Shoreline’s 2026 Proposition 1:
The Metropolitan Park District

The Quick Answer

Sadly, Yes. Because this Proposition is not a bond levy but a vote to establish a Metropolitan Park District, you will have to pay the new taxes levied by the Park District. The tax will be computed on the taxable value of your property even if that is less than the total assessed value.

If this Proposition had been for a bond levy instead of a new Park District, then you would have been exempt from paying the new levy.

The Details

The tax exemptions and deferrals spelled out in RCW 84.36.381 only apply to "Excess Levies", "Regular Levies", and "Part 2 of the State School Levy". Metropolitan Park Districts are "Junior Taxing Districts", so they fall under none of those classifications. There are no exemptions or deferrals that will apply to the new and significant taxes created by this 2026 Proposition 1.

(Voted bond levies, like the 2022 Shoreline Parks Bond, and the (failed) 2019 Pool Bond are "Excess Levies", and thus many low-income/seniors are exempt from those. The Shoreline General Levy is a "Regular Levy", and so many low-income/seniors get relief from that. These same low-income/seniors will have to pay the full Metropolitian Parks Levy imposed by Proposition 1.)

Here is a flyer from the Washington Department of Revenue about the Senior Citizen & Disabled Persons property tax exemptions.