In an effort to promote economic growth in downtown Blaine, city council is considering a tax exemption policy to address Blaine’s growing population and its current lack of affordable housing.
A public hearing for the proposed multi-family housing tax exemption will take place on Monday, June 10 at 6 p.m. at Blaine City Hall.
The tax exemption is an incentive that seeks to encourage new housing options, including apartments, condominiums and mixed-use structures with three or more residential units, according to the Washington state legislature criteria.
Savings depend on the value of improvements, said Stacie Pratschner, the community development services director for Blaine. The property tax rate in Whatcom County is currently 0.89 percent. The exemption covers the improvement value of that new housing from the ad valorem property tax for 8 to 12 years. Any non-residential improvements are not included.
To make this happen, the city is looking to designate parcels of the central business district as targeted residential areas – desired locations for greater density and urban housing development, to accommodate the city’s projected 20-year population growth, according to Resolution Number 1759-19.
In that time, Blaine’s urban growth area will see a projected influx of 4,000 people.
“The city is planning on building, we’re anticipating, over 1,000 new multi-family units to help address the needs of those population projections,” Pratschner said. “The purpose of the multi-family tax exemption is to create interest in building those needed multi-family units.”
The city of Bellingham has a multi-family tax exemption code in place which mandates that, in order to qualify for the exemption, 20 percent of the units in a given development must be for low to moderate income households. Other governments, including Seattle, Bellevue, Vancouver, Issaquah and Wenatchee, have also developed multi-family housing tax exemptions.
“I have talked to some different jurisdictions, including Bellingham, who have all stated this has been a great program to bolster development in their downtown cores,” Pratschner said.
The public hearing is the second of several state-mandated steps to establish the tax exemption. Following the public hearing, the city’s adoption of the ordinance will include residential targeted area designation, an application process, procedures, fees and a delineation of additional requirements for program eligibility.
Staff is currently working on the draft code by looking at some model ordinances from other cities. On Monday, June 10, the draft will be brought forward for public comment, Pratschner said.
Written comments or questions may be directed to Stacie Pratschner at 435 Martin St. Suite 3000, Blaine, WA, 98230 or SPratschner@cityofblaine.com.
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