Almost every week this is the "What's on the city council's plate this week" review. I don't cover everything, so if you want the full rundown, read the packet and agenda yourself.

How bad is the situation down in the South Capitol Neighborhood? The council's land use committee will find out early next week.

Residents of the area south of the capitol campus have been complaining for years that their neighborhood is slowly being bought up by lobbyists, turning old historic homes into offices and event/party locations.

Even still, houses that should be houses for people to live in are apparently used for other uses:

Among others, the primary problems identified include residences being used as offices, houses being used for large public/private gatherings, and commercial off-street parking tied to the legislative session. The Planning Commission received a briefing, conducted a public hearing and forwarded recommendations to the Council in October 2006.

Here is a summary of the 2008 investigation of the South Capitol Neighborhood by city staff:

• 3 were determined to have no violations
• 5 were in violation of the Residential Parking program
• 4 were in violation of “commercial lots” leasing of on-site parking spaces
• 1 had non-permitted dwelling unit that requires permit
• 2 were in violation of Home occupation permit ordinance

Here is a more complete run-down of the anti-lobbyist dragnet.

On a happy note, the investigation by city staff led to a possible new funding source. Lobbyists doing business in Olympia during session apparently aren't paying their taxes:

We have discovered that there appears to be up to 1,200 Registered Lobbyists who do not pay B&O taxes to the City of Olympia for the time spent over the Legislative Session. This may be an opportunity to pursue that potential taxing source. The State provides email addresses for all lobbyists in the State, potentially allowing licensing to digitally send notices to those groups.