Port of Seattle—City of SeaTac ILA

Client: Port of Seattle
and City of SeaTac
Facilitation and documentation of intergovernmental negotiations to come to a fair and balanced agreement around current and future airport impacts.

Overview of Floyd|Snider Contributions

Facilitation and documentation of intergovernmental negotiations with staff and executives
Resolution of disputes during agreement development
Public affairs strategies and messaging

Project Summary

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Airport) is located entirely within the City of SeaTac (City), covering over 40% of the city’s land area.

A 10-year Interlocal Agreement (ILA) completed in 2018 sets the stage for the City and the Airport, operated by the Port of Seattle (Port), to grow and thrive together by establishing benefits for city residents and businesses and supporting the continued operation of the nation’s ninth-busiest airport. The ILA addresses the overlapping statutory authority between the City and the Port concerning such issues as planning, land use and zoning, transportation, surface water management, critical environmental areas, and public safety. The ILA represents a fair and balanced agreement providing predictability and consistency for Port projects, while assisting the City with addressing some of the current and future impacts of being the Airport’s home city.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Airport) is located entirely within the City of SeaTac (City), covering over 40% of the city’s land area. A 10-year Interlocal Agreement (ILA) completed in 2018 sets the stage for the City and the Airport, operated by the Port of Seattle (Port), to grow and thrive together by establishing benefits for city residents and businesses and supporting the continued operation of the nation’s ninth-busiest airport. The ILA addresses the overlapping statutory authority between the City and the Port concerning such issues as planning, land use and zoning, transportation, surface water management, critical environmental areas, and public safety. The ILA represents a fair and balanced agreement providing predictability and consistency for Port projects, while assisting the City with addressing some of the current and future impacts of being the Airport’s home city.

Our Approach

Floyd|Snider provided facilitation services for the ILA negotiations between the Port and City in 2017 and 2018, with assistance from Civic Alchemy.

This work involved facilitation and documentation of an intricate series of meetings with Port’s Aviation Division and City representatives including Joint Advisory Committee meetings of elected officials, meetings of staff leadership, and special topic meetings with staff for each component of the ILA. Floyd|Snider and Civic Alchemy assisted the teams with development of ground rules and objectives for meetings, resolution of disputes during ILA development, preparation of public affairs strategies and messaging, and process to reach final closure.

Project Milestones:

2017. ILA negotiations began
2018. 10-year ILA completed

Floyd|Snider provided facilitation services for the ILA negotiations between the Port and City in 2017 and 2018, with assistance from Civic Alchemy. This work involved facilitation and documentation of an intricate series of meetings with Port’s Aviation Division and City representatives including Joint Advisory Committee meetings of elected officials, meetings of staff leadership, and special topic meetings with staff for each component of the ILA. Floyd|Snider and Civic Alchemy assisted the teams with development of ground rules and objectives for meetings, resolution of disputes during ILA development, preparation of public affairs strategies and messaging, and process to reach final closure.

Project Milestones:

2017. ILA negotiations began
2018. 10-year ILA completed

Project Team

Floyd|Snider
Civic Alchemy
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