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 eligible beginning in 2026.

Why it matters: The program trades lower property tax for long-term conservation and public access. Committee members said the site will remain privately owned but open to the public, and staff told the committee that the owner has committed to invasive-species removal and restoration in creek buffer zones.

Council Central staffer Corina Bull told the committee the current-use taxation program "reduces property taxes in exchange for long term open space preservation," and described the property as a community garden with walking paths and a greenhouse that consists of nine parcels and a creek.

Bill, a King County representative on the presentation panel, characterized the site in the same terms: "This is a really unique piece of property... they are very committed to really making this a native, diverse kind of, open space oasis in the city." Asia Veil, director of the Yahau Indigenous Creatives Collective, added that "It is salmon bearing habitat down at Lake Washington," and said the group has been coordinating with Kubota Garden stakeholders and the Green Seattle Partnership on stewardship and possible connecting pathways.

Committee members asked whether the parcels under the proposed assessment would become parks property; staff and the applicant clarified they would remain privately owned and managed but open to the public under the program. Staff also said King County had held its hearing earlier and approved the application May 20.

The committee suspended council rules and voted to recommend passage of the bill to the full City Council; the committee's recommendation will be transmitted to the council meeting on June 17. If the property were removed from the program in the future, staff said the owner could be required to repay taxes that would have been due for up to seven years plus a possible 20% penalty. The application also requires annual monitoring reports and a five-year restoration plan for the creek buffer area.

The discussion included requests for follow-up briefings about the property's relationship to adjacent park buffers and Kubota Garden; Councilmember Strauss said she wanted more detail on coordination and maintenance standards before full council consideration. The committee recorded no dissent and moved the recommendation to full council.

The bill is now scheduled for the June 17 City Council agenda; if the council approves it, the property owner would need to maintain the open space and submit required monitoring to remain eligible for the tax reduction.