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

Maureen Ewing, Co-Chair
Executive Director, UHeights Community Center
Aaron Hoard, Co-Chair
Interim Director of the Office of Regional & Community Relations, University of Washington
Chris Giles, Secretary
U District Resident
Jennifer Antos
Executive Director, Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets
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
Joe Gruber
Executive Director, University District Food Bank
Mary Kay Gugerty
Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning, Professor of Nonprofit Management & Philanthropy, The Evans School, University of Washington
Jeanette Hendersen
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
Brian Sellen
American Campus Communities
Sandy Sun
Broker, Compass Real Estate
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:

Thursday, June 22, 2023 | 4:30 – 5:30pm Annual Meeting

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84969727365?pwd=Mldua1ppMjBKOFZ5WVNCMXdIaWxoZz09

Meeting ID
849 6972 7365

Passcode
395922

Click here for the 2023 Annual Meeting Packet & Agenda

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

Annual Ratepayer Meeting | June 22, 2023

Each year, UDP convenes an Annual Meeting of the U District Ratepayers in June. The purpose of the Annual Meeting is to allow Ratepayers of the U District Business Improvement Area (BIA) to learn about the budget and work plan for the coming year, as proposed by the UDBIA Ratepayers’ Advisory Board to the City of Seattle Finance Director AND whether or not they recommend that the U District Partnership continue as the Program Manager for the funds of the U District BIA.

This year’s Annual Meeting of U District Ratepayers will be held at 4:30 p.m. on June 22, 2023. To participate in the Annual Meeting as a ratepayer, please RSVP in advance of the meeting to Don Blakeney: don@udistrictpartnership.org with the following information:

U District BIA Annual Ratepayer Meeting
Thursday, June 22, 2023
4:30pm
U Heights Center Auditorium
5031 University Way NE, Seattle

Click here for the 2023 Annual Meeting Packet & Agenda

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84969727365?pwd=Mldua1ppMjBKOFZ5WVNCMXdIaWxoZz09

Meeting ID
849 6972 7365
Passcode
395922

RSVP to Participate
To participate in the Annual Meeting as a ratepayer, please RSVP in advance of the meeting to Don Blakeney: don@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.

2023

2022

2021

2020

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.