A new law allowing housing near Seattle’s sports stadiums is on hold as the Port of Seattle and city of Seattle fight in court over whether the change constitutes an illegal rezone.
At the same time, King County Superior Court Judge Haydee Vargas gave the Port of Seattle the green light to depose Council President Sara Nelson and billionaire Chris Hansen, who owns the properties most likely to be affected, for up to seven hours to determine whether the two worked together on the law to explicitly benefit Hansen, as some have alleged.
The law was scheduled to go into effect at the end of June, but was paused by Vargas last month as the case moves forward. In a hearing this week, Vargas left that hold in place for now, though it’s unclear for how long. She’s likely to decide on a longer-term pause in the coming weeks.
Vargas rejected Seattle’s motion to dismiss the entire case.
The court case prolongs what was one of the more tense battles in City Hall earlier this year over whether housing should be allowed on the edges of the city’s industrial areas. The legislation, brought by Nelson, agitated fault lines between the push for greater development across the city and the industrial and maritime industry’s fears of being gentrified out of Seattle.
The council ultimately voted 6-3 in favor of the proposal, clearing the way for 990 apartments to be built on the underused properties just south of T-Mobile Park.
Now, the Port of Seattle is arguing Nelson undertook the effort to benefit just one person — Hansen, best known for his unsuccessful push to build a basketball arena in Sodo — without taking the proper steps typical of a narrowly focused rezone. The city denies this, saying no permits have been filed, meaning it’s a simple legislative decision, not a land use one.
Nevertheless, Vargas was not immediately receptive to the city’s argument and denied its motion to drop the case. Although not a rezone in name, coordination between members of the council and Hansen would suggest it is one in practice. If that’s the case, Seattle would be required to go through a lengthier and more regulated process.
“If there is communication, it goes directly to the fact of whether this was a site-specific rezone,” she said.
In turn, Vargas authorized the Port of Seattle to collect records from the city, the unions that pushed for the change, and Hansen and his associates. She also said both Hansen and Nelson could be made to sit for a seven-hour deposition to determine whether the two had coordinated.
Before the March vote on the measure, Nelson said she’d never talked with Hansen, but did say the decision was important because “we’ve got a property owner that is willing to develop a piece of property and subsidize the ground floor square footage for these small businesses that desperately need more affordable workspaces.”
Nelson’s office decline to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.
Nelson’s bill reopened what had been tense negotiations between the city and the industrial world. In 2023, the City Council signed off on a broad land use agreement dictating how industrial lands could be used.
The question of housing nearly derailed the talks, until the mayor’s office agreed not to allow new homes near the stadiums — though hotels would be. The Port has argued apartments would increase traffic and open the door to future incursions on public lands.
Nelson and others, though, view the area near the stadiums as ripe for a so-called “maker’s district” in which small-scale manufacturers — of alcohol, clothing, art — could thrive. Housing is key to that vision.
The Port of Seattle has asked Vargas to put a hold on the new law until November, when the case is scheduled to go to trial. Vargas didn’t make a ruling during Thursday’s hearing, leaving the previous hold in place without an immediate end date. However, she’s likely to weigh in on the port’s motion in the coming weeks.
