The Ballard District Council met on Wednesday, September 10, after taking a summer break in August. Topics up for discussion were the City’s budget and use of funds, parking changes in Ballard, and a presentation from Mike Stewart - Executive Director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce – updating the council on the Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth’s (BPSG) next move.

Ben Noble, City of Seattle Budget Office Director, started out the meeting with an analysis of the City of Seattle annual budge, how the city obtains the funds, and how they use them.

Jonathan Williams and Mary Catherine Snyder of the Seattle Department of Transportation Mobility Program discussed parking research and changes happening in Ballard.

Stewart presented the BPSG goals and implementation strategies for 2014. The partnership is a collaboration between local businesses, property owners and the Ballard Chamber of Commerce. The partnership is in the process of formulating a proposal that would designate an area of the Ballard core as a business improvement area.

Improvement areas are designated and managed through a partnership with the City, and emphasize a plan to develop and maintain the economic vitality of a specific area in communities. Currently, there are nine in Seattle. An area in Pioneer Square is one identified by the City.

In Ballard, the area would be from 14th Avenue Northwest to 30th Avenue Northwest and as far north as Northwest 59th Street. The maritime sector is excluded from the area.

Sectors of development the improvement area emphasizes are business retention and economic development, urban design and transportation, marketing/promotions and “hygiene” (clean/healthy/safe).

“Ballard has gone through such dramatic change, and we are kind of at a cross roads; so we can either let the development and all the change come and sit idly by the side, or we can all come together and put together a plan and proposal to work on and address the needs, ” said Stewart.

Stewart discussed the goals of the business improvement proposal, which included growing more businesses and jobs in Ballard across all sectors and retaining existing businesses and jobs.

“There is a need to have a really good balance in Ballard. There’s a concern that all the great stuff on Ballard Avenue with the restaurants and the night life is fantastic, but we don’t want Ballard to become another Belltown where it just turns on at night yet during the daytime hours there are businesses and shops to keep that area vital.”

In addition, Stewart discussed parking in Ballard. With the help of SDOT, Stewart said the chamber is looking into the available off-street parking in the core of Ballard. Stewart reported that surprisingly 50 percent of parking spaces are available in Ballard in the evening, however,they are at Swedish Hospital and other little private lots that the public may not be aware of. The chamber is looking into making more signage to increase public awareness and pay-by-phone options for the lots.

A clean, healthy and safe Ballard is also a priority of the Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth. Stewart said that the proposed plan would identify areas in Ballard that would regularly be cleaned and monitored for graffiti.
Safety was also a priority Stewart presented on, and he said that the improvement proposal aims to increase police presence in Ballard. It would encourage the assignment of SPD officers to a neighborhood station, promote emergency preparedness, and explore “Ballard Ambassadors” or other programs that would assist the general public. A mental health and addiction counselor is also being considered in the proposal.

“We need more attention to Ballard. We are a hub urban village, and we’ve got the growth. We’ve got the density. But we don’t have the services that we need. The way we can slowly chip away at that is through advocacy.”

So how is the improvement project paid for?

Property owners would fund the improvement organization. There is a special assessment made by the city on property owners in the area. Funds are collected and overseen by the city. The assessment is based on building square footage. Average contribution for a person who owns a condo could be around $7.50 per month. Furthermore, the proposal is planned for a seven-year life cycle. The improvement program would be evaluated after five years.

For the improvement program to be implemented, the BPSG would need to convince 60 percent of property owners in the area to approve the proposal. If they reach that goal, the City will review it and enact it through an ordinance. If approved, it could be enacted by May of next year. Detailed packets from the organization are being sent to property owners this week.