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
Kathleen Esnaurrizar
Student, University of Washington
Rachel Fyall
Associate Professor, Undergraduate Program Director, The Evans School, University of Washington
Jeanette Henderson
Executive Director of UW Real Estate, University of Washington
Michaelann Jundt
Associate Dean, UW Undergraduate Academic Affairs
Chris Peterson
Owner, Café Allegro
Chris Rauls
Chief Operating Officer, University Book Store
D’Vante Rolle
Director of 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, and are joint meetings with The U District Partnership’s Board of Directors:

September 15, 2026
November 17, 2026
February 16, 2027
June 24, 2027 – Ratepayer Annual Meeting

To register to vote as a ratepayer or to provide public comment, please contact Nikki Somers at nikki@udistrictpartnership.org

Annual Ratepayer Meeting | June 24, 2027

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 on Thursday, June 24, 2027.

RSVP to Participate (RSVP opens in June 2027)

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.

2026

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.