Drafter
Clerk 09/28/2005
Title
AN ORDINANCE authorizing the execution of a purchase and sale agreement for the sale of the surplus South Park custodial landfill property to South Park Property Development, LLC.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings.
A. King County owns a 19.4 acre property (the former South Park landfill tax lot 322404-9005) located adjacent to the city of Seattle's South Transfer Station at Occidental Avenue South and South Sullivan Street in Seattle, Washington. The legal description of this property is attached as Attachment A to this ordinance.
B. The property was purchased out of tax title status by King County beginning in 1937 and leased to the city of Seattle as a landfill site from 1958 through 1978.
C. In June 2000, the property was declared surplus to the needs of King County in accordance with K.C.C. 4.56.070. The declaration of surplus property is attached to this ordinance as Attachment B to this ordinance. No other county departments have expressed interest in the property.
D. The property is zoned to include industrial, commercial and retail uses and was declared not suitable for affordable housing due to refuse disposal.
E. Approval by the council of the King County executive's disposal of the South Park landfill surplus property through sale pursuant to K.C.C. 4.56.080 will minimize the underutilization of this publicly owned property by allowing for cleanup of the site in cooperation with the Washington state Department of Ecology, postcleanup use of the property as a location for industry sufficient to provide living wage jobs to King County residents and design of a facility that will improve aesthetics and quality of life in the South Park neighborhood.
F. Approval of the executive's disposal by sale of the South Park landfill surplus property will enable the executive to obtain comprehensive environmental liability insurance coverage for King County at the purchaser's expense for potential future King County liability related to the past operation and ownership of the South Park landfill.
G. On July 1, 1996, the King County council unanimously passed Motion 9885 supporting the executive in the development of a request for proposals for the subject property to encourage the development of jobs through participation by private and public development communities to create alternatives to the underutilization of the South Park landfill site. Marketing of the property resulted in the receipt of proposals that were carefully reviewed by a selection panel, which selected and recommended the AMB Property Corporation/Benaroya Company, L.L.C. ("Benaroya") joint venture team as the developer with which King County should negotiate to purchase the property. On August 6, 2004, King County and Benaroya concluded negotiations for the purchase and sale of the property due to economic issues. Immediately thereafter, King County initiated negotiations with the second ranked proposer, South Park Development, LLC, a subsidiary of SeaCon, LLC. King County and South Park Property Development, LLC, successfully negotiated a purchase and sale agreement on July 25, 2005. The purchase and sale agreement is attached to this ordinance as Attachment C to this ordinance. The purchase and sale agreement was amended on September 27, 2005, to specify that minimum pollution liability insurance shall be $2 million and that the purchaser will provide a certified financial statement dated as of the closing date verifying that the purchaser's net assets are not less than $2 million. The amendment is attached to this ordinance as Attachment D to this ordinance
H. The council hereby finds pursuant to K.C.C. 4.56.100 that unique circumstances exist that make a negotiated direct sale of the former South Park landfill in the best interests of the public.
SECTION 2. The King County executive is hereby authorized to execute Purchase and Sale Agreement, as amended by First Amendment to purchase and sale agreement dated September 27, 2005, substantially in the forms attached to this ordinance as Attachment C and Attachment D to this ordinance, and any other necessary documents to sell the surplus South Park custodial landfill property to South Park Property Development, LLC, for the sum of $1.6 million.
SECTION 3. The executive retains the right to seek cost recovery for money spent on characterization, monitoring, cleanup costs and any other costs associated with the South Park property pursuant to any directives from the Washington state Department of Ecology.
SECTION 4. King County shall reimburse the King County solid waste division from the net proceeds of the sale for a portion of the financial expenditures the solid waste division incurred for characterization and monitoring of the property as the temporary custodian of the site.