CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the South Lander Street Grade Separation project; authorizing the Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation to acquire, accept, and record, on behalf of The City of Seattle, a warranty deed from the Seattle School District No. 1, a municipal corporation of the State of Washington, located in a portion of Blocks 291, 294, and 316 of the unrecorded plat of Seattle Tide Lands, also known as Parcel D, City of Seattle Lot Boundary Adjustment Number 2207829, recorded under King County Recording Number 20040527900005; a warranty deed from The Bailey Family Limited Partnership, a Washington limited partnership, located in a portion of Lot 1, Block 296, Plat of Seattle Tidelands; a warranty deed from PacWest Energy, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, located in a portion of Lot 11, Block 295, Plat of Seattle Tidelands, and a quit claim deed from Rabanco, Ltd., a Washington corporation, located in a portion of Lot 1, Block 297, Plat of Seattle Tidelands; placing the real property rights and interests conveyed by such deeds under the jurisdiction of the Seattle Department of Transportation and laying them off as right-of-way; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
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WHEREAS, the South Lander Street Grade Separation project (“Lander Project”) is a high priority project in the Seattle Freight Master Plan and in the 2015 Plan to Move Seattle, a 10-year City of Seattle (“City”) strategic plan for increasing safety, reducing congestion, and balancing multimodal needs; and
WHEREAS, the Lander Project also supports the Industrial Areas component of the Seattle Comprehensive Plan and was identified as a Tier 1 project by the Seattle Industrial Freight Access Project created by the City and the Port of Seattle; and
WHEREAS, these plans have elevated the Lander Project as a City priority not only because of its safety, congestion, and multimodal access benefits, but also because of its important role in the regional freight network; and
WHEREAS, South Lander Street is an essential east-west corridor that is heavily used by freight and commuter traffic as well as pedestrians, bicycles, and transit, and serves one of the largest manufacturing and industrial centers in the State of Washington, including the Port of Seattle’s seaport terminals; and
WHEREAS, the South Lander Street corridor is also heavily impacted by event traffic from Safeco Field, CenturyLink Field, pedestrians passing to and from the adjacent SODO light rail station, and Starbucks headquarters traffic; and
WHEREAS, South Lander Street currently intersects with four BNSF Railway Company’s (“BNSF”) tracks at an at-grade crossing located between Occidental Avenue South and 3rd Avenue South (“Train Crossing”); and
WHEREAS, available data indicate that more than half of the BNSF rail cars that move through Washington go through this Train Crossing, contributing to vehicular delays averaging over 4.5 hours per day; and
WHEREAS, these delays affect freight, commuters, local businesses, and the general public; and
WHEREAS, the Lander Project builds a bridge on South Lander Street between 1st Avenue South and 4th Avenue South to provide a grade-separated crossing over the BNSF railroad tracks that will improve local traffic circulation and safety in the City’s SODO neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, it is critical that the City accept the property rights necessary for construction of the overpass to improve public safety and connectivity, alleviate traffic congestion, and substantially reduce vehicular delays due to railway activity; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Warranty Deed from the Seattle School District No. 1, a municipal corporation of the State of Washington, dated December 4, 2017 and recorded under King County Recording Number 20180104001398, attached as Attachment A and incorporated into this ordinance, is accepted for street purposes, placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, and laid off, opened, widened, extended, and established as right-of-way (a portion of tax parcel number 766620-5235).
Section 2. The Warranty Deed from The Bailey Family Limited Partnership, a Washington limited partnership, dated December 15, 2017 and recorded under King County Recording Number 20180108001311, attached as Attachment B and incorporated into this ordinance, is accepted for street purposes, placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, and laid off, opened, widened, extended, and established as right-of-way (a portion of tax parcel number 766620-5290).
Section 3. The Warranty Deed from PacWest Energy, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, dated December 15, 2017 and recorded under King County Recording Number 20180118001035, attached as Attachment C and incorporated into this ordinance, is accepted for street purposes, placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, and laid off, opened, widened, extended, and established as right-of-way (a portion of tax parcel number 766620-5280).
Section 4. The Quit Claim Deed from Rabanco, Ltd., a Washington corporation, dated May 18, 2018 and recorded under King County Recording Number 20180723000599, attached as Attachment D and incorporated into this ordinance, is accepted for street purposes, placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, and laid off, opened, widened, extended, and established as right-of-way (a portion of tax parcel number 766620-5336).
Section 5. Funding for the Lander Project, including the property acquisitions, comes from City funds, Federal and State funding, and funding from the Port of Seattle and BNSF.
Section 6. Any act consistent with this ordinance taken prior to its effective date is ratified and confirmed.
Section 7. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2019, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2019.
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President ____________ of the City Council
Approved by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2019.
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Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2019.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)
Attachments:
Attachment A - Recorded Warranty Deed from the Seattle School District No. 1
Attachment B - Recorded Warranty Deed from The Bailey Family Limited Partnership
Attachment C - Recorded Warranty Deed from PacWest Energy, LLC
Attachment D - Recorded Quit Claim Deed from Rabanco, Ltd.