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Chapter 4.31
Parking and Business Improvement AreaSections:
4.31.010 Parking and Business Improvement Area Established.
4.31.020 BID Boundaries.
4.31.030 BID Programs.
4.31.040 Levy of Special Assessments.
4.31.050 Collection of BID Assessments.
4.31.060 BID Fund.
4.31.070 Administration.
4.31.080 Ratepayer Advisory Board.
4.31.090 Contract for Program Management.
4.31.100 Annual Budget.
4.31.110 Notices.
4.31.120 Disputes.
4.31.130 Severability.
4.31.140 Renewal – Termination.
4.31.010 Parking and Business Improvement Area Established.
The City of Spokane, pursuant to RCW chapter 35.87A, hereby establishes a parking and business improvement area (PBIA) pursuant to Resolution No. 01-72 titled “A Resolution Initiating the Establishment of a Parking and Business Improvement Area” adopted by the city council on August 27, 2001, and Resolution No. 01-73 titled “A Resolution of Intention to Establish a Parking and Business Improvement Area” adopted by the city council on August 27, 2001. A public hearing regarding the formation of the PBIA was held on September 24, 2001, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the city council chambers in City Hall. The PBIA created herein shall be designated the “downtown Spokane business improvement district” (the “BID”).
[Ord. C32923 § 1; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.020 BID Boundaries.
The BID shall be within the boundaries described below and as shown on the map attached as Appendix A (map is on file in the office of the city clerk).
Beginning at a point at the northwest corner of Spokane Falls Boulevard and Division Street; thence west along the north line of Spokane Falls Boulevard to the northwest corner of Spokane Falls Boulevard and Browne Street; thence south along the west line of Browne Street to the northwest corner of Brown Street and Sprague Avenue; thence west along the north line of Sprague Avenue to the northwest corner of Sprague Avenue and Bernard Street; thence south along the west line of Bernard Street to the northwest corner of Bernard Street and First Avenue; thence west along the north line of First Avenue to the northwest corner of First Avenue and Washington Street; thence south along the west line of Washington Street to the intersection of Washington Street and the Railroad Viaduct; thence west along the north line of the Railroad Viaduct to the intersection of the Railroad Viaduct and the east line of Walnut Street; thence north along the east line of Walnut Street to the northeast corner of Walnut Street and Riverside Avenue; thence east along the north line of Riverside Avenue to the northwest corner of Riverside Avenue and Wright Street; thence north along the west line of Wright Street to the southwest corner of Wright Street and Main Avenue; thence east along the south line of Main Avenue to the Northeast Corner of Lot 34, Block 4, Glovers Addition; thence north along said east property line extended to the south line of the Spokane River; thence northeast along the south line of the Spokane River to Monroe Street; thence north along the east line of Monroe Street to the southeast corner of Monroe Street and Bridge Avenue; thence west across Monroe Street to the west line of Monroe Street; thence north along the west line of Monroe Street to the Southeast corner of County Assessor Parcel No. 35183.0095; thence west along the south line of said parcel to the Southwest corner of said parcel; thence north along the west property line of said parcel to the Southwest corner of County Assessor Parcel No. 35183.1302; thence east along the south line of said parcel to the southeast corner of said parcel; thence north along the east property line of said parcel to Broadway Avenue; thence east along the south line of Broadway Avenue to the southeast corner of Broadway Avenue and Post Street; thence north along the east line of Post Street to the southeast corner of Post Street and Mallon Avenue; thence east along the south line of Mallon Avenue to the southeast corner of Mallon Avenue and Howard Street; thence north along the east line of Howard Street to the southwest corner of Lot 33, Block 8, Keystone Addition; thence east along the south line of said lot to the southwest corner of Lot 27, Block 8, Keystone Addition; thence north along the west line of said lot to the south line of Cataldo Avenue; thence east along the south line of Cataldo Avenue to the northeast corner of Lot 17, Block 8, Keystone Addition; thence south along the east line of said lot to the southeast corner of said lot; thence east along the south line of Block 8, Keystone Addition to the northeast corner of County Assessor Parcel No. 35181.0032; thence south along the east line of said parcel to the southeast corner of said parcel; thence east along the south line of County Parcel No. 35181.4410 to the east line of Washington Street; thence north along the east line of Washington Street to the southeast corner of Washington Street and North River Drive; thence east along the south line of North River Drive to the southwest corner of North River Drive and Division Street; thence south along the west line of Division Street to the point of beginning.
