As a first step in the transfer of the Kirkland Segment of the Eastside Rail Corridor from the Port of Seattle (Port) to the City of Kirkland, the Port Commission will have a special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Kirkland City Hall.

The purpose of the meeting is to hold a public hearing and consider whether to declare the segment as surplus, which is no longer needed for Port district purposes and determine the advisability of the sale of the segment to Kirkland for trail and transportation uses.

As part of the public hearing, the Port will conduct the first reading of Resolution No. 3659 that declares the portion (Kirkland Segment) as surplus and allows for the transfer of the property from the Port to the City of Kirkland for the cost of $5 million.

The public hearing begins at 10 a.m., Kirkland City Hall, Council Chambers, 123 5th Avenue.

The property is a portion of the Woodinville Subdivision rail corridor commencing at 108th Avenue N.E. in the City of Bellevue near the southernmost border of the City of Kirkland, running north along the South Kirkland Park and Ride and continuing to Totem Lake, ending at 132nd Avenue N.E. (also called Slater Avenue) in the City of Kirkland.

In December 2011, the Kirkland City Council approved the execution of a Purchase and Sale agreement with the Port to acquire a 5.75 mile long segment of the former BNSF rail corridor. The city is completing its due diligence on the property and does not anticipate any issues that would warrant withdrawal from the purchase.

For more information about the city’s purchase of the Kirkland Segment, visit www.kirklandwa.gov/eastsiderailcorridor.

In December 2009 the Port purchased the Woodinville subdivision from the Burlington Northern-Sante Fe railroad (BNSF), making the Eastside Rail Corridor a publicly-owned property. For more about the Port of Seattle, visit www.portseattle.org.