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Burien staff outlines Opportunity Zone 2 application, recommends submitting two tracts including downtown
Summary
City staff briefed the Burien City Council on state Opportunity Zone 2 guidance and recommended preparing two competitive tract applications (downtown and a backup) for the April 1 portal opening and May 1 deadline to maximize chances of nomination and future investment.
City staff walked the Burien City Council through newly released Washington State Department of Commerce guidance for Opportunity Zone 2, advising that the portal will open April 1 with applications due May 1 and that the state will forward nominations to the governor by July 1.
Chris Craig, the staff presenter, explained key differences from the prior program, including narrower low-income-community definitions, a smaller slate of eligible tracts in Washington (98 to be nominated from 394 possible tracts), and greater scoring emphasis on investment readiness and rural/tribal priorities. Craig said investment readiness ' the presence of recent development, permitting progress and documented investor interest ' carries the most weight in Commerce's scoring.
Craig told council staff had identified seven potentially eligible Burien census tracts and recommended preparing applications for two tracts to increase the city's chances of securing at least one designation, with downtown expected to score highest on investment readiness. He said staff would return March 23 with the two tracts they view as most competitive and requested council feedback on any other tracts they wanted considered.
Councilmembers asked whether specific parcels, such as a previously discussed hotel site, would fall inside the nominated tracts; staff confirmed the downtown tract would include that lot. Councilmembers and staff discussed the tight timeline and the need to pull letters of support and data together quickly.
Staff emphasized that Opportunity Zone investments are private capital incentivized by tax benefits and that reporting requirements have increased under OZ 2. The council did not take final action on nominations at the meeting but directed staff to proceed with analysis and return with recommendations.