The above description will hereafter be referred to as the “business improvement district” or “BID.” Businesses, as described in RCW 35.87A.020, real properties (including improvement thereon), multifamily residential, mixed-use projects, hotels, motels, government property, and parking lots available to the public which are occupied for a fee located within the BID shall be subject to special assessments as authorized by RCW 35.87A.010.
[Ord. C32923 § 2; Passed: 11/2/2001]
4.31.030 BID Programs.
A. The revenues from the special assessments authorized in SMC 4.31.040 shall be used for the following purposes:
1. Security Ambassador Program. The City shall use, or cause to be used, BID assessment revenues to fund a uniformed security patrol (the “security ambassadors”) in the BID for the purpose of assisting and providing information to citizens, local employees, visitors and the city police department. BID assessment revenues shall be used to provide the security ambassadors with customer service training designed to help citizens, local employees and visitors locate businesses and governmental services.
2. Marketing and Promotional Programs. The City shall use, or cause to be used, BID assessment revenues to fund marketing and promotional programs that:
a. seek to improve the overall image of the City’s downtown business district,
b. recruit new businesses,
c. retain presently established businesses,
d. promote the BID as a place to visit, shop and enjoy goods, services and activities, and/or
e. support safe, convenient and efficient use of public transportation in the BID, including but not limited to support of commuter trip reduction programs and programs designed to improve air quality.
Such marketing and promotional programs may include collaborative promotional strategies, market research and media contact.
3. Parking and Transportation Programs. The City shall use, or cause to be used, BID assessment revenues to fund parking and transportation programs that:
a. promote retail trade,
b. provide or encourage a parking validation program (including free or discounted parking),
c. provide or encourage maintenance, development and construction of parking facilities that support business and multifamily residential projects within the BID,
d. provide or encourage parking alternatives that facilitate retail activities (such as a free or reduced-price ride program), and/or
e. advocate the interests of BID businesses and multifamily residential projects for regional transportation solutions.
4. Maintenance Services. The City shall use, or cause to be used, BID assessment revenues to fund maintenance services, including but not limited to sidewalk cleaning and sweeping, trash and debris removal from the sidewalk and trash receptacles, and removal of graffiti from public places and private improvements open to the public. Any maintenance program so implemented shall have the goal of maintaining the appearance of the common areas within the BID as clean and inviting places to visit and conduct business.
5. Special Events. The City shall use, or cause to be used, BID assessment revenues to fund the sponsorship and promotion of special events within the BID that attract residents and visitors to BID.
6. Economic Development Support. The BID may use or make available information derived from its assessment records to support efforts to attract jobs and investment in the BID as follows:
a. Statistical, aggregated information that does not identify any ratepayer; and
b. Any other business or property information only with the permission of the ratepayer(s) to whom it pertains.
B. The security ambassador program and common area maintenance services described above shall be supplemental to existing street maintenance, refuse and police services, and are not intended to displace any services regularly provided by the City. Special assessment revenues may also be used for additional purposes consistent with RCW 35.87A.010 as determined by the city council.
[Ord. C32923 § 3; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.040 Levy of Special Assessments.
A. To finance the programs set forth in SMC 4.31.030, there shall be levied and collected an annual special assessment upon the “businesses” and “multifamily residential or mixed-use” projects, as defined in RCW 35.87A.020(3) (including real property improvements thereon) as set forth on the special assessment formula for the BID, which shall be adopted annually by ordinance and incorporated by this reference as if fully set forth herein.
