Shoreline Council Approves Tax Break for Apartment Developers

In its final meeting of 2011, the Shoreline City Council took action on several key items and honored Councilmember Terry Scott, who is stepping down to spend more time with his family.

The Council unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 624 which will establish a five-year exemption from real property taxation for developers of mulitfamily housing in five areas of Shoreline. The Council agreed on an amendment which will end the program on Dec. 31, 2016. However, future Councils could decide to renew the program. 

The program already serves North City and Ridgecrest. The Arabella I Apartment project, completed in 2007, on 15th Ave. N.E. was the first and only project under the program.

The five new areas being added are the Aurora Ave. North Corridor (from 145th to 205th streets), Ballinger Way N.E. commercial district, Hillwood commercial district, Richmond Beach commercial district, and the Southeast Neighborhood districts (145th St. and 15th Ave. N.E. area and the 145th St. and Ballinger Way area). 

The program is aimed to increase housing supply but does not adequately address affordable housing—the new housing being built would be market rate housing, economic development director Dan Eernissee said. 

The housing would be market-rate housing which would be affordable to people making 80 percent of the King County median income, which is currently $48,640 for a single person and $69,440 for a family of four. The market rate average is $1,216 for a studio, $1390 for a one-bedroom and $1,564 for a two bedroom apartment.

The Council by a 6-0 vote adopted Ordinance No. 615, which included a revised transportation master plan. Save Richmond Beach asked the Council to consider a level of service C (on a scale of A-F, A being best) for the intersections on Richmond Beach Road. Several Councilmembers considered the request and thanked the non-profit for its submission but in the end the Council voted to keep the level of service consistent with those in the rest of the city at level D. 

The Council also adopted the 2011 Surface Water Master Plan by a 6-1 vote, with Councilmember Will Hall voting against it. Concerns about the lack of funding to resolve erosion being caused by Storm Creek in Innis Arden were raised by Judy Allen during public comment.