Seattle council greenlights community-sponsored levy for Capitol Hill cleanup

The beginnings of a Black Lives Matter mural take shape on June 10, 2020 in Seattle, Washington, on East Pine Street in what is known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. (Photo by David Ryder / Getty Images)

Seattle City Council has taken a critical step in collecting a new levy on properties along 15th Avenue East on Capitol Hill.

The Capitol Hill Donation was sponsored by the 15th Ave E Merchant Association as an organic effort to purify, sustain, and improve the community. It is the culmination of more than three years of mobilization efforts.

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The Business Improvement Area (BIA) is expected to raise $ 116,839 in 2022 for general neighborhood aesthetic improvements such as street cleaning and graffiti removal. The funds will also be used for an annual street fair on 15th Avenue, as well as dollars for recruiting to help the neighborhood.

There are currently 10 BIAs across Seattle that go back decades.

“BIAs are hired by the community to address a variety of issues,” a spokesman for the Office of Economic Development told MyNorthwest. “Common activities BIAs perform include cleaning and beautification, marketing and promotions, and COVID response in 2020 and 2021 in support of small businesses. Other examples range from the West Seattle Junction BIA, which is developing a digital marketplace for its small businesses in response to the pandemic and the closure of the West Seattle Bridge, to the Ballard Alliance, which is working with OED and SDOT to promote the one-way street closure on Ballard to create avenue to support small restaurants and retailers. “

The Capitol Hill surcharge is funded by commercial real estate, apartment buildings, and mixed-use real estate within its boundaries. The valuation rate for the relevant lots is $ 0.10 per $ 1,000 of total appraised value and $ 0.15 for each square meter. It is overseen by an Installment Payer Advisory Board made up of the installment payers along the 15th Avenue corridor.

“This ordinance is the final statute required to create a new 15th Ave business improvement area as required by Chapter 35.87A RCW,” the ordinance summary reads. “The city council passed a resolution to initiate the establishment of the 15th Ave Business Improvement Area, as well as a letter of intent that included the date and location of a public hearing. After the public hearing, the city council agreed to proceed with this regulation. “

The apportionment was approved subject to the majority approval (majority is determined by the estimated value of the property to be brought in) by the shareholders. According to the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, supporters include Kaiser Permanente, Ada’s Technical Books & Cafe, Rainbow Natural Remedies, Ike’s, Angel’s Shoe Repair, Board and Vellum, and Hunters Capitol. This corresponds to an approval of 72.84% of the BIA, which exceeds the required threshold for the signing of the law.

“The petition efforts led to a demonstration of financial support from fee payers who would pay at least 60% of the total special assessment income,” says the BIA’s resolution.

The Office for Economic Development received 29 signed petitions from the 37 properties affected by the BIA. The sponsorship group, 15th Ave E Merchant’s Association, is an association of small business owners in the region that was founded in 2013. They represent 13% of the district.

Seattle City Council met on Wednesday for a public hearing on the resolution. Disagreements were heard from Christopher Forczyk, owner of the Smith restaurant.

“I am currently against the BIA because [the reason of] cost, ”said Forczyk. “Revenue has generally decreased due to COVID-19. Many companies are operating at a loss. Customer trust has decreased due to COVID. My business is down 31% from 2019. The costs of the BIA are passed on to the owners. Since it is a tax, you can pass it on to the entrepreneur. The cost of the BIA to my business would be $ 1,500. I have 30 other business signatures on 15th Avenue who don’t think this is the time to tax their businesses and who don’t have financial resources like those of our neighbors at Kaiser, Safeway, Key Bank, Ike’s, etc. . feature.”

The filing on Capitol Hill on 15th Avenue is slated to take seven years, beginning in 2022. Legislation may be revised and finalized at the council meeting on September 21st.