - large parcels of industrial lands - while creating low numbers of jobs compared with other industrial uses. Their objective is to maximize within Pierce County the employment opportunities and tax base from basic industry, making us less of a bedroom community.

The Port sees this land use restriction as a limitation of economic development options, passing up on opportunities that become available today in hopes of something that may or may not become available in the future. The Port also believes that in looking at job creation, one should look at more than just the footprint of a building, but also other jobs created in the County by the facility. For example, distribution centers owned and operated by beneficial cargo owners not only attracts cargo to the port, but also generates additional jobs directly related to handling that cargo.

It is being considered that the Chamber advance its argument that competing for a limited resource is not productive in the long-term economic development of the community. The Chamber should call upon Pierce County and the Port for a cooperative effort to redesignate land for industrial development. This might be done outside the Growth Management Area for the metro, an approach that has already proven difficult to secure approval by the Growth Management Board. Or, the County and Port could redesignate land within the GMA. This approach will surely cause its own controversies, but will be an action within our own authorities.

The Pierce County Planning Commission has approved the recommendation of the Pierce County EDD (6-1, "for"). The Pierce County Council must approve. Currently the issue is part of a larger body of changes. Readers are referred to pages 47, Exhibit B, Frederickson table, ppg. 125-127 for explanations and page 139, Exhibit B to Title 18A Zoning.

The issue has been assigned to the Pierce County Council’s Community Development Committee. That Committee will hear the issue March 2, 1:30 p.m. at their 10th floor hearing room, County-City Building. Because of expressed interest, this issue is likely – but not certainly – to be continued until a next meeting March 16. It will not subsequently be assigned for other committee consideration or action. The final action before the entire Pierce County Council has not yet been scheduled.

What's your perspective and recommendations to the Chamber as we advocate for the best economic future of our community?