The Madison Street Assessment Battle
A property owner challenges the legality of street improvement assessments in Seattle, setting the stage for litigation.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At the last meeting of the City Council, P. H. Lewis, a property holder on Madison street, through his attorney J. R. Lewis, Esq., presented several objections to the paying of his assessment on that grade, and set forth reasons worthy of serious consideration, and on which he will base a litigation. Judge Lewis claims that every tract of land, under the charter, that fronts on the street to be improved, is liable to assessment back to the center thereof. This has not been done on Madison street, but the assessment has only extended 120 feet back on either side of the street. Another point claimed is that no assessment district has been created for the Madison street improvement, as required by charter. Judge Lewis claims furthermore that ordinances providing for the grading of streets must be published before they can take effect, and it is claimed this ordinance has never been published.
“Judge Lewis claims that every tract of land, under the charter, that fronts on the street to be improved, is liable to assessment back to the center thereof.”
Street improvement funding and the establishment of local improvement districts (LIDs) remain a cornerstone of Seattle's civic governance, with property owners frequently litigating the reach and fairness of assessments for infrastructure projects.
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