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JUNE 19, 2024
VOL. 105, NO. 25
Proposed Seattle Transportation Levy could now cost homeowners $500 a year
By Spencer Pauley The Center Square
Courtesy Erica Browne Grivas
READY, SET GROW! G ardeners, start your engines. While there is gardening joy to be had every day of the year in some form, you can’t put a price on the day the soil temperatures hit 60 degrees, signaling the gardening season is OPEN in Seattle. What does this mean? The caution tape is off the garden beds. For all the plants that like it a little warmer, you have permission to set out or sow them now. You can plant your tomatoes and squash, basil, zinnias, sunflowers, and dahlias.
Erica Browne Grivas Get Growing
TENDER PLANTS STRATEGIES I will offer one caveat: if plants are being sold
under cover in a greenhouse, even open-air, they may benefit from being exposed to the outside world gradually. This is called “hardening off ”, and it applies whenever a plant needs to go from inside to out – for seedlings started under grow lights, houseplants coming out for the summer to get infusion of sunlight, and for nursery plants that haven’t been outside yet. The only way to know is to ask the staff if they’ve been hardened off. If they are outside, they may have just arrived from a truck or GRIVAS Page 4Æ
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
SEATTLE, WA PERMIT 1271
The proposed Seattle Transportation Levy is increasing in size as city councilmembers add $100 million through amendments. The levy proposal is currently set at $1.45 billion over eight years, as originally proposed by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. The funding goes towards transportation projects prioritized by Seattleites. Currently, the levy proposal is being discussed in committee and requires approval by the Seattle City Council before it can be placed on ballots in November. Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka, who serves as chair of the Select Committee on the 2024 Transportation Levy, is proposing an amendment to the Seattle Transportation Levy that would bring the total to $1.55 billion over an eight-year term. Harrell has already tacked on an additional $100 million to the overall levy before it was sent to the City Council. This increase would raise the anticipated annual property tax bill for the Seattle median assessed value home to $499 a year, which is $30 more than Harrell’s proposal which would result in a median property tax bill of $469. The expiring Move Seattle Levy median property tax bill in 2024 is $300. Despite the large increase in taxes this levy could cause, Seattleites signaled support during a committee meeting on Tuesday. Saka’s amendment would establish minimum appropriations of no less than $126 million for new sidewalks throughout Seattle, $221 million for bridges and structures, $350 million for arterial roadway maintenance, and $27 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. LEVY Page 3Æ