Should city of Seattle try to reclaim waterfront property?

The City of Seattle is joining the fight over two small parcels of land that have become a point of contention along the Burke-Gilman Trail.

Lake Washington beach access at 130th Street in the Cedar Park Neighborhood in the Lake City area has been blocked since two residents posted no trespassing signs on the land, which their homes border.

Though one of the property owners &#8212 a lawyer &#8212 convinced a court the land is theirs, the city has decided to pull all the stops to get it back for the public.

“For decades, generations of Seattle residents enjoyed lakefront access from the N.E. 130th Street beach,” Mayor Ed Murray said. “I have directed the Parks Department to begin the process of restoring that access by acquiring the properties using all tools at our disposal.”

The two properties are at the end of NE 130 Street and Rivera Place. The land was deeded to King County in 1932, but reversed by the court decision.

Under Murray’s direction, Seattle Parks and Recreation will send a purchase and sale agreement to the owners of the land. The owners will have 30 days to agree to the terms, or counter-offer or decline. If an agreement isn’t reached, the city will use eminent domain to acquire the land.

The city’s efforts join that of neighborhood groups such as Friend’s of NE 130th Beach, which has been fighting to make the land public again.

But is this an example of government misusing its power?

Though he is sympathetic to the efforts of the group, KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson takes issue with the city using eminent domain for personal property for a park. Even if the reason the two residents have the land because of a clerical mistake, it’s still their property, he explained.

Dave Pope of Friend’s of NE 130th Beach disagreed.

“Sometimes the court’s rule isn’t just,” he countered. “We need to keep focus on what is just. If the city has the power to correct an injustice, why wouldn’t [it]. They have a responsibility to protect public property.”

If a private resident makes a mistake, the government cracks down on them, Dori said. But when the government makes a mistake, it just goes ahead and does whatever it needs to fix it.

“It seems to be a bit of a one-way street,” Dori said.

The landowners didn’t pay for the property, Pope tried to explain. If the city uses eminent domain they will be paid $200,000 each for unbuildable land that they didn’t spend a dime on.

“But private property rights are the most essential rights of a free society,” Dori said. He understands if government needs to use eminent domain to build roads, because otherwise they would never be built. However, there’s plenty of other water access in the area, he continued.

Pope said he doesn’t want to see people who took advantage of a loophole get rewarded for doing so.