Hopperesque

Life in the City

This web site describes and discusses city living from the point of view of a resident part owner of one of the few successfully marketed and financially viable upscale condominium communities in Tacoma, Washington.

Pacific Tower and its developers' well chosen hilltop dominate the South Tacoma skyline. The developers reside here in the owner's suite.

Most of Pacific Tower's homes enjoy a spectacular view of some combination of 1) the city's downtown skyline along Pacific Avenue 2) the port on Puget Sound's Commencement Bay 3) the entertainment center south of the port (Tacoma Dome) & 4) the Olympic and Cascade Mountains (including Mount Rainier as shown in the photo at right).

Pacific Tower commuters benefit from a live traffic picture of the local north-south I-5 interstate highway interchange in the gorge below their hilltop. Automobile access to this interchange is about 2 minutes from Pacific Tower's two secure parking garages.

Pacific Tower is a 14-story, reinforced-concrete, gated & guarded building located within 2-5 minutes driving time of 1) intra-city Link 2) intercity/inter-county Sounder and 3) interstate Amtrak passenger railway stations and services.

Presently, a 5-member elected board is entrusted with the fiduciary responsibility of managing and administering the affairs of the Pacific Tower Condominium Association by enforcing the provisions of the Pacific Tower Association Management Documents.¹ Your host strongly supports an increase in the number of elected board members. There should be 17 members, 1 member elected by the owners on each floor and 5 members elected at large. The additional 12 members should chair and sit on all committees. The 4 association officers (4 of the 5 at large members) should focus on fiduciary management and administration, i.e., the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.

Your host strongly supports self-management.

The Declaration¹ expressly 1) forbids commercial use―as well as 2) forbidding the number of landlords from exceeding 30% (28) of Pacific Tower's 94 units, and 3) laying down strict standards of personal conduct for the temporary residents to whom landlords are permitted to contract 1-year leasehold interests.

First and foremost, Pacific Tower belongs to its permanent resident majority, i.e., the part owners who live on the premises (including the developers)―the resident owners who have both a personal & financial stake in this, their $20-$30 million facility.

In keeping with this, your host strongly supports a reduction in the number of absentee landlords―until their number approaches and finally reaches zero.

Your host strongly believes that pride of (resident) ownership is the only real guarantee of a strong and viable future for Pacific Tower, A Condominium.

¹Of the three Association Management Documents, the Declaration is the controlling Association Management Document. 

However, if any provisions of the Declaration and/or other Association Management Documents conflict with the law, e.g., the Revised Code of the State of Washington (RCW), the law shall apply.

The Declaration cannot be amended without the votes of at least 63 (67%) of 94 units (@ 1 vote per unit), either by proxy or in person at a special meeting where a quorum of at least 19 (20%) owners are present.

The remaining two documents are the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, the latter accompanied by certain Rules & Regulations.

Declaration (title page as recorded under Number 200312090202 70 pages 12-09-2003 10:23 AM Pierce County Washington)

CONDOMINIUM DECLARATION FOR PACIFIC TOWER, A CONDOMINIUM

Declaration (p. 1 of 47)

CONDOMINIUM DECLARATION PACIFIC TOWER, A CONDOMINIUM

Pacific Tower, LLC, a Washington limited liability company, referred to in this Declaration as the "Declarant" is the owner of the property hereinafter described and submits the land described in Section 2 below and on Exhibit "A," together with all Buildings, improvements, and structures, and all easements, rights, and appurtenances belonging thereto, and all items of personality intended for use in connection therewith to the provisions of the Condominium Act, Chapter 64.34 RCW (the "Act").

Declaration (pp. 15-16 of 47)

9. Restrictions on use of property.

9.1 Residential Use; Rules. The primary use of the Building and the Units described in this section are intended for Residential Purposes only, and their use is so restricted. In addition, the Board of Directors of the Association may, from time to time, by a vote of a majority of its members, make, alter, or repeal Rules and Regulations covering details of the operation and use of the Property, reserving to the Unit Owners the right to change or repeal such Rules and Regulations on the approval of fifty-one percent (51%) of the Total Voting Power of the Association. No such Rule or Regulation shall change the requirement that the Units and Property be used only for Residential Purposes. Furthermore, no Unit shall be used principally for agricultural or farming purposes under any circumstances.

