LID vote a key boost for city’s urban life
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
The biggest election upset of the summer may reverberate pleasantly for decades in downtown Tacoma. It had nothing to do with last week’s primary.
The surprise was a close re-vote by property owners that paves the way for a new “urban village” streetscape in the Broadway/St. Helens district.
Strictly speaking, the controversial proposal to create a local improvement district to pay for utility and streetscape improvements narrowly failed.
Owners of 63 parcels representing 50.48 of the area’s assessed value opposed the LID. But that represents a positive trend that almost surely guarantees that the City Council will vote to go ahead with the LID.
The council originally approved the LID on a 6-3 vote last year, after owners of 74 parcels representing 52.2 percent of the assessed value had voted against it. State law allows cities to create LIDs if less than 60 percent oppose it.
But the city felt obliged to conduct a re-vote this year after updated cost estimates showed that property assessments for the LID would be at least 33 percent higher than was previously anticipated. The stage seemed to be set for the demise of the LID.
Developer and business owner Blaine Johnson, who is involved in two condominium projects in the district, attributes the favorable shift to “the vision of the new players in the neighborhood – those developing, those opening businesses, those moving into new apartments and condos.”
“These folks have bought into the possibilities and are willing to invest to make them happen,” Johnson added. “The higher price tag was certainly unfortunate and not something anyone accepted without frustration. But the future is served.”
The second vote suggests there is still a difference in attitude between newer investors in the district and long-time property owners less willing to pay for upgrading the district’s infrastructure. But the tide is running in favor of the forward thinkers.
The LID will allow essential improvements to the district’s aging water, power and sewer utilities to be coordinated and done at the same time, instead of scheduling them piecemeal over the years and creating more torn-up streets and disruption.
The city’s utility departments will pay by far the largest share of the cost for the work. The property owners’ assessments, which can be paid over 30 years, are a reasonable price to pay for improvements that will greatly enhance the area’s livability and property values.
“Excuse our mess” signs will mark this part of the city for a while. But the result will be something city leaders have long wished for – an attractive center of urban life.
