By Ryan Packer
A proposal to create a Business Improvement Area, or BIA, for the 15th Ave E business district between E Denny Way and E Mercer is officially working its way through the Seattle City Council and looks poised to take effect starting next year. A BIA is an organization run by funds collected directly from local property owners to pay for ongoing improvements directly in the neighborhood. The move follows the failure of expanding Broadway’s BIA, which has been in place since 1986, to the rest of the business districts in Capitol Hill, a move that contributed to the demise of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce in 2019.
If approved, the 15th Ave E BIA is expected to raise $116,839 in 2022. The lion’s share of funds collected for the BIA would go toward street cleaning and upkeep during 6 days every week. The remainder would be spent on graffiti removal, neighborhood beautification efforts (think flowers) and staff time to advocate on behalf of the neighborhood. A yearly 15th Ave street festival would also receive funds from the BIA.
Most of the funds generated by the 15th Ave E BIA would go toward street maintenance and beautification.
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But the BIA could end up happening without a majority of property owners, to say nothing of individual business owners, signing on in support. In order to be approved, petitions from property owners in support of the proposal have to represent at least 60% of the total dollar amount that would be collected for the BIA. In this case only 15 petitions out of the 37 parcels that would be impacted have been submitted in support, but because those properties represent a high proportion of both the square footage that would be impacted and the property values of the parcels, that minority support translates to nearly 73% approval for the BIA, even though property owners representing 22 out of 37 parcels haven’t signed on.
Kaiser Permanente, which has signed on in support, represents 38% alone of that 73%.
The proposed boundaries for the 15th Ave E Business Improvement Area.
Its 180,568 square foot campus dwarfs any other property along the corridor. Without the health care consortium, signed petitions represent only a hair over 56%— not enough to clear the 60% threshold to approve the BIA. Because the health care provider represents more than 25% of the total assessment, City policy encourages the signature gatherers to meet a slightly higher threshold of 65% of total assessment, which they have reached with Kaiser on board.
The BIA would be levied on property owners, not directly on business owners. But several business owners along 15th Ave voiced concerns to CHS about the proposal. Smith owner Christopher Forcyzk was caught off guard when CHS called to ask his opinion on the proposal- he hadn’t heard about it from anyone else. “It actually just sounds like another tax,” he said. “It sounds like a hell of a lot of money to put on businesses during a time they’re struggling.” Forcyzk noted that his restaurant lost 24 of its employees when it shut down due the pandemic and is only now regaining its footing. He also questioned the priorities as laid out in the BIA proposal: “How does a street fest two times a year help local businesses?”
Olympia Pizza & Spaghetti House III and Harry’s Bar owner Harry Nicoloudakis echoed the concerns raised by Forcyzk and also had not heard about the proposal until he was contacted by CHS for comment. “I’m not for it,” he told me. “It doesn’t seem like something we need…people are trying to survive, a tax rebate would be better.”
CHS spoke to at least one additional business owner along the corridor who had not heard about the proposal. The city’s documentation notes that as of June 15, no property owner had submitted a petition opposing the creation of the BIA.
Danielle Hulton, the owner of Ada’s Technical Books & Cafe, is part of the committee that has been collecting signatures for the BIA. Hulton is calling the proposal a Community Improvement District (CID) to “reflect that it is for all of the community on 15th, not just the business community.” She has been working with the 15th Ave Merchants Association since Ada’s moved to 15th Ave E in 2013 and sees this as a positive next step for that group.
“If the Merchants Group is able to become a CID, we can more sustainably do things like the 15th Ave Street Festival in the future. And more immediately, we can have a more centralized group of folks to help fill vacant storefronts with small businesses, help folks access COVID-19 grants and funding, and help developments like the large Safeway, Kaiser, and Hunters Capital projects connect with the community and our needs/wants,” Hulton said.
Other businesses that have been leading the charge for the BIA include Rainbow Natural Remedies, Ike’s, Angel’s Shoe Repair, Board and Vellum, and Capitol Hill developer Hunters Capital.
Hulton suggested that the BIA as a political entity itself would be one of its biggest benefits. “Historically, BIAs in Seattle have had more clout when dealing with the city for grants and other funding,” she said. “I see real value in the CID both with day to day maintenance, and more importantly for me, in being able to have a seat at the table with the city when it comes to neighborhood grants and advocacy.”
In 2018, the neighborhood’s chamber of commerce backed down after a years-long fight against smaller Capitol Hill property owners over a planned expansion of the Broadway BIA that would have included the neighborhoods around Summit/Bellevue, Olive and Denny, Pike/Pine, 12th Ave, 15th Ave, and 19th Ave. The expended energy and flagging membership contributed to the chamber’s shutdown months later.
