Record No: Res 31635    Version: 1 Council Bill No:
Type: Resolution (Res) Status: Adopted
Current Controlling Legislative Body City Clerk
On agenda: 12/14/2015
Ordinance No:
Title: A RESOLUTION creating an Arts & Cultural District in the Central Area of Seattle.
Sponsors: Nick Licata
Attachments: 1. Signed Resolution 31635
Supporting documents: 1. Summary and Fiscal Note, 2. Mayor's Letter
CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION creating an Arts & Cultural District in the Central Area of Seattle.
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WHEREAS, City Council Resolution 31555 created a city-wide program of Arts & Cultural Districts, to be managed by the Office of Arts & Culture; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Comprehensive Plan calls for the support of Arts & Cultural Districts as a means to "support arts and cultural uses and the economic benefits they provide," and encourages the City to "allow regulations and incentives to be adopted specifically for designated cultural districts," and to "allow adopted guidelines or regulations to modify, exempt, or supersede the standards of the underlying zone to encourage arts and cultural uses"; and
WHEREAS, the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study reported that Seattle's nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $448,000,000 in annual economic activity, $248,000,000 in household income, $38,000,000 in local and state government revenues, and 10,807 full-time equivalent jobs; and
WHEREAS, arts- and entertainment-related businesses and organizations add cultural and economic diversity to a city, enhance the lives of the city's residents and visitors, and positively impact the city's economy by generating jobs and revenue; and
WHEREAS, the Central Area in Seattle is already home to art galleries, museums, studios, theaters, and art, music, and culturally-oriented community events; and the City wishes to recognize and protect its arts-rich areas from the displacement that new development often brings; and
WHEREAS, the Central Area is the city's historically African-American neighborhood and has experienced both a history of low educational attainment in the schools and the institutionalized racism of redlining. The Central Area is also home to some of the poorest outcomes in the school system, which has contributed to a systemic school-to-prison pipeline. The City recognizes the Central Area as a center of African...

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