Drafter
Clerk 05/05/2008
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AN ORDINANCE approving and authorizing the county executive to participate with the Port of Seattle in a transaction to acquire the BNSF Eastside Rail Corridor; and declaring an emergency.
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. On April 14, 2008, the King County executive transmitted to the King County council an interlocal agreement, a proposed purchase and sale agreement and a proposed donation agreement involving Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company ("BNSF"), the Port of Seattle, and King County. Among other things, these agreements provide that the Port of Seattle at closing will grant the county a Public Multipurpose Easement for the county's use of the railbanked portion of the corridor; and that the county will serve as the "Interim Trail User" in accordance with 49 C.F.R. 1152.29 and Section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act (also known as the "Rails-to-Trails Act").
B. The proposed purchase and sale agreement and the donation agreement require the county to obtain necessary authorization for the transactions from its governing body by May 15, 2008, or the county may terminate the agreements by written notice given to BNSF by that date. Enactment of this ordinance as an emergency ordinance is necessary to make this authorization legally effective before that date.
C. In 2003, BNSF announced its intent to divest itself of the Woodinville Subdivision and Redmond Spur, which together are referred to as the Eastside Rail Corridor ("ERC"), a one-of-a-kind forty-two-mile corridor vital to the economic future of King County and six separate eastside jurisdictions.
D. On May 16, 2005, the King County executive announced that King County had entered into exclusive negotiations with BNSF to acquire this vital corridor into public ownership for use as a trail and to preserve its potential for additional transportation options in the future.
E. Since 2006, ...

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