9.3 Leases. (c) Written Leases. All leases and rental agreements of Units shall be in writing and the tenant shall be subject to all of the provisions of the Association Management Documents. No more than thirty (30) percent of the Condominium may be rented or leased at any given time. A copy of any lease shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Association within seventy-two (72) hours of a lease being signed. An Owner leasing a Unit must provide any tenant of that Owner's Unit a copy of the Declaration, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations, if any, prior to the tenant signing the lease. Any failure by tenant to comply with the terms of the Association Management Documents shall be a default under the lease. Any such lease shall provide that in the event that the Unit is sold by the Unit Owner, the lease shall terminate on the sale, and that the lease shall terminate upon foreclosure of a Unit by a Mortgagee constituting a first lien on such Unit. If any tenant violates or permits his/her guests to violate any of the Association Management Documents after notice of such violation has been given on two or more occasions, the Board may, at the expense of the Unit Owner, give notice of termination to the tenant or occupant of the Unit and the Owner thereof and have the authority to evict the tenant or occupant if the Owner fails to do so after notice from the Board. The Board shall have no liability for a good faith eviction. The Board may have a lien against a Unit Owner's Unit for the costs associated with the eviction, including costs, expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees and such may be collected in the same manner as Assessments are collected and foreclosed in Section 11.

Declaration (p. 39 of 47)

21. Association Amendments.

21.1 Approval. Except as provided in certain sections of this Declaration and the Act, the Declaration, including the Survey Map and Plans, may be amended only by agreement of sixty-seven percent (67%) of the Unit Owners. No action to challenge the validity of an amendment adopted by the Association under this Section may be brought more than one (1) year after the amendment is recorded. Any amendment to this Declaration shall require (a) at least 25 days advance notice to all Owners; (b) the notice must state the purpose of the meeting and a summary of amendments proposed; (c) the notice must contain a copy of the proxy that may be cast in lieu of attendance, if permitted in the Bylaws; and (d) a quorum of at least twenty percent (20%) of the total number of votes must be met.

21.2 Recording. When an amendment has been approved by the Owners, then the President of the Association shall forthwith cause a written instrument to be prepared, acknowledged, and recorded in Pierce County, Washington, setting forth the amendment and certifying when the amendment shall become effective. No amendment shall be effective until recorded.

RCW 64.34.264 Amendment of Declaration. (1) Except in cases of amendments that may be executed by a declarant under RCW 64.34.232(6) or 64.34.236; the association under RCW 64.34.060, 64.34.220(5), 64.34.228(3), 64.34.244(1), 64.34.248, or 64.34.268(8); or certain unit owners under RCW 64.34.228(2), 64.34.244(1), 64.34.248(2), or 64.34.268(2), and except as limited by subsection (4) of this section, the declaration, including the survey maps and plans, may be amended only by vote or agreement of unit owners of units to which at least sixty-seven percent of the votes in the association are allocated, or any larger percentage the declaration specifies: PROVIDED, That the declaration may specify a smaller percentage only if all of the units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential use.

(2) No action to challenge the validity of an amendment adopted by the association pursuant to this section may be brought more than one year after the amendment is recorded.

(3) Every amendment to the declaration must be recorded in every county in which any portion of the condominium is located, and is effective only upon recording. An amendment shall be indexed in the name of the condominium and shall contain a cross-reference by recording number to the declaration and each previously recorded amendment thereto.

(4) Except to the extent expressly permitted or required by other provisions of this chapter, no amendment may create or increase special declarant rights, increase the number of units, change the boundaries of any unit, the allocated interests of a unit, or the uses to which any unit is restricted, in the absence of the vote or agreement of the owner of each unit particularly affected and the owners of units to which at least ninety percent of the votes in the association are allocated other than the declarant or such larger percentage as the declaration provides.

(5) Amendments to the declaration required by this chapter to be recorded by the association shall be prepared, executed, recorded, and certified on behalf of the association by any officer of the association designated for that purpose or, in the absence of designation, by the president of the association.

(6) No amendment may restrict, eliminate, or otherwise modify any special declarant right provided in the declaration without the consent of the declarant and any mortgagee of record with a security interest in the special declarant right or in any real property subject thereto, excluding mortgagees of units owned by persons other than the declarant.

