Harbor Line Commission Ends, Leaving 120 Maps and Court Disputes
After two years of mapping Washington's vital waterways, a state commission is dissolved mid-work, leaving harbor development in legal limbo.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Due to the death of the harbor line commission bill in the house at Olympia last Friday, the commission passed out of existence on Saturday. Because of litigations, the commission was unable to complete all the work for which it was created. Harbor lines were established at Fairhaven, New Whatcom, Blaine, Steilacoom, Edmonds, Port Townsend, Olympia, Cosmopolis, Marysville, Ocosta, Sidney, Aberdeen, Ilwaco, Shelton, Port Angeles, Vancouver, and Snohomish. Maps and surveys were made of Hoquiam, South Bend, Seattle, and Tacoma, but contests over line locations are currently resting in United States courts. The commission spent $38,948 of its $40,000 appropriation, accumulating 120 valuable maps and an extensive library. Colonel Prosser, the commission chairman, estimates the tide lands of Washington are worth $20,000,000. Advocates are now calling for the appointment of a permanent, three-member commission to finish the work.
“The value of tide lands within the borders of Washington is placed at $20,000,000 by Colonel Prosser.”
The late 19th-century struggle to define and control Washington's tidelands laid the groundwork for today's complex waterfront zoning. The legal battles over harbor lines in Seattle and Tacoma prefigured the ongoing tension between public access to shorelines and private commercial development.
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