Federal Way hearing outlines alternatives, impacts in Sound Transit Tacoma Dome Link Extension draft EIS

Sound Transit staff told the Federal Way City Council on Jan. 21 that the Tacoma Dome Link Extension (TDLE) draft environmental impact statement is published and under public review, and presented four competing alignments through South Federal Way along Interstate 5 and State Route 99 that have differing impacts on wetlands, cultural resources, property displacement and traffic access.

The draft EIS was published Dec. 13, 2024, and the Federal Transit Administration opened an extended public comment period that runs through Feb. 10, 2025, Austin Nielsen, Government and Community Relations, Sound Transit, said. "It is currently forecasted to open in 2035," Nielsen said of the TDLE service date. He summarized the project as about 10 miles from Federal Way downtown to the Tacoma Dome with four new stations at South Federal Way, Fife, Portland Avenue and Tacoma Dome Station, and noted that Fife and South Federal Way stations include 500 stalls of parking under the board's 2021 realignment action.

Council and staff questions focused on three issues: how and when parking and interim access would work if station parking is delayed, how the project will address known highly sensitive cultural resources, and mitigation for wetland impacts and property displacements.

Cathy Leota, TDLE project manager, said "there is no preferred alignment alternative in the South Federal Way area at this point." She described four alignments under study: two that follow I‑5 (a continuous I‑5 alignment and a variant that uses Enchanted Parkway briefly) and two that follow SR‑99 (a 99 West and a 99 East alignment). Leota said the I‑5 alternatives both "impact known highly sensitive cultural resources that the Puyallup Tribe has indicated are not avoidable and not mitigable," while the 99 alternatives present larger wetland impacts and different patterns of residential and business displacement.

Leota and staff outlined specific tradeoffs: the I‑5 alignment has the fewest business displacements but the most stream impacts and steep‑slope construction challenges; the Enchanted Parkway variant would cause more residential displacements and could affect a planned King County emergency shelter site; the 99 West alignment would require complex acquisitions and wetland mitigation and would produce about 17 residential displacements (14 in Milton, largely at a mobile home park and an RV park); and the 99 East alignment would place the guideway in the PAC (Pacific) Highway median for roughly 0.9 mile, precluding left turns through that stretch and producing the largest wetland impacts but few residential displacements.

City staff and Sound Transit also described station configurations and access constraints. Leota said some station options would be better for transit‑oriented development (TOD) and nonmotorized access (for example the 352nd/99 station option) while others—such as a station sited close to I‑5—would offer fewer TOD opportunities and limited bus and pedestrian access. Kent Smith, Public Works and the city's Sound Transit liaison, noted that station parking could be surface or structured and that surface parking would substantially limit later TOD potential.

Councilmembers pressed on timing and interim operations if parking delivery is delayed: under Sound Transit Board direction the construction and opening schedule for some parking was deferred, and Nielsen said in some cases parking delivery is scheduled for 2038 while rail service is forecast for 2035. Kirby Hawkins, Sound Transit project development director, said the operations and maintenance facility (OMF South) is being targeted to open "no later than 2032," and staff said they are working with city staff and transit partners on interim station access and transit connections for the period before station parking is built.

Councilmembers also asked about outreach and property notice. Nielsen said Sound Transit mailed letters in late November to property owners whose parcels were identified as potentially impacted and sent postcards to tenants, residents and businesses within a half‑mile of stations and routes; the agency is offering an online open house, recorded materials, weekly property‑owner webinars during the comment period and multiple in‑person open houses (including a Federal Way open house at the Federal Way Performing Arts & Events Center on Jan. 28, 5:30–7:30 p.m.). Staff said they will follow up individually with property owners who request information.

On mitigation and permitting, Leota said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff have indicated they will not issue permits until Sound Transit has demonstrated practicable avoidance and minimization measures for wetlands and streams; Sound Transit staff said mitigation could include wetland restoration, land‑banking or other compensatory measures in coordination with the city, Department of Ecology and tribes.

Councilmembers raised the potential impact on the Red Lion Hotel property that King County is considering for emergency shelter. Sound Transit staff said they are coordinating with King County and that whether the property is affected depends on which alternative the Sound Transit Board ultimately confirms this year. Nielsen told the council the Sound Transit Board is expected to confirm or modify the preferred alternative in the second quarter of 2025, after which final EIS work and a record of decision would follow.

No formal council action or local vote was taken at the Jan. 21 special meeting; the Sound Transit presentation provided information and invited public comment during the FTA comment window. Sound Transit staff asked the council to refer any requests for materials to the agency's outreach contacts and to the city clerk for distribution.

The document filing and comment schedule, the four South Federal Way alignment options and their tradeoffs, the parking‑timing mismatch relative to the projected service date, the OMF target date and the potential effects on the Red Lion emergency shelter proposal were the principal outcomes of the presentation and council discussion.

The draft EIS and detailed technical appendices are available on Sound Transit's TDLE project website; the comment period is open through Feb. 10, 2025, and the agency is accepting comments by mail, email, voicemail and at several in‑person hearings and open houses.