A RESOLUTION relating to the Central Waterfront Concept Design and Framework Plan and the Central Waterfront Committee's Strategic Plan and recommendations; and addressing the funding plan for the Waterfront Improvement Program including the formation of a local improvement district, partnerships with the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium, formation of a Friends of the Seattle Waterfront non-profit organization, and initial steps for implementation.

WHEREAS, in 2003 the City began a public process for developing a community vision for the Central Waterfront to reconnect Seattle to its waterfront, in conjunction with the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and replacement of the aging Elliott Bay Seawall; and

WHEREAS, in 2004 the City and the Planning and Design Commissions sponsored public forums to establish guiding principles for reclaiming the Central Waterfront and reconnecting it with Seattle's city center ; and

WHEREAS, the City Council subsequently adopted those principles through Resolutions 30664 and 30724; and

WHEREAS, in 2006 the City's Department of Planning and Development published the Waterfront Concept Plan, which provided concepts for redeveloping the Central Waterfront for public use consistent with Resolution 30664, including locations for public open spaces, environmental enhancements, and improved connections to the downtown core; and

WHEREAS, by Ordinance 123142 passed on November 2, 2009 the City created the Central Waterfront Partnerships Committee (CWPC) to advise the Mayor and City Council on the strategies and partnerships necessary to successfully develop and manage new public spaces along the Central Waterfront, including development of refined guiding principles; and

WHEREAS, the CWCP spent a year working on developing recommendations on scope, partnerships, public oversight and engagement for redevelopment of the Central Waterfront and submitted a final report on January 27, 2011; and

WHEREAS, by Resolution 31264 adopted on January 31, 2011 the City established the Central Waterfront Committee (CWC) to continue work on the recommendations of the prior CWPC and established a set of Guiding Principles to direct future planning and design; and

WHEREAS, Resolution 31264 charged the CWC with providing oversight of the redevelopment of the Central Waterfront, to include overseeing development of the waterfront conceptual design and framework plan, ensuring robust and innovative public engagement, and establishing the foundation for a lasting civic partnership; and

WHEREAS, over the course of two years the CWC met more than 80 times in four subcommittees (design oversight, finance and partnerships, long-term stewardship, and outreach), an executive committee, and as a full committee to craft a strategic plan and recommendations for implementing plans and designs for the Central Waterfront; and

WHEREAS, four large-scale public meetings with approximately 1,000 attendees each were held in February, May and October of 2011 and July 2012 to share design ideas and the evolution of the Concept Design and Framework Plan for the Central Waterfront; and

WHEREAS, five community forums in the winter of 2012, with more than 750 total attendees, were held to explore in more detail topics including mobility and access, habitat, and the culture and uniqueness of Seattle; and

WHEREAS, additional outreach efforts included numerous small events, connecting with people through social media and other web-based activities, and partnerships with more than 60 local and community organizations to reach underrepresented populations; and

WHEREAS, a comprehensive funding strategy developed by the CWC demonstrates that a mix of public, private property owner, and business and philanthropic sources could be used to fund implementation of the Concept Design core projects; and

WHEREAS, under Memorandum of Agreement No. GCA 6366 for the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program Bored Tunnel Alternative entered into by the City and Washington State, as authorized by Ordinance 123133 passed on October 19, 2009, the State of Washington agreed to provide $290 million to construct a new Alaskan Way surface street connection from South Yesler Street along Alaskan Way to Pike Street, including replacement of the Marion Street pedestrian overpass; a new connection from Pike Street to Elliot and Western avenues; reconstruction of the Lenora Street pedestrian overpass; viaduct removal; and Battery Street Tunnel decommissioning, all as part of the Waterfront Improvement Program; and

WHEREAS, in Ordinance 123922 (Council Bill 117498) passed on July 9, 2012, the City placed a $290 million bond levy on the November 6, 2012 general election ballot to fund replacement of the Elliott Bay Seawall and deteriorated City-owned Pier 58 (Waterfront Park) and Pier 62/63; and

