Committee moves downtown storefronts and facade maintenance onto 2025 work plan

The Parks and Built Environment Committee discussed downtown storefront vacancies and facade maintenance at its Feb. 12 meeting and agreed to include the issue on the committee's 2025 policy work plan.

Committee members reviewed the city code that governs vacant commercial space in the Central Business District (Chapter 16.16) and noted overlapping building code provisions in Chapter 19 that address window transparency and exterior maintenance. Staff and councilmembers described recent local efforts to encourage active, transparent storefronts and to improve appearances on Hewitt Avenue and other downtown blocks. Committee members also described the Downtown Everett Association's storefront enhancement grant program and said it has helped several businesses with awnings and other improvements.

Why it matters: committee members said better storefront presentation can improve sidewalk safety and commercial vitality by increasing “eyes on the street” and making downtown more inviting for pedestrians. Members expressed a preference for targeted, collaborative approaches that prioritize the most blighted properties and favor incentives over broad enforcement given staffing and cost constraints.

Key discussion points included how the code applies (whether it focuses only on street-level storefronts or applies to full exterior façades), the enforcement pathway (typically a code-enforcement complaint), and flexibility for businesses with privacy needs (for example, tenant activities that justify limited transparency). Members referenced a 30-day vacancy trigger and the Chapter 19 transparency guidance discussed in staff materials.

Committee direction and next steps: members said they will (1) keep the vacancy/facade policy review on the committee's year work plan; (2) defer pursuing a vacancy tax at this time (the committee noted a lack of appetite and staffing for that approach); (3) explore convening a working session with building owners, the Downtown Everett Association, planning and code-enforcement staff to identify priorities and practical barriers; and (4) make the photographs taken by a councilmember available to the clerk so they become part of the public meeting record.

Background and context: committee members recalled prior discussions on this topic, including meetings in August 2023 and a conversation about a possible vacancy tax roughly a year earlier. The Downtown Everett Association told members its “year in review” reported a downtown vacancy rate of about 8% and that its first round of storefront enhancement grants supported 11 businesses in the DEA area. Staff said the association maintains a vacancy dataset that includes contact information and vacancy sizes; staff also referenced a 2020 community renewal-area blight survey that exists in city records.

Open questions and constraints: members emphasized limited city staffing for enforcement and recommended narrowing focus to the worst offenders rather than universal enforcement. They also discussed clarifying whether Chapter 16.16's geographic boundary aligns with the updated downtown/metro subarea map and whether Chapter 19's transparency percentages and the 30‑day timeframes are suitable or should be revised.

The committee did not adopt an ordinance or take a formal vote on code changes at the meeting; members directed staff and stakeholders to return with more information and to coordinate a working session and public outreach as part of the 2025 work plan.