CHARLES MONROE: URBAN DESIGN REVIEW >>>

Want to help Tacoma avoid another Tollefson Plaza? Show up to a series of upcoming public discussions that will help the city decide if it needs to develop a comprehensive design-review program.

City officials are currently exploring the possibility and appropriateness of developing a citywide program that would focus on developing design standards for commercial, multi-family and mixed-use development, according the City’s Web site.

Officials passed a resolution in 2005 to approve exploration of the idea of imposing review standards on certain types of developments within the city. The goal would be to help officials work with developers to make development functional, cohesive and consistent with broader development goals such as pedestrian friendliness and smooth traffic flow â€" and avoiding another Tollefson Plaza.

• Workshop No. 1: Thursday, Feb. 21, 6-8 p.m., Whitman Elementary School, 1120 S. 39th St. in the cafeteria
• Workshop No. 2: Monday, Feb. 25, 6-8 p.m., Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market St., 7th Floor, Room 708
• Workshop No. 3: Monday, March 10, 6-8 p.m., Evergreen State College, Tacoma Branch, 1210 6th Ave. in the commons

LINK: Urban Design Review