Committee recommends current-use tax break for Indigenous group's Rainier Beach garden near Kubota Garden

Seattle's Parks, Public Utilities and Technology Committee on June 11 voted to recommend passage of Council Bill 120997, approving a current-use taxation application for a 1.4-acre property north of Kubota Garden in Rainier Beach owned by the Yahau Indigenous Creatives Collective and used as a community garden.

The measure would enroll the property in the state-established current-use taxation program and, based on a King County Department of Natural Resources recommendation of 38 points under the Public Benefits Rating System, would reduce the property's taxable value by 90% — from $1,850,000 to $185,000 in the example using 2024 figures, lowering the property's annual tax bill to about $1,500 compared with roughly $17,000 in 2024. If the city approves the application and King County's action remains in place, the reduction would be…