The Port of Tacoma purchased 17 acres of shoreline property along Marine View Drive in late 2005 for future habitat mitigation and restoration purposes.
Also known as the Saltchuck property, the shoreline contains 10 waterfront homes, most of which are owned by private parties who rent the land beneath their homes from the Port.
Development and restoration of the property are slated for the future. The Port, however, added public access and a kayak launch area in spring 2011. Learn more.
Additional information:
Background
Future habitat plans
FAQs
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Upcoming activities on the Marine View Drive property:
| To be determined | | Create near-shore and intertidal habitat. (This action depends on the Port's future development plans, which would require mitigation, as well as the availability of funding.) |
Recent activities on the Marine View Drive property:
| Spring 2011 | | Port completes construction on public access and a kayak launch along the shoreline. Learn more. |
| Summer 2010 | | Port demolished one unoccupied structure deemed dangerous by the City of Tacoma. |
| June 2009 | | Port staff and Marine View Drive tenants meet to discuss plans to demolish one unoccupied structure, progress on habitat restoration plans and concerns related to rental agreements. |
| August 2008 | | Attorney reaffirms by letter the Port's commitment to continue month-to-month rental agreements, as discussed at May 2008 meeting, not enter into long-term leases. |
| June 2008 | | Marine View Drive tenants, represented by legal counsel, request 99-year leases from the Port. |
| May 2008 | | Port staff meet with Marine View Drive residents to provide an update on the Port's habitat restoration plans and to outline homeowner options: - Continue existing month-to-month agreements for as long as the leaseholders of record want to stay, or
- Sell the houses by the end of 2008 to the Port, which already owns the land beneath them.
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| June 2006 | | The Port receives notice that it has been selected to receive $1.4 million under a congressional-directed grant program administered by NOAA. The grant award is supported by Citizens for a Healthy Bay and Cascade Land Conservancy. The grant covers half the cost of the Marine View Drive property; the remainder is applied, with permission, to the purchase of Julia's Gulch for open space. |
| December 2005 | | Recognizing its long-term value for environmental mitigation and habitat restoration, the Port purchases the 17-acre Marine View Drive property with the support of the local community. The property had attracted attention from developers who recognized its possible commercial uses. The Port assumes existing month-to-month rental agreements tenants hold on land under their privately owned houses. |