TagBoeing HQ(16)

In 1978, the Port of Seattle applied to rezone a 29-acre parcel on the west side of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from single-family residential to Manufacturing Park (M-P) to allow Boeing to build its Corporate Headquarters Office Facility. The proposed Phase I development included a two-story, 150,000-square-foot building with underground parking for 235 cars and roughly 200 employees, along with road construction, radar relocation, and site landscaping. The application required an Environmental Impact Statement and raised land-use compatibility questions given that surrounding community plans had designated much of the site as open space or parkland.

King County Councilman Bob Greive wrote to constituents expressing his opposition to the relocation of Boeing's headquarters into an open space buffer zone near Sea-Tac Airport, an area designated under the 1977 Highline Community Plan to protect nearby residents from airport-related impacts. Despite his protests, the King County Council voted to amend the comprehensive plan and rezone the land from single-family residential to light manufacturing, with only three of nine council members opposing the measure. Greive vowed to continue fighting airport development that threatened surrounding neighborhoods and asked residents for their input on how to hold the Port Commission, federal government, and King County accountable to their promises regarding Sea-Tac.

King County Councilman Bob Greive wrote to constituents explaining his opposition to Boeing's headquarters relocation into an area designated as an open space buffer under the 1977 Highline Community Plan, which was meant to protect neighborhoods surrounding Sea-Tac Airport from noise and development impacts. Despite protests from nearby residents and three dissenting council votes, the majority approved an ordinance amending the comprehensive plan to allow rezoning from single-family residential to light manufacturing. Greive solicited public opinion on proposals to hold the Port Commission, federal government, and King County accountable for promises made regarding Sea-Tac's impact on surrounding communities.

Minutes from a May 12, 1977 Policy Advisory Committee meeting at Sea-Tac International Airport, covering Boeing's preliminary proposal to build its corporate headquarters on approximately 12 acres on the airport's west side. The proposal required an amendment to the Sea-Tac/Communities Plan and raised community concerns about traffic, parking, landscaping, and the potential relocation of a planned viewpoint park. Port of Seattle officials emphasized that any development would need extensive buffering, no westerly road access, and maximum community participation in the decision-making process.