I posted this to the Seattle Times Blog after a Sounders game. There seems to be no place else to turn, other than "The Stranger" for a public outcry about the proposed buildings in the QWest parking lot. Today, Kenny Chesney is here and the noise is even louder, albeit more interesting. Sort of makes this an Arts posting?

We need a means to protect our tax dollars from a cascade of lawsuits and additional expenses resulting from those law suits. Can the "The Stranger" (arts and culture) help since those on the inside will not?

27 July 2009 Note, even more germane today
Major potential legal issues.

This weekend there were 4 major events around the stadium area and everything was clogged up. I took a walk around Pioneer Square. QWest is an interesting structure. It drives the sound from the stadium directly North with little spill over to Occidental or the Railroad bridge. I could hear the noise five blocks north of QWest.

So, we are being set up for major law suits about the noise from the people living there. Sort of like building houses under airport approaches. Think about the complaints when the Motocross folks arrive.

One has to wonder who is going to foot the bill for noise abatement and other issues below?

How about the complaints about traffic congestion? With that many new residents, especially if connected, there will be lots of those.

It seems reasonable to force a contact provision into each condo purchase or apartment lease that the residents recognize they are moving into a high noise and traffic area and that they forfeit their rights to complain or take legal action about either one. Also they forfeit the right to claims for damages of any sort related to them..

Also, the developer and subsequent owners should also be required to pay for any remedies for noise abatement, traffic congestion, loss of revenue from lost events, etc. There would also be a stipulation that all remedies must be on the constructed property and not on any existing property; for example, QWest property and buildings.

The event assembly areas will be another interesting issue. When some of the major concerts came, the parking lot was full of semi's. How many events like that will be gone due to lack of easy access?

The Boat Show, RV Show, Home Show, etc. all use the parking lot for extra displays. I wonder if they will go away also?

If this were Chicago it would be easy to understand the "real" motive behind the buildings. The developers would be moving in knowing that the legal issues would arise. Eventually, the cost of addressing all the lawsuits and remedies would get too expensive so QWest would be torn down and more developers would buy that land cheap. I guess I am glad that this is not Chicago.