Tacoma's push to add thousands of affordable housing units by 2028 has been complicated by a sluggish permitting process
Six years ago, the city of Tacoma set a goal to add 6,000 new affordable housing units to the city’s supply by the end of 2028. Today, the city is pacing to reach less than half of that total.
The shortfall is no surprise to Reggie Brown, a developer of small multifamily workforce housing projects in Tacoma. He points to the city's sluggish permitting process.
“There is no way we can hit that number unless permits are approved at a faster rate,” he says.
Brown submitted building plans for five duplexes on a 6,500-square-foot lot on July 17, 2023. The building plans were approved on Nov. 2, 2023, but the site development plans were not approved until May 6, 2024.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2025/02/04/tacoma-affordable-housing-permit-delays.html