Federal Court Settles Tide Land Battles
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling confirms that state sovereignty over tide lands overrides private claims, dealing a major blow to littoral landholders in Seattle.
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A decision has been rendered by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Shively vs. Bowlby, which practically decides the main points involved in the harbor line commission suits and the Valentine scrip claims on the tide lands of Seattle. The decision confirms the title of tide lands to the state and declares that it has the right to dispose of them. Justice Gray, delivering the opinion, noted that tide lands are of great value to the public for commerce and navigation, and that their title and control are vested in the sovereign for the benefit of the whole people. The court affirmed that grants by Congress of public lands bordering navigable waters do not convey title below the high-water mark, leaving the administration of these shores to the states.
“Therefore the title and control of them are vested in the sovereign for the benefit of the whole people.”
This decision was the legal bedrock for the regrades and the massive industrialization of Seattle’s waterfront. Today, the public-trust doctrine established by such cases remains the primary lever for keeping our shorelines accessible to the public rather than purely private interests.
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