WHEREAS, the City expects many parcels of property in the greater downtown area that are proximate to the waterfront to specially benefit from the Central Waterfront improvements and considers the formation of a local improvement district to be a critical next step in funding implementation of the projects included in the Concept Design for the Central Waterfront after successful passage of a seawall replacement bond levy measure; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:

Section 1. Central Waterfront Committee Strategic Plan. The City Council appreciates the work of the Central Waterfront Committee (CWC) chartered in January 2011 by Resolution 31264 to provide civic leadership and advise the City on developing premiere public spaces along the Central Waterfront through a holistic design, identifying and evaluating funding options, developing partnership opportunities and relationships, overseeing and encouraging meaningful and influential public participation, and planning for long-term programming, operations and maintenance. The City supports the overall direction of the CWC's Strategic Plan and recommendations, which are contained in Clerk File Number 312468, as a guide to transforming and revitalizing the Central Waterfront, recognizing that it is offered to the City as a dynamic plan that will evolve over time, subject to updates and amendments to the Concept Design project elements (e.g., the Core Projects) as Central Waterfront design, funding, and partnerships become better defined and refined. The Strategic Plan includes an Action Plan with a clear and concise series of steps and a timeline for moving forward with these efforts (Attachment 1 to this Resolution).

Section 2. Central Waterfront Concept Design and Framework Plan. The Central Waterfront Concept Design and Framework Plan have been developed by City staff and a multi-disciplinary team of consultants with lead designer James Corner Field Operations building on broad public engagement and under the oversight of the Central Waterfront Committee. The Design Summary, which summarizes the ideas in the Central Waterfront Concept Design and Framework Plan, both of which are referenced in the Strategic Plan, envisions the redesign of the Central Waterfront in concert with the demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the replacement of the central portion of the Alaskan Way Seawall. The Framework Plan is a long-term vision for the entire Central Waterfront area. An additional level of design has been completed in the Concept Design for the Core Projects comprising about 24 acres of civic space. The Concept Design envisions a significant set of public realm improvements to create a dynamic urban and ecological edge between downtown Seattle and Elliott Bay, including a great and complete urban street and promenade along a new surface Alaskan Way, park space, strong east-west connections, spectacular views, spaces for diverse social and recreational programs, and access to Puget Sound. Attachment 2 to this Resolution is an illustration of the projects that comprise the Framework Plan that shows the boundaries of the Core, Partner, and Framework Projects. A copy of the Design Summary, Concept Design and Framework Plan are included in Clerk File Number 312468.

The City supports the Framework Plan as a long-term vision and will continue to seek opportunities to realize the vision. The City supports the Concept Design as the departure point for moving design efforts forward on the Core Projects, which are preliminarily designated for implementation over the next five or more years, recognizing that each element of the design will be subject to considerable refinement as design progresses in partnership with stakeholders and the public. The concepts, ideas, and proposals in the Concept Design should be refined further through preliminary design and engineering into a recommended implementation program for Mayor and City Council consideration.

Section 3. Funding Plan for the Waterfront Improvement Program. The Waterfront Improvement Program Funding Sources Pie Chart and Funding Options Matrix recommended by the CWC, Attachments 3 and 4 respectively to this Resolution, provide a funding strategy for leveraging public, private and philanthropic resources to implement the Core Projects along with a City contribution to partner projects with the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium. Having put before the voters by Ordinance 123922 (Council Bill 117498) a bond measure proposal to fund the replacement of the Elliott Bay Seawall, the next key component in this funding plan is to gain benefitting property owners' support for formation by the City Council of a local improvement district to help fund other portions of the Waterfront Improvement Program envisioned in the Concept Design. The City intends to form and confirm the assessment roll for a local improvement district by Spring 2014 before leveraging the other identified funding sources, including levy lid lift, City General Fund, and private philanthropic funding.

