By Jack Mayne After weeks of discussion, haggling and worry over the continuing and growing effects of the increasing impacts of Sea-Tac Airport on the thousands of SeaTac city residents who live next to and under the runways, the City and Port of Seattle have reached an agreement (download PDF here).
Both SeaTac City Manager Joe Scorcio and SeaTac Airport Managing Director Lance Lyttle said they were pleased, as this is a more evenly balanced agreement than ones in the past. The two were on a telephone press conference with The SeaTac Blog on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 9. The final decision on the agreement must come from the SeaTac City Council, which will be be expected to consider whether to approve or to seek changes before a final agreement is signed, perhaps as late as sometime in January 2018. Concerns of residents Concerns of city residents over ever more and still noisy jet planes at the nation’s ninth-busiest airport – and one that expects to virtually double over the next 30 years – has made city officials more militant in their demands on the Port of Seattle and the way it runs the airport. On Thursday afternoon, via an electronic news conference, the Port of Seattle and the City of SeaTac released a proposed interlocal agreement (known in government speak as an “ILA”) to what the Port said was to “move the community and the region forward.” The SeaTac Blog will present more details and specifics of the proposed agreement in the next days and weeks leading to a final adoption of an agreement. The port officials said that as “Seattle-Tacoma International Airport continues to serve regional demand, the new 10-year agreement establishes benefits for city residents and businesses.“ The Port said the ILA will support “the continued operation of the partnership between the Port and the City which began in 1997 and, if adopted, will replace the current agreement which expires early next year.” Sea-Tac Airport served over 45 million passengers and more than 366,000 metric tons of air cargo in 2016, making an interlocal agreement critical to the successful operation of the airport and the efficient and timely completion of projects to address operations and the traveler experience. “This proposed agreement highlights the unique relationship we have with the City of SeaTac. Sea-Tac Airport will continue its critical role in supporting economic vitality and regional air service, as we address impacts and share prosperity with SeaTac residents,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton. City surrounds airport Sea-Tac Airport is located entirely within the City of SeaTac boundaries, covering over 40 percent of the city’s land area. The new agreement addresses the overlapping legal authority between the City and the Port concerning such issues as planning, land use and zoning, transportation, surface water management, critical environmental areas and public safety. Mayor Michael Siefkes stated: “The proposed ILA sets the stage for the City and the Airport to grow and thrive together. It represents a fair and balanced agreement providing predictability and consistency while assisting the City with addressing some of the current and future impacts of being the Airport’s home city.” What SeaTac gets The purpose of the agreement, said Port officials, is to jointly establish a mutual and cooperative system to recognize jurisdictional authorities and to avoid disputes. It provides transparency, predictability and consistency when addressing operations of Sea-Tac Airport and the City of SeaTac, and reduces the potential for litigation between the Port and the City. Elements contained within this proposed ILA include continued support for public safety and traffic enforcement along with “support of traffic impact fees, permit fees and stormwater fees for Port-owned property,” Port officials said. Then there are “unique land use and development regulations that meet the needs of both the Port and the city” and “quality assurance for Port development permits integrated into the City system.” SeaTac also get what the Port calls a “process for the Port to further support City business license compliance.” Joint open house slated Nov. 16 A joint public open house will be held to share the details of the proposed agreement on Nov. 16, from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the SeaTac Community Center, 13735 24th Ave S., SeaTac.]]>