Port Commission Takes Hard Look at Seaport's Future

Harbor Development Strategy 21 Committee Makes Recommendations to Port Commission

A volunteer community advisory committee studying the Port of Seattle Seaport Division's operations has endorsed its role as the region's leading container cargo hub and much of the Seaport's current lines of business operations.

The Harbor Development Strategy 21 Committee (HDS 21) has met nearly three dozen times since last summer to review the Seaport Division's operations and to develop recommendations for how the Port can make an even stronger positive impact on the community.

In its recommendations, the committee advises the Port continue to develop its container terminal operations, which create some of the highest paying jobs on the waterfront. Also, the committee recommends a limited number of recreational boats be allowed to moor at Fishermen's Terminal in Ballard.

The HDS 21 Advisory Committee emphasized in its recommendations to the Commission that significant changes may be necessary in some of the Seaport's line of businesses. These changes are necessary if the Port is going to remain successful in achieving a "triple bottom line" on behalf of the community. The three parts of that formula include the financial return on the projects the Port undertakes, the economic impact and benefits of those projects, and the environmental and community benefits those projects have, said Committee Chair Aubrey Davis.

"The fact that the Port is a business and a government makes it both complicated and interesting," Davis said. "The triple bottom line is the way we suggest the Port looks at itself. We broadened the Port's bottom line so that it doesn't just measure dollars and cents, but the Port's benefits to the economy and environment as well. We think this is going to be a useful product for the Port."

"The HDS 21 report is a remarkably substantive and specific analysis of the Seaport's operations," said Port Commission Chair and President Clare Nordquist. "The advisory committee's recommendations provide thoughtful guidance about how the Port should consider developing its land as community and market conditions change. The committee members deserve our thanks for their time and stimulating perspective."

The advisory committee, whose members were selected for their broad range of community interests, backgrounds, and knowledge, assessed all major issues facing the Seaport Division, including the future of container and non-container cargo businesses, recreational boating, commercial fishing and passenger cruise ships. A significant element of the study was an assessment of real estate options, opportunities and strategies to guide the Port's real estate portfolio.

"The committee believes that the Port is in the right businesses to achieve its mission," Davis said. "And, while the Port must continually evaluate its lines of business to respond to market conditions and consider changes, the committee broadly supports the Port's role in our region's cargo, cruise, fishing, recreational boating, and warehousing businesses."

One possible change could come to Fishermen's Terminal in Ballard. The Port's policy has been that the facility, home to the North Pacific fishing fleet for decades, be used exclusively for commercial fishing boats, but several years of declining fish harvests have resulted in a significantly smaller fishing fleet. Over that same time, there has been strong demand for recreational moorage in Seattle, and the Port's financial bottom line could be improved by allowing a limited number of recreational boats at the facility.

The advisory committee's recommended Seaport priorities for the next five years are:

Ensure the portfolio of assets maximizes the Port's triple bottom line;
Ensure the Port's financial situation is able to support the economic and community benefits that the Port provides;
Enhance all elements of the triple bottom line through proactive property planning and development of certain key Seaport properties, particularly Pier 48 and Terminal 91;
Apply HDS decision tools, such as the triple bottom line, into the Port's decision-making processes;
Tell the Port's story to the community, including the vital role it plays in the regional economy; and
Seek projects and areas where regional port cooperation can be developed and strengthened for the overall benefit of the region.

"The Port sees the HDS 21 Advisory Committee's work as a blueprint for future growth in our Seaport operations," said Steve Sewell, managing director of the Seaport Division. "The process from the Port's standpoint has been very valuable. The committee's recommendations will give us excellent guidance as we go through this strategic planning exercise."

The HDS 21 Advisory Committee's recommendations constitute the first step in updating the Port's policies and decision-making tools, which were last updated in the first HDS project in 1990. The committee will submit its final report to Commissioners in late March. Draft policies will be made available to the public in late April, and Port staff and advisory committee members will meet with community groups and others in the coming months. The Port Commission could adopt new HDS policies in June.

More information on the Port's strategic planning process is available on-line at www.portseattle.org.

Sidebar:

The HDS Advisory Committee had two subcommittees -- Business Analysis, chaired by Cholly Mercer, president of Rainier Petroleum, Inc.; and Real Estate Analysis, chaired by Jack McCullough, a partner with the Phillips, McCullough, Wilson, Hill and Fisko law firm.

The HDS 21 Advisory Committee consists of 29 members representing a wide array of business and community backgrounds, including representatives from maritime, business, real estate, construction, labor, education, local government, and others. HDS 21 members are: Davis, Mercer, McCullough, Mark Anderson, Sue Carlson, Bob Collier, Steve Daschle, Rich Feldman, Allan Golston, Yash Gupta, Harry Hutchins, Yogi Hutsen, Barb Ivanov, Ian Kennedy, Lise Kenworthy, Steve Koehler, Karen Lane, Tomio Moriguchi, Betty Jane Narver, Steve Odom, Rudy Petersen, Fred Rapaport, Scott Reid, Jack Rosling, Mary Jean Ryan, Chuck Savre, Patricia Stambor, Fletch Waller, and Frank Young.