Section 4. Partnerships with the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium . The City recognizes a unique opportunity to link two cherished institutions -the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium and enable better connectivity between downtown and the Central Waterfront. It is important that the City's Central Waterfront design team work collaboratively with the designers for the Pike Place Market's proposed development on the PC-1 north site and the designers for a proposed renovated Seattle Aquarium in order to refine how these elements integrate with the connection. By the end of 2012, the City should enter into agreements with the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium to continue design collaboration and to develop a process for refining other aspects of these partnerships. The agreements should include principles to determine an appropriate City contribution to the public infrastructure improvements on the PC-1 north site and the Aquarium renovation, in coordination with the next phase of design work. The agreements should also address how the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium will raise the funds necessary for their share of each project and demonstrate to the City their ability to do so as a condition of City support. The City looks forward to further collaboration with the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium, but with funding yet to be secured for all of the Waterfront Improvement Program, the City's ability to fund partner projects is dependent on successful implementation of local improvement district funding. This may call for flexibility in implementing the Pike Place Market's PC-1 north site development and Aquarium renovation in terms of scope, timing, and/or phasing of implementation.

Section 5. Formation of a Friends of the Seattle Waterfront Non-Profit Partner Organization. The City supports the creation of a not-for-profit Friends of the Seattle Waterfront to advocate for implementing the Central Waterfront Framework Plan and Concept Design. Other cities that have undertaken the development of complex, signature public spaces have partnered with similar independent organizations to provide consistent, strong leadership to realize such visionary plans and designs.

Section 6. Implementation Approach. Although design work will continue and be refined over the next several years, the adoption of this Resolution marks a transition from decades of dreaming and planning for a great waterfront to taking initial steps toward implementation. As the Waterfront Improvement Program progresses, the City anticipates that the Core Projects described earlier will move forward as a series of distinct but fully coordinated projects which will undergo SEPA review as they progress from the current early concept stage of design to a more detailed stage of design, when enough information about the design is known to complete environmental review. It is important that several steps be taken in the coming biennium to turn the plans and designs into reality, including:

1. The City Council requests that the Executive include sufficient resources in the City's 2013-2014 biennial budget to advance design work and funding strategies for the Core Projects, community outreach, efforts to form a local improvement district, and design collaboration with the Pike Place Market Development Authority on the PC-1 north site and the Seattle Aquarium on its renovation.

2. The interdepartmental staff team, led by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), is requested to prepare an annual Central Waterfront Work Program by January 31 in each of the years 2013 and 2014, including the identification of deliverables for review by the Central Waterfront Committee and the Mayor and City Council. The City Council anticipates major review of the Waterfront Improvement Program at project milestones such as project definition to begin environmental review and 30% design completion.

3. The 2013 and 2014 Work Programs should begin developing a plan to secure adequate operating funds to maintain, operate and program the Central Waterfront after Waterfront Improvement Program project components are constructed. Management, programming, promotion, security and maintenance among other things will require strong partnerships between public and private entities to ensure that a high level of use and quality is sustained over time.

4. Recognizing the current financial constraints within which the City is operating, SDOT should identify "early win" projects, i.e., projects that can be implemented prior to Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition in 2016 to produce visible progress on the Waterfront Improvement Program.

Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 2012, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this________ day

of ______________________, 2012.

_________________________________

President ___________of the City Council

THE MAYOR CONCURRING:

_________________________________

Michael McGinn, Mayor

Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 2012.

____________________________________

Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk

(Seal)

Attachment 1 -Central Waterfront Committee Action Plan

Attachment 2 -Framework Strategies Implementation Illustration

Attachment 3 -Central Waterfront Committee Funding Sources Pie Chart

Attachment 4 -Central Waterfront Committee Funding Options Matrix

Norm Schwab LEG Waterfront Program Resolution July25, 2012 Version #4a