Tacoma: 10-Year Strategic Plan
The City of Tacoma’s strategic planning process is a community-driven effort that establishes long-term priorities, provides clear direction, and guides decision-making for the city's future. The city develops a new 10-year strategic plan every decade, with major updates to three core documents—the 10-Year Strategic Plan, the Comprehensive Plan, and the Transportation and Mobility Plan—occurring at five-year intervals. The Tacoma 2025 plan, adopted in 2015, has served as a roadmap for the City of Tacoma from 2015 to 2025. This plan has been instrumental in operationalizing the community's vision over the past decade, and the upcoming Tacoma 2035 plan will serve as the city’s next strategic roadmap from 2025 to 2035.
To ensure the vision of Tacoma 2025 is fully implemented, the strategy has been incorporated into every major planning process and the City’s budget. For example, the One Tacoma Comprehensive Plan uses the strategic plan's vision to guide decisions on land use, transportation, housing, and the environment, while also setting standards for infrastructure and development regulations. Similarly, the Environmental Services Strategic Plan incorporates the focus areas to guide the department's work in supporting healthy neighborhoods and a thriving Puget Sound. The Affordable Housing Action Strategy, an urgent response to a changing housing market and a need for more high-quality, affordable housing, also relies on the key areas outlined in Tacoma 2025. Furthermore, since the 2019-2020 biennial budget process, every City department has incorporated goals that directly relate to the strategic plan's five key focus areas.
These focus areas are: Livability, which aims to ensure residents have access to connected neighborhoods, efficient transportation, and a vibrant culture while maintaining affordability. Indicators for this area include increasing access to community facilities and services for people of diverse incomes and backgrounds, improving health outcomes, and reducing the percentage of residents spending more than 45% of their income on housing and transportation costs.
The Economy/Workforce focus area seeks to establish Tacoma as a place of choice for employers and professionals. The plan’s goals here are to increase the number of diverse, livable wage jobs, support existing and new businesses, and increase the availability of industry-specific education programs. It also aims to attract new residents and decrease the number of vacant properties.
Education is another core pillar, with the goal of leading the region in both youth and adult education. This involves increasing the availability of early childhood education, ensuring all students graduate from high school prepared for the workforce or higher education, and increasing digital access and equity across the city.
The fourth focus area, Civic Engagement, aims to create a well-run city where residents are active participants in community decision-making. Key goals include increasing resident participation in volunteering and voting, and ensuring that elected and volunteer leadership reflects the diversity of the community.
Finally, Equity and Accessibility ensures that all residents are treated equitably and have access to the services and financial stability they need. The indicators for this area overlap with others, reinforcing the principle that a just and accessible Tacoma is fundamental to all aspects of the strategic plan.