Wichita OKs business tax for Douglas Design District; opponents petition to stop it
After a nearly two-hour debate and a split decision, the Wichita City Council has approved a plan to tax businesses to pay for joint promotion of the Douglas Design District.
The new assessment — $100 to $550 a year depending on the square-footage of the businesses — will apply to all businesses fronting on Douglas, west of Washington to just east of Oliver. It’s scheduled to start in 2021.
Income from the business fee — estimated at $50,000 a year — will go the nonprofit Douglas Design District group.
It will use it to hire permanent staff and lease office space “to continue the marketing, beautification, public art, advocacy, promotions, and events” that until now have been done with voluntary contributions and labor, according to city staff. The council appointed a 14-member board to administer the process.
The measure passed 4-2 with council members Jeff Blubaugh and Bryan Frye in opposition. Councilman James Clendenin abstained because he and his wife own an affected business.
The decision came after a lengthy debate where a parade of business owners came to speak for and against the establishment of the district.
Supporters hailed the progress that has been made in the Douglas corridor and said they want to see it continue.
“When we first started this 12 years ago, it looked blighted, it looked like an industrial area,” said Monica Smits, owner of Aspen Boutique and the Aspen Plaza, a small strip shopping center at Douglas and Oliver. “I’ve seen major improvement and . . . I feel much more comfortable about continuing my business. I’ve been there 32 years.”
She said the cost to businesses is reasonable: “$100 a year, that’s a few lunches you can skip, or a few drinks; because you care about the about the district you’re a part of.”
But Rick Wessley and Riz Husami said not all businesses stand to gain from the extra promotion. They run USB Firewire, which assembles computer cables.
“We run an online company, so we do not have any need for a local presence for walk-in customers and that kind of retail shop,” Husami said. “I think there are a lot of other businesses that feel the same way.”
A big part of the opposition to the district centered on the process for creating it.
Under state law, the council can create a business improvement district whether or not most of the businesses in the area support it.
The only way not to participate and pay the tax is to collect petition signatures from a majority of business owners to dissolve the district.
“We believe that it should be voluntarily chosen and at least a democratic process where you can see who wants to be a part of it,” Wessley said. “Does the majority want to be a part of it? That’s fine, we’ll pay it. But we don’t agree with just a few people choosing for us.”
Another issue is that unlike other cities that have comprehensive business licensing, Wichita doesn’t actually know how many businesses there are in the district and who owns them, said interim planning director Scott Knebel.
To find out who to tax, the Douglas Design District will need to hire a private business-tracking firm each year to gather initial data and go door-to-door to confirm it before the bills could be sent, he said.
The lack of data also calls into question how many signatures opponents would have to gather to overturn the council decision.
Monty Stuber, owner of a hair salon and commercial and apartment properties in the district, said he’s already started circulating a protest petition.
He said he’s talked to several business owners who didn’t realize from the city’s notice letter that the assessment for the district would be permanent.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 5:25 PM.