B. For purposes of levying and collecting special assessments within the BID, the BID will be divided into six zones (the boundaries of which are set forth in Appendix A* of the ordinance codified in this section and incorporated herein by this reference). Within each such zone, the City will levy and collect special assessments at different rates based on whether the entity being assessed is a tenant (and, if so, the type of tenant) or a property owner, and whether the property to which such assessment applies is a governmentally owned park. The City will levy and collect special assessments on an annual basis within the BID.
C. The rates at which special assessment within the BID will be imposed for calendar year 2002 are set forth in Appendix B* of the ordinance codified in this section (which is incorporated herein by reference). The city council finds that the benefit to the property owners, businesses and multifamily residential or mixed-used projects subject to the special assessment is a special benefit which would not otherwise accrue, but for the activities, programs and services carried out with the funds provided by the special assessments authorized pursuant to this chapter.
D. The City anticipates that any subsequent increases in the amounts of the special assessments will be based on the increase, if any, of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the U.S. City Average for all urban consumers. The percentage increase in the assessment formula shall be computed as follows:
[(Ending CPI – Beginning CPI) ÷ Beginning CPI] x 100 = Percentage Increase
E. Any change in the assessment rate shall only be made by ordinance and as authorized in RCW 35.87A.130 through 35.87A.140. No increase shall occur in the assessment rate unless recommended by the ratepayer advisory board.
[Ord. C32923 § 4; Passed: 11/12/2001]
*Code reviser’s note: Appendices A and B are on file in the office of the city clerk.
4.31.050 Collection of BID Assessments.
A. Special assessments for the BID shall be collected on an annual basis, with payments due on January 20th or the first business day thereafter. A ratepayer may elect to make payment in equal semi-annual installments, the first due on January 20th and the next due on July 20th or the first business day thereafter. For semi-annual payments there shall be added to the assessment ten dollars ($10.00) on each payment to provide for administrative expenses.
B. A new business or multifamily residential or mixed-used project that locates within the BID after a billing cycle commences shall be exempt from BID assessment for the remainder of that billing cycle, but may make voluntary payments to the City in lieu of any special assessment that otherwise would have been due. A billing cycle is a twelve-month period beginning each December 20th. Businesses, multifamily residential, and mixed-used projects will not be entitled to BID programs, as identified in SMC 4.31.030, unless they have been assessed pursuant to SMC 4.31.040 or have made a payment in lieu or assessment pursuant to this section.
C. Within fifteen days after the January and July due dates for BID assessments, the city treasurer shall send a reminder notice to all ratepayers with unpaid assessments. Thirty days after the due date, a delinquency charge shall be added in the amount of ten percent of the assessment, not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00). All assessments, shall also bear interest at the rate of one percent of the amount of the unpaid assessment for each month, or part thereof, of delinquency. The city attorney is authorized to bring an action to collect any unpaid assessments in the Spokane County courts as a civil action, or in the discretion of the mayor, refer collection to a collection agency.
[Ord. C32923 § 5; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.060 BID Fund.
A. There is hereby established by the City the “downtown Spokane business improvement district fund” (hereinafter “BID fund”), which shall be held separate and apart from all other City funds and accounts. The following moneys shall be deposited or credited to the BID fund:
1. all revenues from special assessments levied under this chapter;
2. gifts and donations for the BID fund;
3. moneys for expenditures made from the BID fund and reimbursements due to the BID fund;
4. interest and all other income from the investment of BID fund deposits according to established procedures and policies; and
5. all funds and assets from the PBIA established pursuant to Ordinance No. C32438 remaining on December 31, 2001, which are not allocated to pay for existing debts or other financial obligations of such PBIA.
B. Expenditures from the BID fund shall be made upon vouchers drawn by the mayor, through the city administrator or his or her designee, and shall be used exclusively for purposes that are consistent with this chapter and RCW chapter 35.87A.