Many on 15th preferred to go their own way on a BIA.
“This is more neighborhood based, we know the players, we’ve already done a lot of homework, we are confident this will be beneficial for the community,” Rainbow Natural Remedies owner and of the 15th Ave East Merchants Association member Ross Kling told CHS at the time. “When you widen the net, you got more challenges that way. (…) It’s going to be pretty easy to sell. I don’t think there’s a lot of controversy within the 15th Ave East community. It’s just us.”
Councilmember Tammy Morales, who is shepherding the process to approve the creation of the BIA through the Community Economic Development Committee, did not respond to CHS’s request for comment on the proposal. That committee will hold a public hearing on the proposal on September 8 at 2 PM.
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This is just another scheme for the city of Seattle to get more money. Businesses are just trying to survive. The plan will cost businesses more money.
This plan is already in effect in the U District….hello? So the U District is our model of the kind of help they offer? No thanks!
Common misunderstanding, this is not a tax, so the city doesn’t take the money. Instead, the community decides on where the money is spent. Also, this is an assessment on property owners, not businesses, although businesses do pay rent to property owners, so they have a financial stake in the equation. With respect to the U District, the plan on 15th is quite a bit different is scope and design than what’s happening up there. The 15th CID would be led by community members on 15th.
@Don, this is indeed a tax that the city collects on behalf of the BIA on top of existing property tax. It’s not optional.
In a “triple net” or NNN commercial lease, which many of these businesses have, the tenant pays property taxes and insurance. So it’s a tax directly on the businesses.
Well removing the homeless camps and drug addicts would improve the ascetics. And dear lord, no block parties please.
The city should be dealing with the problems on 15th with tax dollars already collected, but of course they are not. This is really just a small group of large property owners deciding they must tax themselves and neighboring businesses still more to get what they should already be receiving. To me it is another example of the dysfunction which plagues city government and illustrates the lengths small and medium sized businesses must take to operate in an acceptable environment for business. In a sane city Councilmember Sawant would be assisting these businesses to obtain city resources to improve the situation on 15th. Why isn’t that happening?
Sawant views businesses as her enemy, it’s part of her political ideology/identity.
I particularly like this quote, “This is more neighborhood based, we know the players, we’ve already done a lot of homework, we are confident this will be beneficial for the community,” Rainbow Natural Remedies owner and of the 15th Ave East Merchants Association member Ross Kling told CHS at the time. “When you widen the net, you got more challenges that way. (…) It’s going to be pretty easy to sell. I don’t think there’s a lot of controversy within the 15th Ave East community. It’s just us.”
Yes, “We know the players” and several of the impacted businesses had never even heard of this. Great.
And I agree with Glenn’s question regarding Representative Sawant. Where is she?
Because this is being driven by the politically connected players, Hunter’s Capital, Board and Vellum, and Kaiser, Harry’s and Smith? They’re just little guys trying to make a living in a city that has little respect for that pursuit.
Kind of feels like the kind of thing that the local businesses and residents could handle themselves with a bit of light organization – a street cleaning party once a month, businesses donate a couple hundred bucks to clean graffiti and do other stuff (hire a local worker to do it), and people put their heads together to “beautify” the area. What do you need a hundred grand and a bureaucracy for?
More effective gentrification? Lobbying?
Removing homeless, drug addicts and graffiti will help a lot. AND how about paving the street. Looks really bad all potholes while most other neighborhoods have nice new roads. Not the hill!
And just picking up the trash and cleaning the soiled sidewalks. It’s remarkable how much trash is everywhere on the street.
This is a solid start to addressing the issues on 15th.
The location of adjacent pot shops, specifically due to how the state legislation governing where they can be located, sans community engagement, has impacted the street disproportionately. They should not have been shoehorned into the street without a social/ health/ economic impact study.
Parking needs to be removed along the arterial, sidewalks widened, border plantings encouraged and frequent ongoing street sweeping committed to. It would be nice to have a child care center located too as there is a need for it beyond what is provided close to the 711. If Hunters Capital, the owner of two large parcels on 15th want to bring their perspective to what makes for a great urban corridor, then all the better.
Great news for a beloved but beleaguered neighborhood high street. The lack of a BIA on the Hill shows given the current state of neglect. Just look at how well the Alliance for Pioneer Square maintains the sidewalks and public spaces in their neck of the woods for inspiration.
I’m glad to see neighborhood faves like Ada’s and Rainbow step up. And with Kaiser footing most of the bill, it’s a great deal for the neighborhood.