RCW 64.34.425 Resale of Unit. (1) Except in the case of a sale where delivery of a public offering statement is required, or unless exempt under RCW 64.34.400(2), a unit owner shall furnish to a purchaser before execution of any contract for sale of a unit, or otherwise before conveyance, a resale certificate, signed by an officer or authorized agent of the association and based on the books and records of the association and the actual knowledge of the person signing the certificate, containing: (a) A statement disclosing any right of first refusal or other restraint on the free alienability of the unit contained in the declaration; (b) A statement setting forth the amount of the monthly common expense assessment and any unpaid common expense or special assessment currently due and payable from the selling unit owner and a statement of any special assessments that have been levied against the unit which have not been paid even though not yet due; (c) A statement, which shall be current to within forty-five days, of any common expenses or special assessments against any unit in the condominium that are past due over thirty days; (d) A statement, which shall be current to within forty-five days, of any obligation of the association which is past due over thirty days; (e) A statement of any other fees payable by unit owners; (f) A statement of any anticipated repair or replacement cost in excess of five percent of the annual budget of the association that has been approved by the board of directors; (g) A statement of the amount of any reserves for repair or replacement and of any portions of those reserves currently designated by the association for any specified projects; (h) The annual financial statement of the association, including the audit report if it has been prepared, for the year immediately preceding the current year; (i) A balance sheet and a revenue and expense statement of the association prepared on an accrual basis, which shall be current to within one hundred twenty days; (j) The current operating budget of the association; (k) A statement of any unsatisfied judgments against the association and the status of any pending suits or legal proceedings in which the association is a plaintiff or defendant; (l) A statement describing any insurance coverage provided for the benefit of unit owners; (m) A statement as to whether there are any alterations or improvements to the unit or to the limited common elements assigned thereto that violate any provision of the declaration; (n) A statement of the number of units, if any, still owned by the declarant, whether the declarant has transferred control of the association to the unit owners, and the date of such transfer; (o) A statement as to whether there are any violations of the health or building codes with respect to the unit, the limited common elements assigned thereto, or any other portion of the condominium; (p) A statement of the remaining term of any leasehold estate affecting the condominium and the provisions governing any extension or renewal thereof; (q) A copy of the declaration, the bylaws, the rules or regulations of the association, the association's current reserve study, if any, and any other information reasonably requested by mortgagees of prospective purchasers of units. Information requested generally by the federal national mortgage association, the federal home loan bank board, the government national mortgage association, the veterans administration and the department of housing and urban development shall be deemed reasonable, provided such information is reasonably available to the association; (r) A statement, as required by RCW 64.35.210, as to whether the units or common elements of the condominium are covered by a qualified warranty, and a history of claims under any such warranty; and (s) If the association does not have a reserve study that has been prepared in accordance with RCW 64.34.380 and 64.34.382 or its governing documents, the following disclosure: "This association does not have a current reserve study. The lack of a current reserve study poses certain risks to you, the purchaser. Insufficient reserves may, under some circumstances, require you to pay on demand as a special assessment your share of common expenses for the cost of major maintenance, repair, or replacement of a common element."

(2) The association, within ten days after a request by a unit owner, and subject to payment of any fee imposed pursuant to RCW 64.34.304(1)(l), shall furnish a resale certificate signed by an officer or authorized agent of the association and containing the information necessary to enable the unit owner to comply with this section. For the purposes of this chapter, a reasonable charge for the preparation of a resale certificate may not exceed one hundred fifty dollars. The association may charge a unit owner a nominal fee for updating a resale certificate within six months of the unit owner's request. The unit owner shall also sign the certificate but the unit owner is not liable to the purchaser for any erroneous information provided by the association and included in the certificate unless and to the extent the unit owner had actual knowledge thereof.

(3) A purchaser is not liable for any unpaid assessment or fee against the unit as of the date of the certificate greater than the amount set forth in the certificate prepared by the association unless and to the extent such purchaser had actual knowledge thereof. A unit owner is not liable to a purchaser for the failure or delay of the association to provide the certificate in a timely manner, but the purchaser's contract is voidable by the purchaser until the certificate has been provided and for five days thereafter or until conveyance, whichever occurs first.

Over a period of some two years (2007-08), Pacific Tower came to be included in Tacoma's  34th & Pacific Mixed Use Zoning District, the latter radiating east and west from Pacific Avenue and stretching for eight blocks south from 32nd Street (and I-5) to 40th Street.

An almost immediate neighborhood benefit of the mixed use zoning district was the repaving of four blocks of the at one time dilapidated and ignored stretch of Pacific Avenue between S. 34th and S. 38th streets.

Likewise, the 2-span East 34th Street Bridge is in the process of benefitting from what will probably wind up being a year-long cosmetic makeover. This bridge spans the wooded and picturesque gorge below Pacific Tower's hilltop. Atop a peninsula-like bluff between the bridge's east and west spans is the upscale eatery, Stanley & Seafort's―overlooking the Port of Tacoma and the Tacoma Dome.

The east span of the bridge is between E. B Street and E. D Street. The west span is located between the south-north main thoroughfare of Pacific Avenue, and a point at which was at one time the intersection of S. 34th Street and E. A Street.

Shortly before Christmas 2009, lampposts of the original design were installed along the east span of the bridge―built in 1937 to replace a timber bridge, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 16, 1982 (bridges No. 73 & 74, pp. 12, 34, 50). The modern lampposts shown in the photo, below, were removed.

If you have specific questions about Pacific Tower, you can click the icon below. At the same time, you can request a private invitation to participate in the Pacific Tower web log (blog).  In order to be considered for such an invitation, you must be a resident part owner of Pacific Tower, a Condominium.