High court backs land for monorail

OLYMPIA – Seattle’s stumbling monorail project got a rare bit of good news Thursday when the state Supreme Court upheld the condemnation of private property for a downtown train station.

The decision endorses the Seattle Monorail Project’s plans for a station in Pioneer Square, on property currently occupied by a parking garage.

In the Supreme Court decision released Thursday, the garage’s owner argued the monorail authority lacked legal power to condemn private property under eminent domain laws, and took more property than needed for the station.

The court, in a 7-2 ruling, sided with the authority. The majority found little question about the monorail’s eminent domain powers, and said decisions about the property needed for a public project are left up to legislative authorities.