Several Ballard neighborhood groups are seeking to get the Washington Legislature to compel the Seattle Monorail Project to consider selling property on the basis of factors besides the highest bid.

The monorail agency has stated that its legal obligation to city taxpayers is to sell properties for the highest price, in order to retire debt as quickly as possible.

Some people worry that buyers willing to pay the most money for the property might develop businesses that would clash with the neighborhood aesthetics like gas stations and strip malls.

"Empty buildings get tagged, and no one is there to clean them up. Who do you call about that? It's a rabbit chase," said the outgoing president of one business association.

Jonathan Buchter, the chief operating officer and general counsel of the monorail agency, says deciding whether potential buyers of property are suitable to those neighborhoods is beyond the scope of his agency, which, as of now, has four employees and is located in the basement of an office building.

"We're a transportation agency. We don't have that expertise," Buchter said.