Fishermen’s Terminal Prepares for Gentrification Battle

Commissioner doesn’t want normal “progress” at the expense of sailors.

A A A Comments By Rick Anderson Wednesday, Jan 21 2009

Kevin P. Casey

Are tenants like Pete Knutson an endangered species at Fisherman’s Terminal?

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A meeting of the Fishermen's Terminal Advisory Council at the Port of Seattle slated for Thursday is expected to become a bit of a stew. The topic will be the Port's plan to renovate the terminal's big net sheds; the subtopic is whether the Port will eventually yield to developers at the historic fish base on the Ship Canal.

Some see a constant creep toward a high-end marina surrounded by condos, eventually driving the North Pacific fishing fleet from its 95-year home. It's a concern shared even by Port commissioner Lloyd Hara. In a December e-mail to fellow commissioners, he predicted such a fate for both Fishermen's Terminal and Terminal 48 downtown, which is also being eyed by high-rise developers: "Mark my words, it will happen in our lifetime," Hara wrote.

Hara stands by his prediction, adding he's concerned whether or not the Port will "fully support" the industry, given past plans to redevelop the 370-slip Interbay site. Five years ago, Port officials approved the "temporary" (now permanent) berthing of recreational boats alongside the fishing craft, and studied the sale of shoreline for more commercial and possible residential development.

Port spokesperson Charla Skaggs insists the embattled agency has "a steadfast commitment to the fleet." Still, Hara and other commissioners are thumbing through an 11-page white paper sent to them by longtime fisherman and college professor Pete Knutson. To him, what the Port's doing smacks of a relentless march toward eviction and, eventually, the rise of Fishermen's Mall. (Recent changes include a 7 percent increase in monthly moorage fees, renovation of the terminal's vast net-storage sheds that Knutson thinks could pave the way for real estate development, and a forthcoming tax on dockside fish sales.)

"Developers continue to drive this plan with Port senior staff," says Knutson. "They cultivate the staff to think of development years down the road, and then they systematically go about creating the conditions for that."

The Port says Knutson is making too much of normal "progress." But history tells him that fishers are best off being vigilant. "They say they love us, but two years ago they planned to kick out all the live-aboards," Knutson says, referring to a 2006 Port proposal that came in the wake of several accidental drownings at the terminal. "We fought back, and only then did they drop it."