We now know that 11 (of 12) Winslow Way property owners may pay about $1 million to install underground power and to place other street amenities between Ericksen and Madison as their part in the street’s reconstruction project. Why not more? The city’s standard line is that this a utility project that calls for the ratepayers to pay for expenses that relate directly to them.

Some have argued that the city should force the landowners whose property fronts the street to form a non-negotiable LID (utility district) to cover the benefits they will receive from the reconstruction.

The city has decided against it, says project manager Chris Wierzbicki, because it would be too difficult to make a special assessment of individual properties when the utilities already exist – rather than utilities going into a new construction area.

When a forced LID occurs, an assessment of the land to establish a landowner’s benefit essentially is an estimate based on what will be the difference between an assessor’s appraisal of the property before and then after the improvements.

Wierzbicki believes – and has been advised by consultants, he said – that making an accurate pre-project estimate on what the property owners would actually gain from the improvements would be difficult at best. Risky, too, since there’s always the possibility of a legal challenge to a forced LID.

Instead, 11 property owners (excluding the Christian Science building) are leaning toward forming their own LID whereas the city will issue a bond for about $1 million that the owners will pay back over 20 years with assessments they have negotiated among themselves.

The owners are now considering a resolution of intent to form the LID, which, when finished, will be forwarded to the city next month and begin a formation process. It will then take most of a year to work its way through the city for approval.

(It’s also possible that some owners of property fronting the street between SR-305 and Ericksen will join the LID.)

From the city’s point of view, this negotiated LID is a no-strings-attached enhancement to the project. It makes more sense and is less complicated than forcing an LID on people who are important to the well-being of Winslow Way in the long run. In other words, it’s an expediency that keeps it moving forward.

None of this, however, is consolation to the 2,200 ratepayers whose utility fees will skyrocket as the city pays off bonds issued for both the street and waste-water treatment upgrades. For them, many of whom are on fixed incomes, the city’s decision will make living downtown more expensive. Consequently, some good neighbors may be forced to move elsewhere.

You really can’t blame the property owners for not wanting to be assessed for seemly unquantifiable benefits. Nor should the ratepayers, whose fees figure to rise steeply to pay off the bonds.

Sounds like a lawsuit in the making.