Fife: 2024-2044 Comp Plan
The Fife City Council, at its June 24 meeting, gave its unanimous approval to the Fife Forward 2024-2044 Comprehensive Plan periodic update. This significant milestone marks the culmination of an extensive two-year period of community engagement, during which residents actively participated in numerous polls, open houses, and public hearings, providing invaluable input that shaped the plan's vision for a brighter future. The Council's decisive vote underscores a collective commitment to a well-defined strategy for managing Fife's growth and development over the next two decades, ensuring the city's unique advantages are preserved and enhanced. This plan now stands as the foundational policy document, guiding all future decisions regarding the city's shape, character, and form.
A central pillar of this approved plan is the strategic focus on development within the City Center, with a clear emphasis on transit-oriented growth around the new Sound Transit station. This area is designated to absorb a substantial portion of future development, specifically targeting 70% of new residential growth and 20% of new employment growth. The Land Use Element, a key component of the approved plan, meticulously defines a future land use pattern that not only supports these ambitious growth targets but also prioritizes health and equity in planning. It advocates for intensive, well-designed development around the station area and encourages middle housing infill within existing lower-density neighborhoods, fostering a more diverse and accessible housing landscape.
Complementing the land use strategy, the Transportation Element of the approved plan carefully balances local needs for a safe, multimodal transportation network with the regional imperative for efficient freight movement to the Port of Tacoma. The Sound Transit station is positioned as a pivotal element, promoting enhanced station access and the creation of a pedestrian-oriented street grid, which will improve connectivity and walkability throughout the city. The plan also actively champions walkability and other active transportation modes, outlining specific needs and implementation strategies to foster a robust multimodal transit system, particularly enhancing accessibility to the new station area.
Environmental considerations are deeply integrated into the approved development planning. The Environment Element directly addresses the critical impacts of sea level rise and riverine flooding due to climate change. This section also outlines comprehensive provisions for protecting critical areas and habitats, ensuring floodplain safeguarding, and seamlessly integrating the Shoreline Master Program. Furthermore, it sets clear goals for conducting additional climate impact analyses, alongside establishing benchmarks for Fife’s estimated greenhouse gas emissions and tree canopy coverage, demonstrating a proactive approach to sustainable development.
The approved plan incorporates updated housing, population, and employment targets that are fully consistent with the adopted Pierce County growth targets and the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Regional Growth Strategy. The Housing Element specifically details the capacity and techniques required to expand housing production, aiming to provide diverse housing options for all income levels and meet the varied needs of both current and future residents. These housing targets are meticulously segmented by specific income bands, adhering to the stringent requirements of the Growth Management Act. Economically, the Economic Development Element leverages Fife’s strategic location along Interstate 5 and adjacent to the Port of Tacoma, anticipating the transformative impact of the future light rail station to support a resilient and prospering economy that capitalizes on regional investments. The Pierce County buildable lands analysis further validates that the city possesses adequate capacity to accommodate its adopted growth targets, providing a solid foundation for future development.
The Fife Forward 2024 Comprehensive Plan underscores the necessity of a regional, coordinated approach to planning, explicitly acknowledging Fife's interdependence with neighboring communities. Crucial intergovernmental coordination with the Puyallup Tribe is highlighted as paramount, alongside ongoing collaborations with key agencies like WSDOT, Sound Transit, and PSRC, all deemed essential for the success of both Fife and the broader region. This plan is firmly framed within the state requirements for growth management as outlined in the Growth Management Act (GMA) and other relevant legislation, representing the city's unwavering commitment to compliance. With a plan horizon extending to 2044, a mandated evaluation and implementation progress report is scheduled for 2029 to ensure that the established goals are being met and the ambitious growth targets remain achievable. Fife's Urban Growth Area, encompassing its existing corporate limits and potential annexation areas, is entirely located within the Puyallup Tribe’s federally recognized reservation, necessitating continued cooperative planning efforts under the GMA and the provisions of the 1989 Land Claims Settlement Agreement.