The Longview City Council Thursday will consider early steps to fund the extension of Beech Street from 14th Avenue to California Way.

The right-of-way cuts through an irregularly shaped area zoned for commercial and light industrial uses bordered generally by Baltimore Street, California Way, Ditch 3 and 14th Avenue. It already has utilities such as a water main, sewer main and power poles, but it was never graded or paved.

WRSCO, a property owner on California Way, requested creation of a local improvement district (LID) in June to get fellow property owners to help pay for the street extension, which WRSCO claims would benefit them all. WRSCO is owned by the Sari family.

In July, the City Council agreed to split the cost of a special benefit assessment study. The study found that the LID should include 54 parcels of land covering 92 acres. It also found that the property value within the LID boundaries would increase from about $21 million to nearly $25 million after the completion of the project.

A successful LID typically requires each parcel to contribute $0.75 for every dollar in benefit it receives. Therefore, property owners in the LID are expected to contribute $3.32 million toward the project, or 75 percent of the total estimated cost of $4.43 million.

The city already has $325,000 in various revenues and hopes to cover the remaining $783,000 shortfall in grants.

If the council supports the proposed LID, property owners in the boundary will be asked to sign a petition agreeing to pay for their portion of the project. The owners of more than 50 percent of the property have to agree for the LID to move forward.

The City Council meeting will occur at 7 p.m. Thursday in Longview City Hall.

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