TagSea-Tac Communities Plan(215)

The Sea-Tac Communities Plan, jointly developed by the Port of Seattle and King County beginning in 1973, outlines strategies to improve compatibility between Sea-Tac International Airport and surrounding neighborhoods, with a focus on aircraft noise remedies, water quality improvements, and land use conversion. The plan identifies specific areas for outright property acquisition, purchase guarantees, and noise insulation programs affecting thousands of homes north and south of the airport. It also establishes policies for drainage management, community development, and long-term airport facility improvements to accommodate projected air traffic growth through 1993.

The Sea-Tac Communities Plan outlines strategies to improve compatibility between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and surrounding neighborhoods, focusing on water quality, drainage, and land use. Key programs include public acquisition of noise-impacted residential areas for open space and recreation, conversion of single-family zones to higher-density or commercial uses, and reinforcement of existing neighborhoods through noise remedy and infrastructure improvements. The plan also addresses environmental concerns such as stream protection, holding pond systems for stormwater management, and pollution control near Miller and Des Moines Creeks.

This document summarizes the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, a 1973 joint study by the Port of Seattle and King County to improve compatibility between Sea-Tac International Airport and its surrounding neighborhoods. The plan examined aircraft noise exposure, air and water quality, and community growth, finding that noise levels were expected to decrease over time due to quieter aircraft technology despite rising flight operations. It proposed a range of noise remedy programs—including property acquisition, purchase guarantees, and insulation assistance—affecting thousands of homes in areas north and south of the airport.

This document is a map supplement to the sixth-month element report for the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, a planning study sponsored by the Port of Seattle and King County and partially funded by a federal FAA grant. It covers five key topics—community trends and characteristics, land use, ground transportation and traffic, aesthetic and visual characteristics, and natural determinants—for the communities surrounding Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The supplement includes 1970 census tract maps of the Sea-Tac area and an errata note correcting a data classification error for Census Tract 272 related to public assistance recipients.

This working draft of the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, produced jointly by the Port of Seattle and King County, outlines a planning framework for communities surrounding Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The document, reviewed in summary form around 1975, addresses land use and policy considerations for neighborhoods affected by airport operations and noise. It represents an early collaborative effort to balance airport growth with the needs of surrounding residential communities.