Tide Lands Battle: Northern Pacific Faces New Legal Hurdle
A Supreme Court ruling on harbor lines threatens the expansive waterfront infrastructure held by the railroad giant.
The story, cleaned up
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The recent decision of the United States supreme court, holding that the state has the right to establish its harbor lines, does not settle the question of the rights of the Northern Pacific to maintain wharves and bunkers inside of the established harbor lines. The harbor line commission in its report to the governor stated that the harbor line question affects property valued at $20,000,000. The legal department of the Northern Pacific here states that the mere establishment of the harbor line does not affect their property, but provided there should be any attempt to collect rentals for the company's holdings inside of the harbor lines, it would be opposed, and then the whole question of the company's rights would have to come before the courts.
“The harbor line commission in its report to the governor stated that the harbor line question affects property valued at $20,000,000.”
The control of Seattle’s waterfront and the tide lands—land exposed at low tide—was the central economic engine and legal battlefield of the city’s early growth. This dispute over who owns the water's edge mirrors the ongoing modern struggle to balance corporate infrastructure and public access to the Puget Sound.
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