As a nearby neighbor, and someone who has seen first-hand how much work must go into sustaining volunteer community-led organized efforts, I support the creation of a new CID on 15th. Unfortunately painting-out graffiti and removing litter are not core functions of our city government (or the governments in most American cities). A 15th Ave CID would ensure sustainability for cleaning and placemaking, which are very basic elements of a healthy neighborhood. Neighborhoods across the city come together to fund this type of work, designing programs that work for their individual needs. This is a fairly modest program that will have community and city oversight and will have a direct positive impact on an important Capitol Hill corridor.
Oh how easy it is to spend other peoples money. You say you are a neighbor. You say Neighborhoods across the city come together to fund this type of work. Great. How about you step up and contribute to the benefit of your neighborhood instead of expecting a small business, already on the edge of failing, comes up with the money. Just a thought. Hey we’re all in this together, right?
I think this is a great proposal and I hope it becomes reality. Anything that can be done to make the street graffiti and trash-free is a good thing. (I agree with Glenn that the City SHOULD be doing this, but you will wait for the cows to come home before that happens).
However, the Broadway BIA seems to be failing in the past couple of years. Since they ended their contract with Recology (formerly CleanScapes), I haven’t seen any workers cleaning the street in many months. Meanwhile, outdated posters pile up on the poles, and graffiti is everywhere. I assume this is because revenues for the BIA have decreased during the pandemic?
If this doesn’t get back on-track, Broadway is going to go the way of Pike-Pine. Egan Orion, are you listening?
Taking away the parking as suggested here in the comments would benefit the survival of businesses how? Neighborhood specialty stores need people from outside the immediate neighborhood to thrive. With zoned and restricted parking throughout the neighborhood it is already very difficult to find parking. When I visit I have to walk 3-7 blocks— and it was far more before Covid opened things up. I no longer feel safe walking on the Hill after dark so a lack of parking definitely affects whether I go to the restaurants once the days are shorter. Older people have a hard time walking distances many people take for granted. I could only take my mother out in her last years if we had parking within a few blocks. 15th is one of the few remaining visitor-friendly parts of The Hill and I would hate to see it change.
Great news! I live a block away and shop on 15th often. I hate the current state of garbage, weeds, graffiti, and general filth. It makes me get what I need and leave as quickly as possible. All the businesses on 15th should support this if they want us neighborhood residents to come and linger and spend money. I am frankly shocked that some businesses don’t support this–they are really taking their customers for granted if they think we don’t mind the current grossness of the street.
I certainly understand your point about hating the current state of 15th. I guess I disagree a bit with your point that the businesses are somehow responsible for something more than their buildings. Should businesses be forced to do things that the city will not do, in spite of the taxes all businesses pay to the City? The City’s inaction on solving the homeless crisis, yet laws limiting what citizens or businesses can do about the filth really puts those businesses between a rock and a hard place. You think they should pay to have the area “cleaned up” but at the same time in many other articles on this blog, people are arguing over how the police will respond to destructive protests. I find it’s way more easy to put the responsibilities on the shoulders of “business” when these are basic functions that a city should provide. Most businesses are struggling to survive now through Covid. Should we lay another cost on them, or should we be holding our representatives in City government for solutions?
Many people, me included, would agree with you on principal. However, the fact remains that the City does NOT do basic maintenance of our neighborhoods, and never will, so it is up to community groups to do this work.
I fear the loss of qfc will lead to something of a death spiral. No large parking lot, no reason to visit neighborhood.
By the way, that “large parking lot” was only to be used while shopping at QFC. I can’t believe people actually used it to park while they were buying weed.
Logic here fails on several fronts
… What about that huge parking lot by Key Bank?
Question is… cleaning the street and keeping it crime-free are what a “functional city” should he doing from tax paid by citizens. It sounds like the City council is trying to run away from the responsibility and push for neighborhoods to cough up more money for something the city should have been doing in the first place.
It’s all a scam from the city.. just look at the LID taxe imposed on the new waterfront properties and downtown..it’s supposed to be improving values and livability.. but why are there still homeless everywhere, mental health individuals screaming in the streets and threatening people, crimes happening way more in Pioneer Square, and downtown. Who can’t wait to move to Pioneer Square and visit unless it’s a game or event day or event? Troves of tourists coming through everyday only to see the square itself full of tents, wreaked of smell of urine, trash, and broken windows. One just have to do an easy Yelp search to learn how negatively the beloved Seattle landmark is viewed.. really sad..
Where is the city council? Why are they not doing their job and pun it to individual neighborhood?