We’ve got a story about this coming out in today’s news section, but here’s some in-depth analysis (below) that people should check out!

Quick note: One thing this analysis hints at, but should state explicitly (and this is one area where I'm still a John Walker Lindh Lefty) is this: Local Improvement Districtswhile often billed sweetly as simply local property owners "paying for improvements to their own neighborhoods”are a bit more complicated. The scheme actually defeats the supposed purpose of investing so heavily in one neighborhood: Beefing up the general fund for the rest of the city. In Nickels's streetcar plan, a chunk of the new money just goes right back into paying for the SLU amenity (the streetcar) itself. It doesn't go into the general fund. That point should be added to the critique below, which is, otherwise, damning and complete. Kudos to John Fox of the Seattle Displacement Coalition for putting this together.

City Council's Transportation Committee Today Approves Millions in Limited Transportation Revenues for Paul Allen's Streetcar in South Lake Union - Full Council Votes Next Monday

- Attempts by Licata and Steinbrueck to prevent a raid on city bus service fail: A minimum of 9000 hours of neighborhood bus service will be sacrificed. That's half of all new METRO Service Hours committed to Seattle for the years 2002-2007 that will be effectively taken and redirected to the SLU Streetcar.

This morning the Seattle City Council's Transportation Committee voted formally to go ahead with development of the South Lake Union Streetcar. The ordinance drafted by Richard Conlin with the cooperation of the Mayor's Office and Vulcan Inc. releases four million dollars from the 2004 budget dedicated to the trolley so planning for the project can move forward. But more importantly, provisions of the ordinance virtually ensure that the public will bear the majority of the total capital and operating costs for the street car - a project estimated by Council staff to exceed 50 million in today's dollars and over $1.5 million a year to operate.

Under the plan approved today, area businesses will be expected to pay only $25 million dollars of the cost of the project through creation of a Local Improvement District (LID) plus the cost required to set up and administer the LID which could total as much as $4 million. That leaves the public to foot the bill for the remainder of the $50 million capital cost plus most of the $1.5 million in annual operating expenses. The public's portion of construction costs will be covered by tapping limited federal, state, county, and local transportation funding sources. Even though there is a backlog of over $500 million in neighborhood transportation needs according to a recent city study including 39 city bridges that are seriously deteriorated including some deemed unsafe, our Mayor has prioritized this streetcar for use of these limited dollars and for other South Lake Union street improvements such as a reworking of the Mercer Corridor. Since virtually all major public improvements of this kind come with enormous cost overruns, those costs too are likely to be passed on to the taxpayers since Conlin's ordinance does not insulate the taxpayer from paying these added expenses.

Area property owners backed by streetcar boosters in South Lake Union (and supported by the Mayor) have said they will not pay more than $25 million of the $50 million-plus construction cost in the form of a LID even though a recent appraisers "special benefits study" showed abutting property owners realizing a $70 million increase in property values due to the streetcar. As the principle property owner, the appraiser's analysis estimated that Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. will likely realize as much as a 10 percent increase in their property values due to the streetcar (meaning they'll realize the lions share of that 70 million dollar benefit) yet they are leading the charge on limiting area property owners contribution to that $25 million. The Conlin ordinance passed today does not cap the business contribution per se at $25 million (plus LID administration costs) but makes it very clear that remaining costs including any cost overruns will first come from public sources.

Bus Service Hours for Our Neighborhoods Will Be Sacrificed:

Where the Conlin ordinance really falls flat, it specifically authorizes the Mayor's office to cut a deal (euphemistically called an "inter-local agreement") with METRO in which at least 9000 annual hours of new bus service that would have gone out to our neighborhoods will instead be dedicated to cover annual street car operating expenses. Further, the Conlin ordinance does not adequately protect the public or our neighborhoods in the event the Mayor has conveniently underestimated actual operating costs, or overestimated other revenue sources (such as fare box revenues). In virtually every other city where a streetcar has been built, operating costs are higher than expected and fare box revenues are lower than expected. Under either scenario, the Conlin ordinance does not prevent the Mayor from raiding still more of our area bus service or covering those added costs from the general fund or other local sources.

