What if every event you love about the West Seattle Junction were to simply stop? No Summerfest, no Harvest Fest, no Hometown Holidays, no Christmas tree lighting, no Artwalk, no flower baskets. That’s a very real possibility given the demands of their landlord the West Seattle Trusteed partners who, responding in part to a massive increase in property taxes have raised the rent for the West Seattle Junction Association (WSJA) who not only run the four primary “free” parking lots in the Junction but are the prime movers behind every Junction event (other than the Farmers Market throughout the year. Some or all of the parking lots would likely close if development plans were to advance, or could change to pay lots to offset the cost of taxes.

The land is owned and controlled by the West Seattle Trusteed Properties (WSTP) a group of land owners and merchants formed in 1954. The relationship between the WSTP and WSJA was originally conceived as a partnership. From the time it was formed until this year, it operated that way, with the best interests of the community at heart, preserving the 228 free parking spaces in lots around the Junction. Last year a new board was elected and for the first time those in charge were not necessarily local land owners or merchants.

When the King County Assessor made their determination of the value of the lots for 2018 it came as a shock. The amount had gone through the roof, with the land value now at $15.3 million. That meant the cost of rent went from a base of $6000 month to $14,400, plus other fees and costs taking that number all the way up to nearly $20,000. The WSTP assesses only about half of the annual cost

“The WSTP passes every available expense plus some that they are trying pass on to our organization outside of the lease itself,” said WSJA Executive Director Lora Swift including, “Professional fees, they tried to force us to pay their attorney’s fees from the lease negotiations because Joe Erickson (WSTP President) put it in a spreadsheet so therefore he thinks it exists even though it specifically exempts us from paying professional fees, they want us to pay their bookkeeper fees…they want us to pay for their internet fees, anything you can possibly think of. They want us to pay for consulting fees. They want us to pay for the office rent itself.” The amount of increase has been imposed retroactively even though the amount is subject to potential change.

Seeking some relief Swift and the WSTP appealed the new valuation to the King County Assessor. 

They were offered three long term solutions and two short term solutions, with one being preferred by the WSJA  reducing the assessed value from $15.3 million to $8.6 million which would reduce the the taxes from $154,000 per year to a more manageable $95,000, Swift estimates. “Last year we paid $82,000 in taxes, the year before we paid $58,000.”

Here's the breakdown:

To put that into effect however, the WSTP would have to sign off on it, which they are currently refusing to do unless the WSJA agrees to a new and substantially different lease. The current lease, signed last year is for ten years with two five year options. WSTP Joe Erickson in a recent shareholder meeting said he and the board believe the lease is too binding, and not flexible enough in light of not only rising costs but the rise of ride sharing and autonomous vehicles. They are seeking a new five year lease, and an end to the 30 percent of the lot area development restriction now in place. That could mean the parking lots would enter the development process  quickly (allowing for plans, permits and preparation a several year long process). In an email to Swift the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for WSTP demanded a new lease or they won’t agree to the reduced taxes. 

With the April 15 tax deadline approaching, and the WSJA’s bank account at around $50,000, would mean they have two months before shutting down. Their annual budget hovers around $320,000. Even with the relief they seek the WSJA only has about ten months at current revenue levels. So Swift said she is seeking other means of support. Swift and various shareholders who asked not to be identified said they see the WSTP’s move as a strong arm tactic, bordering on extortion. So at a meeting of the WSJA board on March 28 they chose not to knuckle under. They chose to announce plans, in the next few weeks regarding fund raising efforts to "Save the Junction"

Swift said, "We have a twenty year lease and we plan to raise funds to pay the rent, and pay for the taxes. We hope the community will stand with us help in a junction wide fundraiser. If we create a sustainable fund raising model we could raise funds for taxes now until twenty years."

The fundraising could take the form of "Save the Junction" Ice Cream from Husky Deil or "Save the Junction" beer from Elliott Bay Brewery. It could be in the form of West Seattle themed products sold on the Junction's behalf. It could involve all of the Junction merchants making some effort to raise funds to meet the new higher taxes.

Lora Swift, Executive Director of the West Seattle Junction Association

If the WSJA dissolves the repercussions on life in West Seattle could be extensive. Most people don’t have any idea how much the organization does every year. West Seattle Senior Center Director Lyle Evans said the WSJA “is what makes West Seattle, West Seattle.”

Here’s a list of what they do:

• West Seattle Summerfest - The three day event featuring music, beer gardens, shopping, food and much more.
• Harvest Fest - Including trick or treating with the Junction merchants.
• Hometown Holidays - Including the annual Night Market and Christmas Tree Lighting.
• West Seattle Artwalk - Conducted every second Thursday involving locations and artists all over West Seattle.
• West Seattle Outdoor Movies - A weeks long summer event featuring films and local entertainers.
• Junction flower baskets - 95 large baskets that decorate the Junction area streets.
• Ongoing cleaning of the Junction area - Including Spring Clean and other volunteer cleanup events.

With retail outlets under increasing pressure as online shopping grows, parking is a fundamental for the next five to ten years. The parking lots are a key element of preserving a competitive edge for the Junction against Westwood Village, parts of SODO and Burien.

