Take Action
The Port of Seattle owns the land where North SeaTac Park and surrounding forest are sited and has published recommendations to replace an estimated 100+ acres of forested land in the community near the airport with industrial development.
Next Port meeting - in person or by video link: TUESDAY, Dec 12, 2023
Ways We Can Move Public Policy
Reach Out to Port Commissioners Messages to Port Commissioners and comments at Port meetings, held on second and fourth Tuesdays, help move public policy. To speak at or submit public comment to a meeting, Sign up by 9:00 a.m. by emailing commission-public-records@portseattle.org. Include your topic and specify the meeting date. If you wish to speak, indicate that in the email and a meeting link will be sent to you. If you are speaking, sign in by 11:30.
Reach out to other elected officials: Find contact information and meeting times HERE.
Sign up for Port Notices: A Draft Environmental Assessment of the Port’s Sustainable Airport Master Plan, which contains proposals for mass tree removal in this community, is expected early in the fourth quarter of 2024. Public input will be critical. Sign up here to get notice from the Port when that comment window opens and to be alerted to other government meetings regarding aviation’s impact on our community including the Highline Forum and SeaTac Stakeholders Advisory Roundtable (StART).
Sign the Community Forest Consensus: Join more than 3,300 other community members to call for protecting North : SeaTac Park and surrounding community forest by signing the Consensus HERE
Join us to reach out to others: Surrounding cities have non-profit organizations strongly defending their trees - but this has yet to develop in the Highline area. In a time when our remaining trees and forested land are fast being lost to industrial development, drought, heat, invasive plants and insects, and other stressors, this region’s public policy agenda must prominently include the goal of restoring tree canopy to levels and a condition that is healthy for people and wildlife. Write info@KCTreeEquity.org to connect with us on ways you can help bring needed change.
Featured message to Port Commissioners
December, 2023
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Two methods of contact:
Sending an email in time for a meeting? Deadline is 9AM on the day of. Include your full name and topic. Use email address commission-public-records@portseattle.org. See more info/links above.
Sending at any other time, you can use Commissioners’ direct email addresses: calkins.r@portseattle.org, cho.s@portseattle.org, felleman.f@portseattle.org, hasegawa.t@portseattle.org, mohamed.h@portseattle.org
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Dear Commission President Cho, Vice President Hasegawa, and Commissioners Calkins, Felleman, and Mohamed,
Port officials have stated that they’re “not considering any development in North SeaTac Park”.
But North SeaTac Park is zoned aviation commercial. And according to an agreement with the City of SeaTac, the Port can take 55 acres of it out of park use “at any time,”
Even if the Port has no active plans for inside the park - it does have recommendations. Your Real Estate Strategic Plan, dated August, 2021, recommends “340,000 square feet of aviation supportive use” and a new Food Innovation Center on 55 acres on top of a regionally important rugby field and mountain biking trails.
The park is clearly still at risk from Port development. And, just as importantly, even if the Port never develops the park, its developable status means that grants and other resources to fund important forest restoration work to combat climate impacts and invasive weeds cannot be obtained.
Therefore, I’m asking that the Port:
Formally withdraw all recommendations or proposals to develop in North SeaTac Park;
Support the City of SeaTac in changing North SeaTac Park zoning from Aviation Commercial to Park; and
Publicly commit to permanently protecting the park from development or, alternately, to transferring ownership of the park to the City of SeaTac, which has indicated willingness to acquire it.
This park was created “to compensate the area residents for cumulative airport impacts.” Those impacts only continue to increase. In 2020, the local health department recommended expanding tree canopy here to reduce our exposure to deadly airport pollution. The Port must not go in the opposite direction and remove the forest that is already here.
Featured message to SeaTac Councilmembers
December, 2023
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jsimpson@seatacwa.gov, snegusse@seatacwa.gov, megal@seatacwa.gov,iguzman@seatacwa.gov, pkwon@seatacwa.gov, esitterly@seatacwa.gov, JamesForSeaTac@gmail.com, Joe4seatac@gmail.com
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Dear Mayor Simpson, Deputy Mayor Negusse, Councilmembers Egal, Guzman, Kwon, and Sitterly, and Councilmembers elect Lovell and Vinson,
The City of SeaTac leases most of North SeaTac Park’s 220 acres from Port until 2070 or 2041. However, the lease agreement for the park was amended in 2002 to allow the Port to vacate 55-acres of the park “at any time” in order to allow for commercial development including warehouses, office space, parking lots, and other aviation-supportive uses.
City of SeaTac Resolution 2002-02 and Port of Seattle Resolution 3485, signed in April 9, 2002, authorized both governments to enter into this Agreement. Although the text of the resolutions and the Agreement correctly reference the land as being inside the park, their titles reference the property in question as being “adjacent” to North SeaTac Park.
Due to these errors, the public was not given adequate and proper notice of the true nature of what was at stake at the time.
As you know, this park was created to compensate area residents from cumulative airport impacts, impacts that have only increased since then. It is on land set aside for open community use. It should not be developed for airport expansion. The fact that notice to the public on this matter contained inaccurate information on the very nature of what was being decided should invalidate the agreement that followed and that puts this area of the park at risk.
I thank you for your established history of protecting North SeaTac Park and urge you to work with the Port of Seattle to withdraw this Agreement that was entered into on the basis of inaccurate information provided to the public.
