Efforts to create a new Pike/Pine Business Improvement Area are moving forward in 2025.
The city’s Office of Economic Development has continued to push for the zones where assessments on local properties go directly to funding neighborhood cleanliness and anti-graffiti programs.
The GSBA chamber of commerce group has been leading efforts “trying to assess the level of interest in the community.”
“The are some owners who are very, very committed,” the GSBA’s Laura Culberg told CHS about the early stages of the outreach last year.
The effort around creating a Pike/Pine BIA comes as the neighborhood has struggled with drug use and street crime that has had deadly consequences. CHS reported last week on complaints of drug gang activity from one neighborhood developer in the wake of a deadly 11th Ave shooting last fall that sparked a major Pike/Pine public safety initiative from Mayor Bruce Harrell and his deputy Tim Burgess.
A Pike/Pine BIA would not fund more police, add Seattle Police Department surveillance cameras, or pay for a new CARE department facility on Broadway, and the programs typically don’t invest in costs like private security. Instead, the city’s patchwork of BIAs focus on issues like litter, lighting and seasonal promotions, and vandalism abatement.
The assessments are typically modest. The 15th Ave E BIA formed in 2021 is one of the city’s smallest covering only around 40 properties. Each pays somewhere around $3,000 per year depending on their size. The BIA is levied on property owners but the costs do trickle down to business owners and customers.
Big property owners have sway. To be approved, petitions from property owners in support of any proposed BIA have to represent at least 60% of the total dollar amount that would be collected for the area.
For Pike/Pine, the 1.7 acre Harvard Market shopping center could be a complicating factor. CHS reported here in September on the shopping center’s ownership putting the property home to one of Broadway’s two QFCs and a mix of businesses on the market for $25 million.
Culberg said that the GSBA’s outreach has seen “some switch hats who were previously against the BIA.”
“These are all longtime property owners just seeing the level of garbage, the level of property crimes, the level of unserved people,” Culberg said.
There is also hope the Pike/Pine BIA could help ongoing efforts to improve safety issues around the edges of Cal Anderson Park.
Determining the borders of a Pike/Pine BIA will be one of the challenges before any legislation moves forward. An effort at creating one huge BIA covering the entirety of Capitol Hill was a recent disaster.
Seven years ago, the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce backed down after a years-long fight against smaller Capitol Hill property owners over a planned expansion of the 1986-born 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.
Still, while Pike/Pine’s BIA will be distinct and focused on the corridor, there is interest in helping Capitol Hill’s business improvement areas work together. A new Capitol Hill “Neighborhood Safety Coordinator” role at GSBA with funding supported by District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth will “work with the Capitol Hill business community and be responsible for building relationships, outreach, coordination with key city departments and communication to the community regarding safety issues.”
The role, officials hope, could also help bring together Capitol Hill’s BIAs.
Additional funding earmarked to support GSBA’s efforts including $150,000 to support development of a new street Ambassador Program on Capitol Hill in 2026 modeled on efforts downtown could also be shaped by the formation of a new Pike/Pine BIA.
For now, the GSBA and advocates for the new BIA are talking and asking questions as a plan is shaped to form a new improvement area.
No timeline for introducing legislation to shape the new BIA has been announced.
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One problem with the last attempt to create a BIA is that it would have taxed multifamily buildings (but not single family houses, townhouses, or any other residences).
They aren’t “businesses” in the sense that anyone thinks of a retail store and they aren’t benefitting in the same way. For some buildings, the BIA assessment would have been one of the larger annual expenses.
What is the obsession with graffiti cleaning? Like is it really a big deal? I like the grimey aspect of the Hill. Stop changing it!!!
It’s superficially politically useful and affects entities who directly pay substantially into the system.
What’s your street I have some spray paint
ikr?
I splained it in “insane” to him so he understands.
Some said I was insane. It comes and goes.
yes I like to be able to see out of the windows of the coffee shop
Naw man…It is someone else’s property and it looks dystopian and gang related. People have no respect. Think it’s their right or simply for a thrill, notoriety. It’s corrupt. You are trading your values for something else. I know your parents told you not to touch what’s not yours. That is just one of many values you trade to destroy everyone’s environment in favor of a handful of people. I used to write block letters and such. In 1978. On my own paper. The crap on the properties of others? It’s not a “Banksy”. None of it.
Also? Really nice art is destroyed by graffiti vandals. They are the furthest from “artists” as you get. It costs us 10’s of millions to remove. Public property is everyone’s property. Not just vandals and thieves who steal everything they use.
So than than that? Nothing.
If it was legit art? NOBODY would complain. Like one dude and a broom in their hands. But then nobody. It becomes part of the community.
They vandalize affordable housing and charities. It’s just no respect for anyone or anything.
This is it. Graffiti is bullshit – it’s not artist; it’s a bunch of annoying ass people damaging other people’s property.
Grimy can be used as slang to describe someone who is morally corrupt, malicious, or vile. You like that aspect of the Hill?
Yes it is a big deal…it’s visual pollution and about RESPECT.
All urban spaces have graffiti but there’s definitely a difference in the kind that adds character and has artistic effort …. vs a messy quick meaningless tag by some tool.
