King County and a pro-growth management group prevented the referendum from being put on the ballot, and the state Supreme Court ruled that a state law requiring local governments to protect critical areas prevented local referendums from overturning critical area ordinances. On July 7, 2008, a Washington State Appeals Court found that the portion of the CAO known as the clearing and grading ordinance is an indirect and illegal "tax, fee, or charge", and that prior to restricting the clearing of land for lawn or pasture, King County must demonstrate how that act could cause harm. Rails to trails proposal On May 16, 2005, Sims announced a controversial plan to purchase the Woodinville Subdivision railroad that runs through the east King County roughly parallel to Interstate 405 and replace most of its track with a bicycle trail. Although there is support for purchasing the railroad in order to prevent its current owner, BNSF Railway, from selling off the right of way piecemeal, the plan to remove the tracks has raised concerns from rail transportation advocates, environmental groups, and the owners, employees and customers of the popular Spirit of Washington dinner train (which ran on the tracks). It has also resulted in the formation of a grassroots movement, Eastside Rail Now!, which is aimed at stopping the removal of the tracks and at using them to begin a rail transit service in addition to their current freight and dinner train functions. In 2007, the Port of Seattle, King County, and BNSF signed a preliminary agreement in which the Port would purchase the rail line from BNSF and then exchange the line plus $66 million to pay for removal of the tracks and replacement by a bicycle trail for Boeing Field Boeing Field airlines proposal In July 2005, Southwest Airlines formally proposed plans to spend $130 million on a passenger terminal and other facilities and move the airline's operation from Sea-Tac Airport to Boeing Field after several months of negotiations with Sims. The proposal from Southwest prompted Alaska Airlines to announce it would seek a similar agreement with the county. The proposals were met with opposition from residents of Georgetown, the Seattle neighborhood north of Boeing Field, many of Washington's state and federal legislators, and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. After months of pressure from the opposition, Sims killed Southwest's and Alaska's proposals in October 2005, stating that while the area around