Swift said “The parking lots are encumbered by two mechanisms. The first is our lease, the second is the covenant with the City of Seattle signed in 1981. What people don’t understand is the nuance of those two encumberments which does not negate development but what it does apply for is the 228 parking spots we have need to be rebuilt as free community spots, and the air above those spots can be developed (editors note: this is referred to as “air rights”)… If a willing buyer comes along and sees that for the next twenty years they are only ever get $6000 a month plus 3 percent CPI that grossly depresses the value of the lease so mathematically it doesn’t make sense that those shares are worth more than a few hundred dollars each.”

The refusal to lower the taxes according to Swift shows that WSTP board  “have behaved in an unethical manner.”  Beyond that refusal she’s referring to the fact that she found, taped to her outside door earlier this month an order to pay $22,000 (the new monthly amount of rent, taxes and fees the WSTP is including) in five days or “vacate.” “I took that to mean they would shut down the parking lots. That no one could park there. That would be the death of the Junction,” Swift said. 

WSTP President Joe Erickson said, “That’s not what we would do,” and Treasurer Tyler Johnson, also an attorney, said, “There is a whole process to go through when a tenant defaults,” and indicated it would take a month or two before something could change. The board said that the WSJA has been underpaying for the past three months with Secretary Dave Gowey saying, “I was astonished that she would underpay the rent.” Swift disagrees and said no underpayment happened but does point out that the board recently added those extra fees with no notice which took the number substantially higher.

Westside Seattle proposed that a meeting between landlord and tenant take place and that a video record be made of that meeting in the interest of transparency. Thus far the board of both the WSTP and WSJA have not agreed to such a meeting.

Erickson, echoing the interests of the WSTP Board feels that a revision of the lease signed one year ago and and cooperation on lowering the tax burden are inseperable. “We continue to seek a resolution on the Lease issues which are not separable from the Property Tax issues.  Though the WSJA just postponed a meeting between WSTP and WSJA representatives, we anticipate that meeting will be rescheduled soon and hope to resolve all areas of disagreement rather than trying to piecemeal solutions to the Lease.  It is not appropriate to sign a stipulation with the County when there are provisions of the Lease that must be changed.  We hope to have these issues worked out soon so we can resolve all issues between the WSTP and the WSJA including the resolution of the tax appeal.

In our recent discussions with the WSJA leadership, we agreed to work together in good faith to resolve this privately between our organizations.”

Swift said, "They are two separate issues and we don't think one should go with the other."

Last year WestsideSeattle reported on the election of new officers to the WSTP https://www.westsideseattle.com/west-seattle-herald/2017/06/06/change-g…

Those officers are:

    •    Joe Erickson - President

    •    Charles Conner - Vice President

    •    Tyler Johnson - Treasurer

    •    Dave Gowey - Secretary

This executive committee and Erickson said in a recent meeting that “We want more transparency. We agree that parking for the junction is vital to the community.” They decried the number of rumors and level of inaccurate information they see swirling around these issues. He said, “Under Susan Melrose (the former Executive Dir. for WSJA) we had a good working relationship. But Lora Swift has been so aggressive we don’t know what to think.”

The Board of Directors of the WSJA are:

• Heather Leaman - Bakery Nouveau President
• Dave Groves - Seattle Logo Pro Vice President
• Larry Johnson - Windermere Treasurer
• Ben Jenkins - Shadowland and Dumplings of Fury
• Jon Daniels - Seattle Fish Company
• Todd Carden - Elliott Bay Brewing
• Jack Miller - Husky Deli
• Frank Gross - Thunder Road Guitars
• Phil Gustavson - School of Rock
• Allison Herzog - The Beer Junction
• Judi Yazzolino-  West Seattle Food Bank

Unless or until the WSTP board agrees to the reduced tax plan offered by the County, the WSJA remains in jeopardy of imminent closure. That would effectively break the lease, and presumably allow the WSTP board members to do as they choose with the land in the parking lots. Fund raising is now key to their survival. It's possible that the tax rate could be lowered solely based on the long term tenancy, regardless of the wishes of the WSTP but that is unclear at this point. In any case, the costs have and will continue to escalate and for now, the community will be called on to keep the Junction the unique shopping and community hub it has been since 1911.

Some History

WSTP is a corporation that owns the five free parking lots around the West Seattle Junction. It was established by a group of Junction business and land owners in 1954 to manage, pay taxes on and maintain 228 free parking spaces for the general good of the junction. Merchants are charged a monthly fee to cover the cost of property taxes, management and maintenance. The shareholders in the corporation are comprised today of the heirs of original business owners, property owners, business owners and others. Full disclosure, West Seattle Herald dba Westside Seattle owns ten shares in WSTP.

Then, and now parking was and is seen as essential to a healthy business district. Over time those lots grew in value, board members changed, but West Seattle, within the city limits eventually became the only area that provided free, largely uncontrolled parking for customers in the City of Seattle. Through an agreement with Diamond parking the lots are patrolled and those exceeding three hours are given tickets and with repeated violation towed.

Charles Conner who owns a firm on the eastside called Conner Homes bought the land from the EPA (it was originally owned by the Wyckoff Family who were forced to divest) on the southeast corner of the Alaska Junction, had it entitled and took it through design review for permitting and sold it to Equity Residential for construction. In that process he retained ownership of the shares in WSTP but it was determined that under the bylaws, he owned too many shares and he divested down to 250 shares by selling some to current President Joe Erickson.