Ratepayer Advisory Board | U District Partnership U District Partnership

The University District Business Improvement Area’s (UDBIA) Ratepayer Advisory Board (RAB) is composed of residents, business owners, building / property owners, UW representatives, and neighborhood representatives. These members are responsible for making recommendations to the Director of Finance on the annual work plan and budget for the UDBIA, in accordance with the established UDBIA Bylaws.

U District Ratepayer Advisory Board Members

Sally Clark, Co-Chair
Director of Campus Safety, University of Washington
Jennifer Antos, Co-Chair
Executive Director, Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Market
Joe Gruber, Treasurer
Executive Director, University District Food Bank
Chris Giles, Secretary
U District Resident
Maria Barrientos
Managing Partner, Barrientos/Ryan
Max Blume
Development Manager, The Blume Company
David Cohanim
Real Estate Developer & Managing Consultant, Whitefall, LLC
Lora Gastineau
U District Resident
Mary Kay Gugerty
Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning, Professor of Nonprofit Management & Philanthropy, The Evans School, University of Washington
Jeanette Henderson
Executive Director of UW Real Estate, University of Washington
Lincoln Johnson
Associate Vice President of Student Life, University of Washington
Nikole O’Bryan
Owner, Nikole O’Bryan DDS
Chris Peterson
Owner, Café Allegro
Braedyn Reed
Student, University of Washington
Brian Sellen
Regional VP of Management Services, American Campus Communities
Sandy Sun
Broker, Compass Real Estate
Carolyn Thompson
Owner, Neptune Theater Building
Hui Tian
Principal, Studio 19 Architects
Polly Yorioka
Ministry Coordinator for Outreach, University Presbyterian Church

Upcoming Meetings

Ratepayer Advisory Board meetings are open to the public. Upcoming Ratepayer Advisory Board Meetings are on the following dates:

Annual Ratepayer Meeting

Thursday, June 26 | 4:00PM-5:30PM

Industrious Coworking Space
4311 11th Avenue NE, 5th Floor, Seattle, WA 98105

To provide public comment at an upcoming meeting, please contact Don Blakeney at don@udistrictpartnership.org.

Annual Ratepayer Meeting - Thursday, June 26

Each June, The U District Partnership (UDP) hosts the Annual Meeting of U District Business Improvement Area (BIA) Ratepayers. This meeting provides an opportunity for Ratepayers to review the proposed budget and work plan for the upcoming year—developed by the UDBIA Ratepayers’ Advisory Board and submitted to the City of Seattle Finance Director.

This year’s Annual Meeting of U District Ratepayers will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, 2025.

U District BIA Annual Ratepayer Meeting
Thursday, June 26, 2025
4:00pm
Industrious – Office Space
4311 11th Ave NE, 5th Floor
Seattle, WA 98105

Annual Meeting – Board Packet & Agenda

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82843332975?pwd=55PbasNm9V3hv974Vatg6xjwqIU437.1

Meeting ID: 828 4333 2975
Passcode: 383782

Call-In:
+12532158782,,82843332975#,,,,*383782# US (Tacoma)

RSVP to Participate

To participate in the Annual Meeting as a ratepayer, please RSVP in advance of the meeting to Nikki Somers: nikki@udistrictpartnership.org with the following information:

Your Name: (First, Last)
Property: (Address)
Property Owner: (Person/Entity)
Your Affiliation: (Owner/Designee*)

*For any designee of a Ratepayer to vote on their behalf, please provide proof of that designation in the form of a written and signed statement from the Ratepayer.

How to Participate as a U District Ratepayer

U District “Ratepayers” are defined as the property owners who receive and pay the annual assessments of the U District BIA. Each Ratepayer is allotted one vote. A Ratepayer may only vote if they are present.

A Ratepayer shall identify who represents the ratepayer and holds that right to vote. We recommend that any designee of a Ratepayer who plans to attend and vote on their behalf register in advance and provide proof of that designation in the form of a written and signed statement from the Ratepayer.

For any individual property owner who is a ratepayer, that person may designate the person who is empowered to vote for them.
Any legal entity comprised of a single individual owner, that individual owner shall designate the person who is empowered to vote for that entity.
For any property that is owned by a legal entity comprised of multiple individual owners, they shall have one vote and that group of owners shall designate the person who is empowered to vote for that entity.
Any legal entity comprised of multiple individual owners that owns multiple properties, they shall have one vote and that group of owners shall designate the person who is empowered to vote for that entity.
Any property governed by a Home Owners Association (HOA) shall have one vote, the HOA Board shall designate the person who is empowered to vote on that HOA’s behalf. That person shall identify themselves as the representative of the HOA when claiming their ballot.
No individual attending the Annual Ratepayers’ Meeting may have or exercise more than one vote.

Past Meetings

Agendas and information packets all Ratepayer Advisory Board meetings are posted online in advance of each meeting, and are archived in chronological order, available through the links below. If you have any questions, please contact Don Blakeney at don@udistrictpartnership.org.

2025

2024

2023

2022

History

The U District Business Improvement Area (UDBIA) was originally established by Seattle City Council ordinance in 1996 with the support of U District property owners to levy an assessment on properties in the U District to provide cleaning and security services, as well as to provide a forum to address community issues. The original business improvement area covered University Way NE between Campus Parkway and 52nd Street, including some of the surrounding streets.

The UDBIA was reestablished by the Seattle City Council and U District ratepayers in 2015 with an expanded geographic area and scope. Today, the UDBIA has a tiered assessment structure. Every Ratepayer inside the UDBIA boundaries pays a rate based on the Total Taxable Value of their property into the General BIA Fund. If a property is located within one of two enhanced cleaning areas, there is also an additional fee based on the total Lot Area of the property to cover the cost of enhanced, regular cleaning. In 2020, the City Council voted 9-0 to renew the UDBIA for a 12-year period. To learn more about the BIA-funded services, look here or contact Don Blakeney at don@udistrictpartnership.org.

The University District Business Improvement Area’s (UDBIA) Ratepayer Advisory Board (RAB) is composed of residents, business owners, building owners, UW representatives, and neighborhood representatives. These members are responsible for making recommendations to the Executive Director on the annual work plan and budget funded by the UDBIA, in accordance with the established UDBIA Ordinance and Bylaws.

What is a BIA?

Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) are self-assessing funding mechanisms enabled by Washington State Law and created to fund commercial district revitalization, maintenance, and management within specific geographic boundaries. The City of Seattle is just one of many cities that collect assessments from the local ratepayers on behalf of BIAs. BIAs are also called Business Improvement Districts (BID) or Business Improvement Zones (BIZ) in other cities all across North America. These assessment districts usually fund place management organizations like The U District Partnership. The BIA in the U District has a ratepayer advisory board that is responsible for creating bylaws and advising on programs and services, budgets, and goals.