S-2311               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5985

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Parks & Ecology (originally sponsored by Senators Kreidler and Bluechel)

Read first time 3/5/87.

AN ACT Relating to the reuse of abandoned rail corridors; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     (1) The legislature finds that:  (a) Public reuse of certain appropriate railroad rights of way no longer maintained for railroad purposes may be in the public interest; (b) such reuse for public purposes should recognize all valid and existing property interests in such rights of way and compensation for such interests in the acquisition of such properties for public use; and (c) the linear nature of such properties frequently involves numerous adjacent landowners claiming reversionary rights, and that the public interest will be served by designing procedures for the orderly and constitutionally valid acquisition of such properties for public use.

          (2) The parks and recreation commission shall, no later than December 31, 1987, submit a report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature on the status of public reuse of railroad properties within the state and current procedures for the compensation of existing property rights in such properties.  The report shall be prepared with the assistance of an advisory group consisting of representatives from the department of transportation, interagency committee for outdoor recreation, organizations of landowners adjacent to such properties, and local governments and recreational groups and the staffs of the committees on transportation and parks and ecology of the senate and of the committees on transportation and environmental affairs of the house of representatives.

          (3) The report shall include:  (a) A description of existing projects involving the public reuse of railroad rights of way and the relationship of such projects to state-wide needs for linear corridors for recreational, utility, and transportation uses; (b) an assessment of possible state-wide needs for recreational facilities, and opportunities for such facilities to link existing park facilities.  Such assessment may use the reviews specified in RCW 44.40.120, as those reviews are formulated pursuant to RCW 35.77.010 and 36.81.121; (c) identification of potential funding sources for acquisition of such properties; and (d) recommendations concerning legislative action to facilitate public reuse of railroad properties for such purposes, for the acquisition by donation or purchase of interests in such properties, and for the resolution of the status of title to such properties in an expeditious and constitutionally valid manner.

          (4) A minority report shall be issued with the majority report if one or more of the participants desire a minority report.  This minority report shall be included in the final study to the legislature.

          (5) This section shall expire December 31, 1987.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The sum of twenty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the parks and recreation commission for the purposes of this act.