Capitol Hill is the dirtiest neighborhood in Seattle. It’s become the city’s dumping ground. Harrell/Council doesn’t care. They spend on themselves. All these “ideas”. Here’s one…get the drug dealers. Be smarter than they are Harrell since you say you are. We know you are nothing but a fraud. Here’s a little example. Parking lot behind my building has tenant selling drugs and addicts doing them in said parking lot. Cars broken in to, trash and graffiti everywhere, addicts fighting and overdosing. The drug dealing tenant was finally evicted and GUESS WHAT???? Now a nice, quiet, clean, SAFE apartment parking lot. WOW, amazing, who woulda thought!! Weak Seattle.
Dirtiest? Also, looks like problem solved in a more appropriate manner.
Well, who made it so difficult to evict problem tenants in Seattle? That would be the previous Council, led by Councilmember Sawant.
really? So apartment dwellers destroy everything? The ones who can’t or won’t pay rent make the neighborhood filthy and crime ridden?
Stop watching/listening to right wing propaganda.
I was responding to Gentlefer, who gave a specific example of a resident drug dealer who was “finally evicted,” which resulted in less drug dealing and disorder in his immediate environment. Previous Council made evicting such problem residents more difficult, which does have negative effects upon other residents and the neighborhood at large.
And much as I don’t like it, we are all watching/listening to right wing propaganda now. It is everywhere and impossible to avoid for anyone who pays the least attention to current events.
No I hear ya…Community Roots Housing was 44 million dollars behind on not paid rent. They got bailed out like everyone else did.
The U-District disagrees with you.
As does Belltown, Lower Queen Anne, and the ID
You speak for the entire U Dist? Huh!
Well finally…Been screaming about this for a long time.
getting rid of the riff raff is great. But all the residue is still there. Years of filth built up. It’s gross.
My Mom said “You can be poor. But there’s no excuse to be dirty filthy.”
So, fight for neater addicts and homeless.
No man…
They handle their business on 3rd ave the same way. People pee everywhere and spill stuff. There’s mushy trash in the bike racks.
BTW? The city put them there for bike and scooter for tax payers. Not LIME! (I hope they heard me) I am disabled…So I go full on mobster vs. a biker gang and Domino them so there’s a couple spots to lock up bikes.
They need to street sweep the bike lanes and roads more often. It’s a very small area where business row is. But not exclusively of course.It’s got to be all hands on deck. It’ll be a tediously long process on the first pass. This is all deferred maintenance like the nations entire infrastructure. No huge extra expenditures. Use what we have more effectively. Not enough snow plows??? We simply do the arterials first. Put two cops on a beat there between pike and Pine on Broadway and bikes and cruisers on the perimeters of the problem areas.
The “street ambassadors” are awesome at first responses. They are always the first to see. They call the cops for help and they Narcan folks. Send people to the proper resources. Settle small beefs. Directions. Personal opinions on sites, food and entertainment etc.
I think ambassadors are the most effective tool when dealing with the worlds simple issues. It saves us a ton of money because cops and fire etc. are freed up more to do other stuff.
It also keeps riff raff from that area by default.
Think of it this way. Everything we do at home everyday? They do on the street everyday. Everything we do in privacy happens in an alley. They are angry for good reason. They feel like people think about them. Only worse. It’s to the point they do not want to be around people because of trust issues. We know who to trust and not. They see nothing but negativity towards them rightly or wrongly.
Think, if everyone frowns and frisks you everywhere you go 365 a year. If people ignore you all the time. You hear “no” constantly, daily. On your feet constantly. It’s below freezing. Snowing and raining. On and on. It’s not easy.
There was a soccer team that crashed in the mountains and started eating eachother to stay alive. Revolutions were started from food insecurity and disrespect. “Us vs. them” for lack of a better metaphor.
Your appearance matters and you only get one chance to make a good impression. Your health suffers and when I am sick? My life of the party happy go lucky is replaced by Grumpy and Sleepy and Dopey.
I forgot to add that yes. I want addicts to be cleaner. Throw litter in a trash can. Do not pee in the elevators of light rail stations. It’s the little things. Don’t use drugs at the station. You can walk 1/2 a block or more. So do it.
Junkies were more respectful in the 60’s man.
The last time this group attempted a BIA, they proposed assessing properties based on lot square footage instead of the property’s whole value.
Structurally, this was a clear bias in favor of landowners with valuable properties as built, with high economic potential in terms of income and rent, and who stood to benefit most from a BIA.
It would have hit entities with less economic potential (smaller non-profits, older multifamily residences and arts organizations who were lucky enough to own their own building) pretty hard, making it even harder to remain viable on the hill.
I’m not opposed to a BIA, but only if it’s formulated with a fair ratio of value to assessment.
Also – if they do intend to assess residences, then there needs to be a discussion with actual residents about what kind of neighborhood we want. Personally I’m tired of businesses in pike/pine fighting livability issues that will make this a vibrant, livable neighborhood where people want to live, shop and work — things like pedestrianization, pedestrian/bike safety, better transit, parking enforcement. there’s a lot of overlap between what business and residents want, but not complete.
