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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/19/2017 09 Downtown Yakima Business Improvement District Boundary ReviewBUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDASTATEMENT Item No. 9. For Meeting of: September 19, 2017 ITEM TITLE: Downtown Yakima Business Improvement District Boundary Review SUBMITTED BY: Sean Hawkins, Economic Development Manager, 575-6274 SUMMARY EXPLANATION: At the August 24, 2017 Council Economic Development Committee meeting, attendees discussed the Downtown Yakima Business Improvement District (DYBID) boundaries. It was recommended by the council members in attendance (Coffey and A. Gutierrez) that the history of the DYBID be provided to the full Council. ITEM BUDGETED: STRATEGIC PRIORITY: APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL: City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: The Council Economic Development Committee (Coffey and A. Gutierrez) recommended this issue be brought to the full Yakima City Council for direction at their August 24, 2017 meeting. ATTACHMENTS: Description Upload Date Type p 2009 and 2012 DYBID Bounday Map 4'11/2017 Cc"er Merlin r] Memo - DYBID Boundaries 9/12'2017 Cc er Memo JEROME AVE Z O C7 Lu O ..PLA- R S▪ T 2012 DYBID Area 2008 DYBID Area 1 ROOSEVELT AVE MCKINLEY AVE GARFIELD AVE ELI T 2 CHERRY AVE 11� N FAO VE 0� YAK I M A AVE 182 RAMP V'15 TERRACE HGTS WY CHESTNUT �Vr FP TO JEFFERSON AVE E FOLSOM AVE Lu Lu Lu 440. all T E SPRUCE ST • p 51 3 Memorandum To: Yakima City Council and City Manager From: Sean Hawkins, Economic Development Manager Date: September 19, 2017 Subject: Downtown Yakima Business Improvement District Boundary Expansion At the August 24, 2017 Council Economic Development Committee meeting, attendees discussed the Downtown Yakima Business Improvement District (DYBID) boundaries. It was recommended that the history of the DYBID be provided to the full Council. History: In August 2008, the Yakima City Council passed an ordinance establishing the DYBID as a mechanism to pay for day to day maintenance in downtown Yakima as a result of the physical improvements made through the City's Downtown Futures Initiative. The initiative was approved by downtown property owners through a petition process. More than 60% of property owners responsible for paying the assessment supported the initiative. A map of the 2008 and 2012 district boundaries is attached to this memo. Both the 2008 and 2012 DYBID are assessed the following annual amounts: Property Owners: .000937 per dollar of assessed value ($93.7 per $100,000 of value)* Business License - $100 *Non-profit property owners receive a 40% discount on their property assessment In November 2012, the Yakima City Council voted to reduce the size of the DYBID to concentrate on the Yakima Avenue section and identified additional blocks in the core of downtown north and south of Yakima Avenue to assess the fee. As time has passed, there has been increased maintenance challenges in adjacent areas from weed abatement and irrigation repair to litter abatement. At the August 24th Economic Development Committee meeting, Joe Mann suggested that some adjacent areas be added back into the district to keep the continuity and look of downtown. Mr. Mann reported that he has spoken directly with some of the adjacent property owners and they expressed interest in being part of the district again. Next Steps: Staff is seeking direction from Council on this issue. Options could include working with the Downtown Association of Yakima to perform outreach to adjacent property owners to the DYBID in order to determine if there is firm interest in rejoining the district. If there is interest, a plan 4 could be presented to the Council Economic Development Committee at an upcoming meeting where the properties that would be included, the willingness of those property owners to be included, and the annual total of the collected assessments could be discussed. DYBID Boundary Change Process: 1. In accord with RCW 35.87A.075, boundaries of an existing DYBID may be modified by adoption of an ordinance, following a public hearing before the Council. The action taken may either expand or reduce the existing boundaries. Boundaries may be modified no more often than once annually. To begin the modification process, Council must adopt a resolution of intent to modify the boundaries and / or to modify the assessment schedule from what currently exists. The resolution of intent must be adopted no less than fifteen days prior to a required public hearing to consider the proposed modifications. 2. Notice of the public hearing shall require (1) that the resolution of intent be published in a newspaper of general city-wide circulation; and (2) that a complete copy of the resolution of intent be mailed to each business and entity identified in the established DYBID area. Publication and mailing shall be complete no less than ten days prior to the date of the public hearing. 3. All proposed changes must be specifically described and identified in the resolution of intent so that those affected by the changes will be fully advised as to how they may be affected. 4. Following the public hearing, and presuming the Council approves the resolution of intent, then an ordinance modifying the original DYBID area in the specific manner described by the resolution of intent to modify the area will be presented to the Council. If the modification ordinance is approved, the DYBID area shall be modified in the time and manner described therein. 5. The most optimum time to begin the effective date of a modified DYBID area would be at the beginning of the year, to simplify the process of assessment collection.