Tukwila light-rail permits supported

By Eric Pryne
Seattle Times staff reporter

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That recommendation comes with conditions, but Sound Transit spokeswoman Kathy Johnson said the agency concurs with them. The council has scheduled a public hearing on the permit applications for Tuesday.

Tukwila has been a thorn in Sound Transit's side for years. In 2002, for instance, the City Council rejected a light-rail agreement city administrators had negotiated with the transit agency.

Several council members called the project a waste. For a time — until the federal government said Sound Transit didn't really need the agreement to qualify for federal grants — light rail's future was in doubt.

This time, however, the council may not have the power to say no.

Under state law, the light-rail line is an "essential public facility," a project considered vital to the region that no local government can veto.

"After the regional decision is made, the city then has a duty to accommodate the [essential public facility]," a Tukwila staff report on Sound Transit's permits says. But the city still "may impose reasonable permit and mitigation conditions ... ," it adds.

Public hearing The Tukwila City Council will hold a public hearing on Sound Transit's applications for permits to build its light-rail line through the city Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Tukwila City Hall, 6200 Southcenter Blvd.

Sound Transit broke ground on the $2.44 billion line last fall. It's scheduled for completion in 2009, and would start in downtown Seattle and run through the Rainier Valley.

The five-mile Tukwila segment, mostly elevated, would follow Interstate 5 and Highway 518 to a park-and-ride lot and station near the intersection of Highways 518 and 99. From there, shuttle buses would ferry passengers to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

When the Tukwila council rejected the 2002 agreement with Sound Transit, its chief complaint was that the route didn't serve Southcenter, Tukwila's commercial hub. But some members raised broader objections: Jim Haggerton and David Fenton said the project wouldn't address traffic congestion.

Fenton and Haggerton still serve on the council. Both declined comment yesterday on Sound Transit's permit applications.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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