I have seen this happen over and over. A large business or government agency reaches an agreement with a community or neighborhood group which includes provisions or mitigation to a planned project. Once the project is approved, those provisions (or some of them) are ignored, and the citizens are essentially told, “So sue me.”
As I understand it, Port of Everett signed a legal agreement with neighbors promising a specific color on their new cranes, then did not fulfill that agreement (“Everett coffee heirs get $590K over crane color, ending saga,” The Herald, Dec. 6). In this case, there was someone who had the resources to push back on the Port for not upholding their part of the bargain.
Instead of vilifying the Bargreens, outrage should be directed at the Port for thumbing their nose at their legal agreement. It was the Port’s act of breaking that legal agreement that cost the taxpayers. Had they kept their word, Bargreens would have had no case.
Theresa Gemmer
Everett
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