It would also be nice to see some outreach from the city and gbsa about their plans. For instance, we keep hearing about plans for overhead lighting on 11th, but so far there doesn’t seem to have been any outreach to property owners and organizations with frontage on the street.
“Structurally, this was a clear bias in favor of landowners with valuable properties as built, with high economic potential in terms of income and rent, and who stood to benefit most from a BIA.”
I am not as versed as you. But like Amazon has the ambassadors and cops and company maintenances. It’s a big area down at Westlake for example. They are the only ones there. And they get special attention because it’s just a zoo down there with all the peoples. There’s undercover and stuff. They really go all out. They start early too. Way before the crack of chickens.
Move to Bellevue or Magnolia if you hate graffiti. Stop trying to sterilize the Hill!
Move to The Jungle if you like living in a trash pit. As a hill resident, the trash, graffiti, damaged public property, and lack of street maintenance (sweeping/leaves/junk as well as potholes, disintegrating curb facings, drainage issues, etc.) are overwhelming. Communities can be interesting and unique, and at the same time not filled with trash.
Why? Because the other folks besides .001% want to have free reign destroying personal property? Expect businesses tolerating the theft of the paint? NOT A SINGLE ONE PAYS FOR PAINT! And it’s everywhere on everything.
Naw…It’s not “art”. It’s block letters so that person gets fame, recognition by the .001% of the people living here. It’s a democracy. Not someones city to “Decorate”. They are also prolific drug users and dealers. They fence stuff. They DO NOT do it for any reason other than a misguided one.
No respect for others.
You give no quarter? You get no quarter.
There’s historical programs that smashed graffiti vandalism. I live in affordable housing and they paint ours. They do not even live here. Total strangers looking for a public spot to claim as theirs.
Puleeeze, you advocate for much more sterilization of the hill than any clean up program would ever accomplish… Replacing as fast as possible, all the interesting, locally owned, small businesses along Broadway with big, soulless apartment buildings with the ground floors housing predominantly quick medical offices, chain restaurants or just waiting empty for the right fad to come and go has done more to kill the neighborhood than cleaning up the filth that has moved in in the last decade or so.. This area may have been a bit ‘gritty’ back in the day, but it wasn’t gross, pee smelling, poo smelling, users passed out on the sidewalks the way it is today.
Hi Derek!!!
Cleaning up the litter and powerwashing the sidewalks is great and all but what’s with the hand wringing about graffiti, the gray paint they cover it up with looks so much uglier and it makes a blank canvas for the next person to spray paint.
Total waste of money, for what? A virtue signal to rich pearl clutchers that drive in once a year in they’re tank sized SUVs who are probably gonna be more scared by the sight of a poor person then the graffiti anyways. Absurd.
This is just another way for Seattle to get more tax money and it isn’t effective at all. The BIA for 15th ave east was started a few yrs back and last year it had a SURPLUS of $50,000. in it’s budget and was looking for ways to spend it by surveying the rate payers. Then it raised the BIA rates 3% this yr even though there was a surplus of money!
This tax hurts everyone because If building owners have to pay molre tax, then they have to pass that charge of more money on to the renters and businesses in their buildings.
Something does not make sense. There are significant problems in this area. Do we plan a meeting and only invite left handed people in the area? Do we only ask food establishments to attend? What about only gas stations?
Of course not. The problems affect everyone. There are one of two businesses open 24×7. Most are not. The businesses have unique problems. The food establishments have other problems. All of them need to work together.
So that begs the question why are res1Password & Oracle Red Bull Racing: Unstoppableidents not invited. On Broadway, between Pike and Pine there are about 8 businesses. There are close to 130 residents.
At time, the interests differ. Residents are the only ones there 24×7 and see the different problems. Most business owners work in their facilities all the time. The residents spend time waiting at bus stops and carrying groceries, or walking their dogs.
To exclude residents is a clear message that the businesses do NOT care about the people. We suffer more from the same problems that the businesses do. Excluding the residents is the same behavior shown by colonial powers. It says you do not respect or want to understand the needs of the community.
It also excludes a tremendous amount of talent, energy and time that can be utilized.
Perhaps the business community thinks that anyone who lives there supports public drug use, murder, homeless, and assault. If so, any solution will clearly fail.
Residents suffer the most. We don’t need people who leave the area at night to make decisions for us. It is the worst kind of arrogance and elitism. And it just makes NO sense.
The voters deserve a voice. Today it is the ones who have donated the most to political campaigns. How well is that working out in Washington DC?
We are not radical anarchists. We want to see a reduction in crime that affects us and businesses. We want the businesses to be here. It makes us safer and generates jobs and revenue. It makes the community fun and vibrant. But one has to question the judgement of those business leaders who think they can solve a problem for “those people.” I guarantee the same attitude is expressed to others that they wish to exclude from all decision making.
This is a much-needed proposal and I hope it happens. Broadway between Denny and Madison is a real mess! North of Denny isn’t great either (e.g all the tattered old posters on utility poles), but it’s much cleaner and less graffiti than south of Denny, and that’s because there is a BIA in effect there.
Dumb