How Our Councilmembers Voted:

This morning, with seven of nine councilmembers present (Licata, Rasmussen, Drago, Godden, McIver, Conlin, and Steinbrueck) only Councilmembers Licata and Steinbrueck made attempts to limit the public's liability on this project. Steinbrueck attempted to limit use of $3.9 million in general fund money raised from sale of city land to Vulcan Inc. in 2001. Of the $20 million sale of city land to Vulcan Inc. in 2001 (property now valued at nearly twice that) - $5 million was dedicated to transportation improvements in South Lake Union - supposedly to address a broad set of road, pedestrian, and bike needs in that area not including a streetcar. Now with the Conlin ordinance all these revenues will go potentially to covering cost overruns (which are likely) for the streetcar. Steinbrueck made a very modest motion to redirect $1 million of the $3.9 million to pedestrian amenities. That motion failed. Then Licata moved to at least force a thorough discussion of competing transportation needs in the future before going ahead and redirecting 9000 or more bus service hours for streetcar operating expenses. That motion also failed.

Tom Rasmussen did succeed in securing an amendment to Conlin's legislation requiring that a final decision on the actual amount of the LID charged to abutting property owners be postponed until after Councilmembers have signed the contractors total or "maximum" construction cost estimate for the streetcar project - something expected later this year. This leaves open a slight possibility that the property owner‚s obligation through the LID could be raised above a $25 million dollar cost should the contractors projected cost estimates rise dramatically above expectations. However, if a contract is negotiated with a developer to build the project and the City is committed on the dotted line to a set amount before the LID amount is set and before each property owners assessment is set under the LID...and then those area property owners balk and/or don't agree to pay even the $25 million - something council staff have warned the councilmembers could happen - there is a risk that the City could be on the hook for even more of the total cost for the project.

After Licata and Steinbruecks amendments failed, Councilmembers Rasmussen, McIver, Drago, Godden, with Conlin leading the charge, all voted in favor of Conlin's ordinance. Steinbrueck and Licata each voted against the streetcar proposal.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts:

Last year, over 130 community leaders called on the Council and the Mayor to say No to use of any of the city's limited transportation dollars for use of the streetcar. Businesses benefiting from this frill should pay for it themselves. As the Seattle Times said in a recent editorial, the streetcar is not a transportation improvement, its designed to "jazz up the area for investment" We agree, it's designed to provide a bauble or frill to enhance the value primarily of Paul Allen's properties. That any limited public transportation dollars should be spent at all for this project.... is a travesty.... that the Mayor and most of the
Council would even consider raiding our limited bus service hours to pay for the street cars operating expenses when so many of Seattle's neighborhood needs are going unmet...that too is travesty.

There are 19 bus routes now serving South Lake Union. Currently, those bus routes have a frequency and ridership that exceeds any projected frequency or ridership projected for the streetcar and those buses operated at 30 percent less cost per hour of service than a streetcar. The Streetcar will putt along at an average speed of 6 mph while buses travel nearly twice that fast through the area. Crossing a congested Mercer street every 15 minutes will raise havoc for auto's trucks and buses and for trolley riders. Since the trolley will leave each station at 15 minute intervals, it literally would be possible to walk the 1.3 mile one-way length pf the streetcar route before the next trolley could take you there.

It is against this backdrop that most of our City Council and Mayor continue to misdirect our limit transportation dollars while catering to the richest man in the world and what his needs are in South Lake Union. These interests and other corporate and development interests now dominate at City Hall like no other time that I can recall in my dealings with locally elected leaders. This streetcar decision highlights the growing disconnect that exists between what is needed for our neighborhoods and what routinely now prevails at City Hall. City Hall now is "beltway culture" that increasingly thumbs its nose and acts with hubris towards our communities and the people and activists who live there.