PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 

COMMISSION AGENDA             Item No.:       6f 
ACTION ITEM 
Date of Meeting:     January 25, 2011 
DATE:    January 18, 2011 
TO:      Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Craig Watson, General Counsel 
SUBJECT:  Declaring surplus approximately 3,350 square feet, 25 feet in width, of Portowned
real property formerly owned by BNSF, commonly known as the
Woodinville Subdivision, located in Bellevue, Washington; transfer of title to
said property as part of settlement of adverse possession lawsuit filed on
December 11, 2009 by plaintiffs Ao-Zhou 
ACTION REQUESTED: 
Resolution No. 3649, First Reading. Declaring surplus and no longer needed for Port District
purposes approximately 3,350 square feet, 25 feet in width, of Port-owned real property formerly
owned by BNSF, commonly known as the Woodinville Subdivision, located in Bellevue,
Washington, and authorizing the Chief Executive Officer to execute all documents necessary to
transfer title of the property to plaintiffs Ao-Zhou via quitclaim deed as part of settlement of
adverse possession lawsuit filed on December 11, 2009.
First Reading 
Estimated Value of Adverse Possession Property: $95,374.50 to $222,607.50. 
SYNOPSIS: 
The Port owns the real property legally described in Exhibit A ("BNSF/Port Property") to
Resolution No.3649. The Port acquired the BNSF/Port Property from BNSF, as part of the Port's
acquisition of the Woodinville Subdivision rail corridor, on December 18, 2009. Jie Ao and Xin
Zhou ("Ao-Zhou") own real property located at 6333 Hazelwood Lane, Bellevue, Washington
98006 in King County, on the eastern shore of Lake Washington. Ao-Zhou filed an adverse
possession lawsuit on December 11, 2009, claiming 1) an ownership interest in a 35-foot wide
portion of the BNSF/Port Property and 2) a prescriptive easement interest in the roadway
(Hazelwood Lane) serving the Ao-Zhou Property. Plaintiff alleged, among other things, in its
lawsuit that: 1) The Ao-Zhou parcel abuts the western boundary of the BNSF/Port Property north
and south of SE 64th Street; 2) To the north of SE 64th Street in Bellevue, the Ao-Zhou Parcel is
currently developed with Ao-Zhou's home; 3) Ao-Zhou and their predecessors have maintained
a detached single-story garage, a concrete driveway, rockery, and other improvements within

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
January 18, 2011 
Page 2 of 3 

that portion of the BNSF/Port Property abutted by SE 64th Street for over ten years; and 4) They
and their predecessors have also maintained a concrete driveway, rockery and other
improvements (namely a retaining wall) within that portion of the BNSF/Port Property abutting
the Ao-Zhou Parcel to the north of SE 64th Street. 
Settlement of the adverse possession lawsuit would be justified for reasons consistent with the
Commission's delegation of authority to settle claims filed against the Port. . 
The Port wishes to convey as part of the settlement of Ao-Zhou's lawsuit, a portion of the
BNSF/Port Property that is 25 feet in width (east-west) and approximately 3,350 square feet in
area as legally described in Exhibit B and as depicted in Exhibit C to the Resolution (the
"Adverse Possession Property"). Based on sales data of adjacent properties, the market value of
the Adverse Possession Property is estimated to range between $28.47 and $66.45 per square
foot. The value of the Adverse Possession Property thus ranges from approximately $95,374.50 
to $222,607.50, which amount falls under the $300,000 settlement authority delegated to the
CEO. 
The Port has not used or needed the Adverse Possession Property since the Port's acquisition of
the former BNSF property, and sees little practical use for it. The eastern boundary of the
Adverse Possession Property lies at the toe of a fairly steep slope down from existing railroad
tracks in the Bellevue section of the Woodinville Subdivision rail corridor. Ao-Zhou originally
claimed 35 feet, including part of the property to the east of the top of the slope toward the
tracks, but plaintiffs will agree to accept 25 feet beginning at the top of the slope and running
westward. Any agreement to settle Ao-Zhou's lawsuit will have acknowledgment and
agreement by Ao-Zhou that under the Rails-to-Trails Act (16 U.S.C. Section 1247(d)), the Quit
Claim Deed from BNSF to the Port and that certain Donation Agreement dated May 12, 2008,
the BNSF/Port Property is "railbanked" which means that rail service may be reactivated over
the Property, which means that Ao-Zhou may be required to remove or relocate Ao-Zhou's
improvements, if any, in or on the BNSF/Port Property at Ao-Zhou's sole cost and/or negotiate
with the person or entity that reactivates rail service to make other arrangements for Ao-Zhou's
continued use of the BNSF/Port Property. 

JUSTIFICATION: 
A resolution declaring surplus the Adverse Possession Property is necessary to settlement of the
Ao-Zhou adverse possession lawsuit.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
January 18, 2011 
Page 3 of 3 

OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS REQUEST: 
The  surplusing resolution,  Resolution No.  3649  and its exhibits A (legal description of
BNSF/Port Property"; B (legal description of Adverse Possession Property); and C (depiction of
Adverse Possession Property). 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTION OR BRIEFING: 
None.