Tidelands Dispute Set for Settlement
A long-standing conflict over Tacoma's valuable waterfront lands, involving the Puyallup Tribe and extensive legal claims, is slated for a federal resolution.
The dispute over the title of the Tacoma tidelands, which have been claimed by the Puyallup Indians and the suits for which have clouded their title and stopped extensive improvements planned on the Tacoma waterfront, will be settled out of court. The House Committee on Indian Affairs has recommended a bill by Representative Cushman of Washington to settle the titles, a move sanctioned by the Secretary of the Interior. The bill provides that the secretary is authorized to settle claims the Puyallup Tribe has to other tidelands. Attorney Charles Bedford, representing the Indians, stands to receive a fee of up to $30,000 for his services. The lands are valued at $1,600,000. It is understood that the bill will be forced to passage in the present congress to clear the way for waterfront development.
“The dispute over the title of the Tacoma tidelands... have clouded their title and stopped extensive improvements planned on the Tacoma waterfront.”
Tacoma’s waterfront has been a site of contested ownership and intensive industrial development for over a century. The focus on clearing legal 'clouds' from land titles reflects the ongoing push to maximize property utility, a civic argument that persists in Tacoma's planning and development debates today.
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