TagCity Of SeaTac(238)

The SeaTac City Council is considering an ordinance to hire outside legal counsel and update a cost-sharing agreement with the cities of Burien, Normandy Park, and Des Moines to challenge or engage with the FAA's environmental review of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport expansion plans. The four cities would jointly retain two law firms—Leech Tishman for federal NEPA matters and Ogden Murphy Wallace for state SEPA matters—at an estimated cost of $350,000, with SeaTac covering roughly 26% and recovering the rest from its partner cities. The effort is driven by the FAA's September 2025 issuance of a Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, which must be challenged by November 25, 2025.

The City of SeaTac is authorizing its City Manager to join an updated cost-sharing agreement with Burien and Des Moines to hire outside legal counsel in response to the FAA's September 2025 environmental review of the Port of Seattle's Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP). The cities are concerned that their comments about the airport's potential negative impacts were not adequately addressed in the FAA's Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact. To fund the legal effort, SeaTac is amending its 2025–2026 budget by adding $350,000 in expenditures and $253,000 in shared revenues to its Port ILA Fund.

The City of SeaTac, Washington has engaged the law firm Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman to provide legal counsel regarding the Port of Seattle's Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP), specifically in connection with the forthcoming Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The firm will advise the City, prepare legal memoranda, and file a Petition for Review with a federal appeals court challenging the FAA's Record of Decision once it is published in late 2025. The engagement is capped at $300,000, with an initial retainer of $10,000, and hourly rates ranging from $300–$540 per hour.

The City of SeaTac hired the law firm Ogden Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C. to serve as special environmental counsel, representing the city in the environmental review processes under NEPA and SEPA related to the Port of Seattle's Sustainable Airport Master Plan. The engagement, dated September 10, 2025, also covers any litigation that may arise against the Port or the Federal Aviation Authority in connection with the plan. Legal services are billed at hourly rates ranging from $300 to $535 depending on the level of attorney or staff involved.

The City of SeaTac is evaluating the purchase of an 8.26-acre site at 2701 South 200th Street — currently a Park-and-Fly lot — to build a new Civic Campus that would replace the aging City Hall and include community, retail, and recreational spaces. A feasibility study conducted between 2024 and 2025 found no major risks at the preferred site, which is located directly across from the Angle Lake light rail station. The City Council is expected to decide in July 2025 whether to proceed with the land purchase.

In May 2025, the City of SeaTac formally offered to purchase approximately 214 acres of North SeaTac Park and Pat Ryan Field from the Port of Seattle, proposing $20 million in park improvements and the creation of a nonprofit foundation to manage the funds. The letter argues the park is surplus to the Port's aviation needs yet essential to community health, serving roughly 650,000 visitors annually as a buffer against airport noise and air pollution. The offer, submitted by City Manager Jonathan Young, is intended to fulfill Port Order No. 2024-12, which directed the Port to develop options for permanently preserving the land as public parkland.