Seaplane buoys draw line of controversy on South Lake Union

Several seaplane companies use Lake Union in Seattle to deliver passengers only a mile from the city’s business and technology core.

However, there is controversy growing over a string of buoys placed near the southern shore. The buoys are intended to alert visitors of incoming or outgoing aircraft, but some worry the message they send unfairly pushes out others on the water.

Part of the controversy is the language written on the buoys. Some worry it spells out an outright directive for people to permanently clear a wide swath of waterway, even as the agencies, which regulate the buoys, say the warnings should only read as advisories.

Seaplanes have played a significant role in Seattle’s history. The city’s growth will likely propel the industry to grow as well. Kenmore Air has been operating on the lake for decades. Today it is one of three airliners operating from Lake Union.

"It’s supposed to be a lake used for all, not a carve out in the center of the lake for one user," said neighbor Peter Erickson.

Erickson lives along the lake’s shore and he shouts aloud his allegiance to Save Lake Union, a campaign by Seaplanes Environmental Coalition that claims the buoys intended to warn people of incoming aircraft might instead leave an impression that a strip of water is exclusive for seaplanes.

"There is going to be more and more flights," said Erickson.

For more than 70 years, seaplanes have used this lake to shuttle passengers. The lake sits a mile from some of Seattle’s largest tech companies and is an attractive alternative to Sea-Tac International Airport.

"They can bring in executives from Vancouver," said Darby DuComb. "It’s beautiful to do all that, but it’s coming at a cost to the neighbors."

DuComb is an attorney representing the coalition, which at the end of August sent a letter to Seattle officials claiming the buoys do not comply with its permit and asking regulators to make the permit holder issue corrections.

The Recreational Boating Association of Washington blitzed Lake Union’s neighborhood with public service announcements asking everyone on the water to mind the zone. The Washington State Department of Ecology says the permit limits markings on the buoy to be advisory in nature, and to not restrict the public from being inside the immediate area. The coalition complains the markings currently instruct people on the lake to move 200 feet west or east when aircraft are incoming or outgoing, essentially in conflict with the permit. 

Kenmore Air is responsible for installing and maintaining the buoys. Company leadership told FOX 13 News it disagrees with the coalition, describing the wording on the buoys as a difference in interpretation. 

Erickson worries the language should be clear that everyone has a right to access the lake. 

"If we don’t do something it will be a problem," he said. "Let’s get ahead of it and not react." 

The buoys are seasonal and will be removed from Lake Union in the coming days before being reinstalled next summer.