[Ord. C32923 § 6; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.070 Administration.
The mayor, through the city administrator or his or her designee, shall administer the BID for the City with authority to:
A. Direct the collection of special assessments;
B. Direct any refund of special assessments when overpaid or paid for the same area by more than one ratepayer;
C. Extend the deadline for payment and/or waive delinquency charges and interest whenever the delinquency is a result of a failure by the City to provide a statement of the amount due or nonpayment results from extenuating circumstances beyond the ratepayer’s control, such as a casualty loss causing premature closure of the business or bankruptcy;
D. Determine and apply the interest rate for late payments contemplated by SMC 4.31.050;
E. Execute a contract for the management of BID programs with a business association as described in RCW 35.87A.110 (the program manager);
F. After consultation and with the advice of the ratepayer advisory board through the program manager, take such other actions as necessary and appropriate to carry out the program with special assessments; and
G. Upon city council approval, adopt, publish, and enforce rules, consistent with this chapter, for carrying out its provisions.
[Ord. C32923 § 7; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.080 Ratepayer Advisory Board.
A. Pursuant to RCW 35.87A.110, there is hereby created a sixteen-member BID advisory board, to be known as the “ratepayer advisory board.” The ratepayer advisory board shall not exceed a membership of sixteen persons in good standing either owning property or operating a “business” or “multifamily residential or mixed-use” projects in the BID. “Persons in good standing” are those ratepayers who are not more than sixty days delinquent on any BID assessment unless the ratepayer has appealed the BID assessment and is in the appeal process, in which case the ratepayer retains his “in good standing” status through completion of the appeal process.
B. Board positions are designated by geography, business and property type to ensure that the BID’s interests are well represented and served. To the extent individuals are willing to serve, ratepayer advisory board positions consist of: (1 – 5) one individual each from zones 1 through 5, respectively; (6) one retail business occupying more than 20,000 square feet; (7) one retail business occupying less than 20,000 square feet; (8 – 9) two property owners or managers of real property; (10 – 12) three individuals representing professional service businesses, including one attorney, one accountant and one architect; (13) one individual from a financial institution; (14) one individual from a small business with up to twenty-five employees; (15) one individual from a business with more than twenty-five employees; (16) one appointee from the mayor.
One representative of the program manager shall be a nonvoting, ex officio, member of the ratepayer advisory board. The program manager shall provide administrative staff to the ratepayer advisory board.
C. Each member of the ratepayer advisory board will be elected by businesses and property owners within the BID for a term of two years from the date of election (unless such member is appointed by the ratepayer advisory board to fulfill the remaining unexpired term of a prior member). A subcommittee of ratepayer advisory board members will receive nomination applications and will select a slate of candidates for open ratepayer advisory board positions to be presented at the annual meeting. New ratepayer advisory board members will be elected by a majority vote of ratepayers in good standing who attend the annual meeting. The initial ratepayer advisory board shall consist of the ratepayer advisory board for the City’s previous PBIA that was created pursuant to Ordinance No. C32438. All subsequent board elections shall be pursuant to the ratepayer advisory board’s bylaws. The city council hereby approves through the adoption of this chapter the revised “Bylaws of the Downtown Spokane Business Improvement District” which are attached to the ordinance codified in this section as Appendix C*.
D. The ratepayer advisory board shall:
1. establish and maintain a database which includes a list and classification of all ratepayers;
2. represent the interests of ratepayers by developing projects, programs and budgets, proposing assessments, monitoring service delivery and planning for the future of the BID; and
3. provide recommendations to the mayor regarding ratepayer disputes which include adjustment of assessment rates, methods, classification, special benefits and all matters reasonably related thereto. The ratepayer advisory board shall make recommendations to the program manager on matters relating to the BID budget, expenditures, and programs for the purpose of monitoring the contract to administer the BID. For the purpose of considering ratepayer disputes, the ratepayer advisory board may act through a committee comprised of ratepayer advisory board members.
