Planning & Development Services - Updated Response to COVID-19

The City of Tacoma is following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD). The City and Planning & Development Services Department recognizes that this is a stressful time for many, and want to continue to reassure you that your health, as well as the health of our employees and community members, remains a top priority. In an effort to slow the potential spread of COVID19, the City is requiring all employees to work from home when possible.

As of Wednesday, March 18th, our permitting counter will be closed for an indefinite period of time.  Although this temporary counter closure means we may not be able to assist you in-person, please be assured that PDS will continue to accept applications, review and issue development permits, and schedule inspections, primarily through our online permitting system.

Update as of April 10^th:

The City and Planning & Development Services Department recognizes that this is a stressful time for many, and want to continue to reassure you that your health, as well as the health of our employees and community members, remains a top priority. In an effort to slow the potential spread of COVID19, the City is requiring all employees to work from home when possible.

Governor’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy Order

In response to COVID-19, the Governor has suspended most construction activity but allowing for essential construction as part of the Governor's Order and clarifying memo. For clarity on whether you qualify as an essential construction site or, in very limited circumstances, can do very limited work on a non-essential project, please visit the State’s website. Suspected violations of the Governor’s Orders regarding essential business functions and social distancing can be reported.

Permit Extensions

In response to delays to construction and permitting related to COVID-19, PDS will be granting permit extensions to all building and development permits until June 29, 2020. The extension does not apply to land use permits, which have different regulatory requirements and generally are active for up to 5 years.

You may still receive automatic email notifications that your permit is scheduled to expire; however, the permits will remain active until June 29^th. If you have questions about your permit expiration, please contact us via email.

Online Permitting

Our permitting counter remains closed at this time; however, PDS will continue to accept applications, review and issue development permits, and schedule inspections through our online permitting system that is available 24/7.

• Payments can be made with our secure online credit card system or through our automated inspection phone line at (253) 573-2587. In both cases, you will need to have your permit number available. If you are only able to pay by check or cash, please contact our Permits Team for assistance.
• Permits that require a Right of Way (ROW) bond prior to issuance can attach an electronic PDF of the bond document to their permit application. The original hard copy ROW bond document must be mailed with a confirmation tracking number. Please include the tracking number in the application as this is needed to issue the permit.

Meetings and Inspections

• All pre-construction meetings will be conducted as a virtual meeting or in-person at the construction site. Inspectors will take all necessary precautions including maintaining appropriate social distancing for all on-site meetings.
• Inspection services are still available and we are operating during normal business hours. Due to the current safety guidelines for COVID-19, some inspections will now occur remotely. If it is determined that a remote inspection is possible, you will receive a phone call from the inspector to coordinate. Additionally, our inspectors will ask health-related questions prior to entering a job site. Based on the answers provided, the inspector may require the inspection be rescheduled, so any potential risks can be mitigated.Inspection services can be scheduled online or by phone at (253) 573-2587.
• All pre-development meetings and coaching meetings have been postponed or converted to virtual meetings. If you have a scheduled meeting with staff and have not received communication about converting to a virtual meeting, please contact your assigned staff member or project coordinator for assistance. All new meeting requests will be held virtually during our office closure.

Land Use Permitting

• Effective immediately, in an effort to support small commercial business that remain open at this time, PDS shall provide allowance for additional temporary signs until September 30, 2020. Additional details on this Director’s rule may be found here.
• Given the closure of the Tacoma Municipal Building (TMB), as of March 18, 2020, hearings scheduled will require alternative means until the TMB reopens to the public and gathering limitations are lifted. The Hearing’s Examiners office will be contacting people who have impending hearings to discuss whether they can be held by teleconference.
• Land Use Appeals must be filed electronically to examiner@cityoftacoma.org. Contact the Hearing Examiner’s Office to coordinate payment.

Contact Us

• Our general assistance number (253) 591-5030 will have limited staffing but will be available to answer general questions or they will direct you to one of our review teams for more specific assistance. Phone calls directed to Land Use, Commercial and Residential Building Code, Application Services, and Permit Services will be sent directly to our voicemail systems. We would encourage you to use the forms below to email our review teams. Staff will review voicemail and email messages throughout the day and respond as soon as possible with all messages returned within one business day.

To contact our review teams, please use the buttons below to email our teams with your questions:

Application Services, Meeting Requests

Permit Status, Fees, Applications

Land Use, Zoning

Historic Preservation

Long Range Planning

Building, Mechanical, Plumbing & Energy Code

Building Inspections, Stop Work or Notice of Violation

Right-of-Way Improvements, Sanitary, Stormwater

Site & Right-of-Way Inspections

Accela (permitting website) Technical Assistance