Downtown Seattle Cleanup renewal would collect $18 million in property assessments

(The Center Square) – The Metropolitan Improvement District is set to sunset on June 30, but Seattle City Councilmember Sarah Nelson is proposing a 10-year renewal that would collect nearly $3 million more from downtown property owners.

The district is managed by the Downtown Seattle Association, with employees, also known as “ambassadors” tasked with services such as daily cleaning of downtown streets and sidewalks.

The district also allocates its budget towards daily private security patrols within the Metropolitan Improvement District’s 285 square blocks, interactions with Downtown Seattle’s homeless populations, marketing of the downtown area and research.

Ratepayers include commercial and residential property owners within the Metropolitan Improvement District. These include property management organizations, nonprofits, hotels, condominiums and apartments, according to the Downtown Seattle Association . Government-owned properties do not currently pay into the district.

If the district is reauthorized, its boundaries would expand into Downtown Seattle’s neighboring Pioneer Square District.

The Metropolitan Improvement District is expected to collect approximately $15.5 million this fiscal year in assessments. If the district is reauthorized, the city anticipates revenue to increase to $18.3 million.

The proposed renewal would keep the total property tax levy rate at 37 cents per $1,000 assessed value. However as assessment ceiling of a property's land and building dimensions would increased. The additional land square feet ceiling would increase to 45 cents. A property's additional building square foot ceiling would increase to 24 cents.

Hotel assessment ceilings would increase in two years of the renewal. The current ceiling of $97 would go to $125 per room a year.

According to a presentation of the renewal to the Seattle Economic Development, Technology, and City Light Committee, the increase assessments by the consumer price index for all urban consumers each year would see a minimum cap increase of 2.5% to 5.0%.

A number of Downtown Seattle businesses and city jurisdictions spoke in favor of the Metropolitan Improvement District during the meeting on April 12 .

“While we needed written support from 60% of the rate payer assessment base, we’ve already received over 67% and climbing,” said Lisa Nitze, chair of the Metropolitan Improvement District at the meeting.

Discussions of the Metropolitan Improvement District reauthorization will resume again on April 26. The city council is expected to vote to renew the district in May.