[Ord. C32923 § 8; Passed: 11/12/2001]
*Code reviser’s note: Appendix C is on file in office of the city clerk.
4.31.090 Contract for Program Management.
Pursuant to RCW 35.87A.110, the city shall solicit for and enter into an agreement with an appropriate business association for the purpose of administering and operating the annual BID programs through a contract with the City of Spokane as “program manager.” The program manager will not be terminated unless:
A. A suitable successor organization is recommended by a majority of the votes of the ratepayers at their annual meeting weighted by the dollar amount of their BID assessments;
B. A petition is presented to the city council signed by ratepayers paying a majority of the BID assessments requests termination and after a public hearing the city council votes to terminate the contract;
C. The city council fails to impose special assessments;
D. Pursuant to the program manager contract; or
E. The BID is disestablished in accordance with RCW 35.87A.180.
[Ord. C32923 § 9; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.100 Annual Budget.
The ratepayer advisory board shall submit to the city council through the program manager on or before December 1st of each year a report consisting of:
A. a statement of the proposed projects, programs and activities to be funded from BID assessments during the ensuing fiscal or calendar year;
B. the proposed BID budget; and
C. a list of ratepayers, business classifications and the assessment rates necessary for financing the proposed budget.
The city council, upon receipt of the report may approve, reject, correct, revise, modify and amend the proposed projects, programs and activities, budget and assessment and thereafter, by ordinance or resolution, approve the activities, budget and assessment as provided or as modified.
[Ord. C32923 § 10; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.110 Notices.
Notices of assessment, installment payment, or delinquency, and all other notices contemplated by this chapter may be sent by first class mail or delivered by the City to the address shown on the records of the city treasurer and, if no address is shown there, to the address shown on the records of the City maintained for business or utility tax purposes. Failure of the ratepayer to receive any mailed notice shall not release the ratepayer from the duty to pay the assessment, or except as authorized by SMC 4.31.070, from payment on the due date and any delinquency charges.
[Ord. C32923 § 11; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.120 Disputes.
Any ratepayer, aggrieved by the amount of an assessment, shall request, within sixty days from the date of the assessment, a meeting and/or hearing before the ratepayer advisory board and, if not satisfied with the decision of the ratepayer advisory board, appeal, within ten days from the date of the decision, the matter de novo, to the City hearing examiner in the manner provided for under the City’s Municipal Code. An appeal to the City hearing examiner shall include a fifty dollar ($50.00) filing fee payable to the City of Spokane. The hearing examiner has the authority to: classify ratepayers within the types of use under SMC 4.31.040 above; determine the square footage of ratepayers for assessment purposes, the rate applicable to a ratepayer when classifications overlap, and resolve ambiguities in the application of rates, determine special benefits, and resolve all matters reasonably related thereto. In determining a ratepayer’s square footage, the hearing examiner may rely on figures supplied by the Spokane County assessor, the ratepayer board and/or a lease agreement without making measurements directly. When determining a property’s value, the hearing examiner may rely upon the records of the Spokane County assessor.
[Ord. C32923 § 12; Passed: 11/2/2001]
4.31.130 Severability.
If any section, subdivision, part or word of this chapter or any regulation, rule or order adopted pursuant to the authority thereof be determined invalid, it shall not affect the remainder of the chapter, but be confined to the section, subdivision, part or word directly involved in the controversy with the section, subdivision, part or word severed or stricken.
[Ord. C32923 § 13; Passed: 11/12/2001]
4.31.140 Renewal – Termination.
To promote continuity in services being provided by the PBIA, and to enhance the special benefits supporting the special assessments in the PBIA, the city will not terminate the PBIA or repeal this chapter before December 31, 2007. No later than July 1, 2007, the city council shall either extend the date upon which the PBIA can be terminated or commence proceedings to terminate the PBIA.
[Ord. C32923 § 14; Passed: 11/12/2001]
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