Blue-collar work helps city see green

In the argument between the city and the Port of Seattle regarding 94 acres upland of Terminal 90-91, this page supports the city's position that the land should be predominantly industrial.

Blue-collar work is important to Seattle. It provides livelihoods for people who work with their hands. What industry needs is a place of its own on land it can afford. The city has long protected it with industrial zoning, and today Mayor Greg Nickels is proposing a strengthening of city codes. We don't know the details, but we like the goal. The Port property is classic industrial land. It is on a saltwater harbor and is separated from residential areas by elevation and a green belt. It is zoned for industry and already has some industry — Trident Seafoods and City Ice Cold Storage — on it. Korry Electronics, a longtime Seattle aerospace-instruments company, is interested in moving to it and expanding. The site is owned by the Port, which was created to accommodate industry and does not have to earn a commercial rate of return.

The catch is that much of the site is a parking lot that was once used for imported cars. It needs utilities and roads. The Port says industry can't carry those costs, plus the $7 million already spent on planning, plus an 8-to-10 percent return. To justify all that would require office buildings of up to seven stories, and to have all those office workers would require a bridge over the railroad tracks. The bridge would add $32 million in costs, which would require more office buildings.

City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck has sensibly led the council to reject the Port's plan. He insists that at least half the usable acreage be retained for industry. We can't vouch for the percentage, but there are ways to bring the costs down. The city could subsidize the bridge, as it did for Amgen. Alternatively, the Port could cut the bridge, write off some of its overgenerous planning expenditures and lower its financial targets.

The Port needs to reach a deal with the city and sign up Korry before it flees the bureaucratic confusion.