Drafter
Clerk 03/10/2014
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A MOTION acknowledging receipt of the report Creating Connections: Recommendations on the Eastside Rail Corridor From the Regional Advisory Council in accordance with council Motion 13801.
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WHEREAS, the Eastside Rail Corridor is a corridor of regional significance, providing a rare and unique opportunity to develop a major north-south corridor for multiple, important purposes including mobility, utility infrastructure and recreation, and
WHEREAS, development of the Eastside Rail Corridor will help shape our region for decades, by providing uses and connections that will link jobs and housing, serving growing communities, offering amenities to businesses and residents and supporting the protection of King County's natural resources encompassing the protected forest land and open space to the east, and
WHEREAS, the Eastside Rail Corridor offers exciting near-term possibilities, as well as the potential to benefit generations to come by providing mobility connections stretching from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Vancouver, Washington, and beyond, and
WHEREAS, by Motion 13801 the King County council established the Eastside Rail Corridor regional advisory council as a collaborative group to carry out a regional planning process to coordinate the activities of the respective Eastside Rail Corridor owners to ensure effective use of the corridor to achieve the regional multiple-use vision for it, and
WHEREAS, the regional advisory council membership includes representatives of public and private sector corridor owners, including King County, the city of Redmond, the city of Kirkland, Sound Transit and Puget Sound Energy, and
WHEREAS, beginning in February 2013 the regional advisory council conducted a collaborative planning process to understand the goals and objectives of the respective owners within the corridor and the opportunities and constraints associated with developing the corridor to meet those objectives, and to gain the perspective of corridor neighbors and the general public regarding the development of the Eastside Rail Corridor, and
WHEREAS, the regional advisory council completed its planning process with its final approval on October 29, 2013, of the report titled Creating Connections: Recommendations on the Eastside Rail Corridor From the Regional Advisory Council, and
WHEREAS, the regional advisory council report establishes a vision for the Eastside Rail Corridor to benefit our region for generations to come, presents a series of recommendations that will guide its development as a multiple use corridor, identifies issues of urgency and calls for continued collaboration by the owners and interested and affected entities in support of achieving the vision, and
WHEREAS, the regional advisory council recommendations provide a strong foundation and initial focus for shared effort by the owners, stakeholders and the region to realize the potential of the Eastside Rail Corridor to serve as an integral part of the current and future eastside community, and
WHEREAS, the regional advisory council members provided diligent and thoughtful contributions during the development of these recommendations, and their commitment to continuing our collaborative efforts to develop the Eastside Rail Corridor as a multiple use corridor;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
Receipt of the recommendations by the Eastside Rail Corridor regional advisory council, prepared in accordance with council Motion 13801 and presented in the report
Creating Connections: Recommendations on the Eastside Rail Corridor From the Regional Advisory Council, is hereby acknowledged.