BY LAHAR

The South Tacoma Economic Green Zone (STEGZ) is a proposal to create the state of Washington’s first green land-use zone in South Tacoma, a historic neighborhood that is home to a sole-source aquifer that provides drinking water to over 250,000 people.

The definition of a Green Zone varies from community to community, but there is a common concept: a Green Zone designation provides a local framework to protect the environmental and economic health of a community heavily affected by local pollution.

The STEGZ proposal calls for:

• Updating the city’s groundwater protection code to be more stringent and comprehensive.

• Creating a new land-use zone that would restrict heavy industry and promote clean, non-polluting businesses.

• Investing in infrastructure and amenities to make South Tacoma a more attractive place to live and work.

The STEGZ proposal is supported by a broad coalition of community groups, environmental organizations, and businesses. It is also supported by U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer and Marilyn Strickland, who have secured millions of dollars in federal grant funding to support the initiative. The federal funding available from multiple agencies will sit unused or go to other jurisdictions without immediate local government action and interest.

The STEGZ proposal is currently in the early stages of development. The Tacoma City Council voted to begin a work plan for updating the groundwater code in June 2022, but the actual updating of the code and the creation of the new land-use zone are still pending. City Staff have received little direction or funding from the City Manager and the City Council has yet to see their part in the process.

The STEGZ proposal has the potential to create a more sustainable and prosperous future for South Tacoma. It would protect the aquifer that provides drinking water to the community, create new jobs, and make South Tacoma a more attractive place to live and work. STEGZ would implement 28 different goals of the City of Tacoma Climate Action Plan.

What is the intent and vision of an Economic Green Zone?

An Economic Green Zone is intended to eliminate systemic oppression and structural violence while empowering the people to build autonomous communities rooted in economic equality and environmental justice. The Green Zones model of a comprehensive place-based strategy that advances sustainable community solutions is a part of our long- term vision to see a Just Transition toward the resilient,  sustainable economy that our communities and our planet need.

Low-income communities and communities of color have borne the brunt of pollution for too long. Too many of our communities suffer from asthma, cancers, and other illnesses resulting from the daily onslaught  of heavy industrial pollution. Green Zones use place- based strategies and community-led solutions to transform areas overburdened by pollution into healthy and thriving neighborhoods.

Here are some of the benefits of the STEGZ proposal:

• It would protect the aquifer that provides drinking water to over 250,000 people.

• It would create new jobs in clean, non-polluting industries.

• It would make South Tacoma a more attractive place to live and work by investing in infrastructure and amenities.

• It would reduce air and water pollution in South Tacoma.

• It would promote environmental justice by addressing the legacy of environmental racism.

The STEGZ proposal is a bold and ambitious vision for the future of South Tacoma. It has the potential to create a more sustainable and prosperous community for all residents.

Environmental Racism and Equity issues in South Tacoma:

An Economic Green Zone is intended to eliminate systemic oppression and structural violence while empowering the people to build autonomous communities rooted in economic equality and environmental justice in South Tacoma.