Passed by the membership on August 14th, 2024
Resolution in Support of the City of Seattle Development of Low Income Housing on Surplus Fort Lawton Land
Whereas the original name of Fort Lawton and Discovery Park for time immemorial was PKa’dz Eltue, “thrust far out,” in Lushootseed and were part of the ancestral lands of kinship bands of Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, Tulalip Nations prior to the Point Elliot Treaty of 1885; in the 1960s and 1970s the United States deeded a large portion of Fort Lawton in the Magnolia neighborhood to the City of Seattle (City) leading to the creation of Discovery Park and the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in response to indigenous community interests; and
Whereas, Bernie Whitebear of the Colville Confederated Tribes and his fellow United Indians Of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF) advocates, successfully negotiated a 99 year-lease on 20 plus acres in November of 1971 of lands the United States government had previously used as the
historic Fort Lawton, with the options to successive 99 year-plus lease renewals in a legally-binding agreement; Daybreak Star Cultural Center and the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation began building structures to support environmental security and sovereignty for Urban Indians on September 27, 1975; the United States government retained for military purposes approximately 34 acres at the northeast corner of Discovery Park; and
Whereas in 1975, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (ISDEAA). 43 Title I of ISDEAA authorized federally recognized tribes freedom from federal decision making, providing self-determination, governance, and revised boundaries for tribal sovereignty, which was reinforced by the TItle IV in 1994 for full funding and allocation of appropriations, to include housing; and
Whereas in the early 2000s, as part of a realignment of assets, the U.S. Base Realignment and Closure Commission designated the City as the entity entitled to repurpose the site; considering Seattle’s urban indigenous people are at high risk of homelessness and housing insecurity, the City prepared plans for development of the site to accommodate low income housing and additions of green space to Discovery Park, with completion of environmental review (FEIS) of a Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan in 2019; the Seattle City Council in June 2019 (Resolution 31887) confirmed “the City’s commitment to further fair housing” in support of the Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan; during project planning in preparation for site development the City determined that the infrastructure cost per unit of housing under the 2019 Plan is too high; and
Whereas, as a result of extensive reassessment of the Plan, the City has determined that an increase in the density of housing on the 34 acre site can be done that will:
- Increase the quantity of accessible low income house at a lower per unit cost,
- Not decrease the amount of open space that will be incorporated into Discovery Park,
- Improve the access infrastructure in a manner less impactful to forest canopy, and
- Further the goals of the City’s Equitable Development Initiative;
Now therefore be it resolved the 34th District Democrats enthusiastically support the City proceeding with the revised Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan as quickly as possible; and
Be it further resolved the 34th District Democrats urge the City to prioritize the project to provide housing for urban indigenous households; and
Be it finally resolved the 34th District Democrats convey strong support for this important project to the city council, the Mayor, and the involved federal agencies.
Sponsored by Ted Barker, 34th District Dems, PCO and State Committee Member