ORDINANCE _________________

AN ORDINANCE relating to the City Light Department and Seattle Public Utilities; authorizing the Superintendent of City Light and the Director of Seattle Public Utilities to purchase land in the Skagit and the Tolt/Snoqualmie watersheds, to be set aside as salmonid habitat.

WHEREAS, Puget Sound chinook and Puget Sound bull trout have been listed as threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, and the City has responded to these listings, in part, through the development and implementation of an Early Action Program, approved by Resolution 29905; and

WHEREAS, by Ordinance 120618, the City authorized the acquisition of various habitat lands in the Skagit and Tolt/Snoqualmie watersheds as part of the Early Action Program, and the majority of these properties have been purchased; and

WHEREAS, by Ordinance 120355 the City Council approved the acceptance of grant funds in the amount of $900,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and by Ordinance 120359 approved the acceptance of grant funds in the amount of $145,000 from the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board for habitat projects, including property acquisition within the Early Action Program; and

WHEREAS, criteria for selecting property for purchase under the Early Action Program, as well as certain specific properties, have been identified; and

WHEREAS, there is efficiency to be gained in a single authorization of land purchases for a single program and effectiveness to be gained in the ability to complete transactions in a timely manner;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. The Superintendent of City Light and the Director of Seattle Public Utilities, or their designees, are hereby authorized, within and subject to appropriation authority and based on appraised market value, to negotiate for and purchase parcels of land to be set aside as salmonid habitat pursuant to the City's Early Action Program. Each such purchase shall meet all of the following criteria: (a) the property purchased is located in the Skagit or the Tolt/Snoqualmie watersheds; (b) the purchase is consistent with at least one of the purposes of the Early Action Program (to prevent degradation of otherwise pristine land, to enhance prime habitat that would otherwise not be enhanced, or to help build a network of prime habitat locations in partnership with other interested parties for purposes of salmon recovery in the Skagit and the Tolt/Snoqualmie watersheds) and (c) the property purchased is wholly or partially in a floodplain or floodway location (as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Act or local authority), wetland (an area subjected to periodic inundation, usually with soil and vegetative characteristics that separate it from adjoining non-inundated areas), salmonid spawning habitat, salmonid rearing habitat, salmonid off-channel habitat (a body of water, not part of the active channel, but connected to the main stream by a short channel), or environment that supports channel formation, water quality and the supply/retention of large wood. Properties that may be purchased in the Skagit Basin also shall be compatible with the Skagit Watershed Council Habitat Protection and Restoration Strategy. Examples of such properties are identified in Attachment A to this Ordinance. Properties that may be purchased in the Tolt/Snoqualmie Basin also shall be compatible with the Snohomish River Basin Chinook Salmon Near Term Action Agenda. Examples of such properties are identified in Attachment B to this Ordinance.

Section 2. Property acquired pursuant to this Ordinance shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the City Light Department, if purchased through the Light Fund, or Seattle Public Utilities, if purchased through the Water Fund.

Section 3. The City Light Department and Seattle Public Utilities shall report annually to Council during the third quarter about the habitat acquisitions accomplished pursuant to this Ordinance.

Section 4. Any act pursuant to the authority of and prior to the effective date of this Ordinance is hereby ratified and confirmed.

Section 5. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days from and after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten (10) days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.

Passed by the City Council the ____ day of _________, 2003, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of __________, 2003.

_________________________________

President __________of the City Council

Approved by me this ____ day of _________, 2003.

_________________________________

Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor

Filed by me this ____ day of _________, 2003.

____________________________________

City Clerk

(Seal)

Attachment A: Chinook Salmon Conservation in the Skagit River Basin

City of Seattle Habitat Acquisition Targets

Attachment B: Chinook Salmon Conservation in the Tolt/Snoqualmie River Basin

City of Seattle Habitat Acquisition Targets

Denise Krownbell/DK

Property Ordinance

Febrary 5, 2002

version 1

Attachment A

Chinook Salmon Conservation in the Skagit River Basin

City of Seattle Habitat Acquisition Targets

* Esrah Buller Property located on the upper Skagit River near Rockport.

* Fohn Land II LLC Property (P15661), Fir Island, North Fork Skagit River. This property is 40 acres in size and adjacent to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Skagit County river front properties. This property would be acquired as a key component to an estuary restoration project.

* "Forest Land Service" Property located at the confluence of the Suiattle River and Tenas Creek. This 80acre property provides important habitat to Suiattle spring chinook salmon, and is a coldwater refuge area for adult bull trout.

Korthuis / Clear Valley LLC Property, Nookachamps River Subbasin, lower Skagit River. The acquisition of this 796-acre property is currently being explored through partners including The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Lands, and WDFW as it contains important lowland chinook and coho spawning and rearing habitat.

* Jack Martin Property located on the upper Skagit River between Barnaby and Illabot sloughs

* .Panama Pacific Property located on the lower Sauk River, a tributary to the Skagit, near Rockport

* Peterson Property located on the upper Skagit River near Marblemount.

* Vandersar Property located on the middle Skagit River. 135 acres located on Ross Island Slough, one of the largest and most diverse off-channel habitat areas on the mainstem Skagit for rearing and spawning by chinook, coho, chum, pink salmon, and steelhead trout. Seattle City Light, the US Forest Service, WDFW, and the Washington Department of Natural Resources protect the lands adjacent to this property under public ownership.

Attachment B

Chinook Salmon Conservation in the Tolt/Snoqualmie River Basin

City of Seattle Habitat Acquisition Targets

* Chinook Bend Properties. These properties (042507-9011 through 042507-9015) are located on the Snoqualmie River just downstream from the mouth of the Tolt River. This is an area in which King County, WDFW, and Cascade Land Conservancy are working to obtain critical salmon habitat.

* Johnson Property. 15.03 acres with approximately 1200 feet of Tolt River frontage. The entire property is located within a floodplain. Most of the property is considered a wetland and a portion of the property has a Class 2 Stream suitable for salmonids to utilize. The vegetation on the property consists of a canopy of conifers, hardwoods, and cottonwoods with an understory of ferns, salal, Oregon grape, and other native vegetation.

* Lower Tolt Floodplain Properties. Southernmost Property 1425079030. Northernmost Property 142507-9047. These 18 properties range in size from .2 to 13.41 acres and are located almost entirely in the 100-year floodplain.

* Robertson Property. 13.41 acres with no river frontage. The entire property is located within the 100-year floodplain. This property contains a significant portion of the Class 2 stream that enters the Tolt River on the Johnson Property.

* Tolt River Chalet Tracts. Southernmost Property 865680-0120. Northernmost Property 865680-0090. Recreational properties ranging in size from .28-.51 acres with approximately 300 feet of river frontage combined. These are undeveloped properties in the active floodplain and are adjacent to three properties already purchased by Seattle City Light.

* Undeveloped Properties. Southernmost Property 112507-9045. Northernmost Property 122507-9031. There are 18 properties ranging in size from .21 to1.2 acres, located in King County on the left (downstream) bank of the Tolt River and nearly entirely in the floodplain. Most properties are vacant lots zoned residential.

* Developed Properties. Southernmost Property 112507-9062. Northernmost Property 112507-9027. Range .17-6.16. These 32 properties are located in King County on the right bank of the Tolt River, across the river from the undeveloped residential properties described above and are nearly entirely in the floodplain. Approximately half the properties contain some type of residential dwelling, although typically a mobile home.