by Ralph Nichols

Burien’s Shoreline Master Program will be in the spotlight again tonight (Tuesday, March 9) when the Planning Commission meets at 7pm to continue working through the details of proposed revisions to the document.

Tonight’s meeting comes in the wake of recent requests by residents of Burien’s affected shoreline areas – Three Tree Point and Lake Burien – that the city council extend the time for planning commission review of public input before sending a final draft to the council.

A petition bearing the signatures of 401 shoreline residents requesting an extension of the review process was submitted by Carol Jacobsen to the city council at its March 1 meeting.

“We’re still confused about what’s going on,” Jacobsen told the council at that time. “We are requesting an extension of time for review of the Shoreline Master Program before the planning commission submits it to the city council.”

She said the shoreline residents want a six-month delay. Here’s a copy of her cover letter from the city’s public record:

But, Mayor Joan McGilton told The B-Town Blog last week, “The timing is up to the planning commission. Let the process move forward [at the planning commission]. The last thing the council needs to do is get involved inappropriately.”

Asked whether council members might consider setting aside the draft revised Shoreline Master Program for a month or two after receiving it from the planning commission, before proceeding with their review of the document, McGilton added, “That’s up to the council” to decide.

She said the council will look to city staff for advice on whether to proceed with their discussion of Shoreline Master Program revisions soon after receiving the draft document, or whether to postpone consideration for a few weeks.

Commenting on the possibility of a time extension, planning commission Chairman Joe Fitzgibbon said, “I think we’re just going to move through the document at the same pace as we are now. When we’re done we’ll forward it on to the council. It’s not going to take six months….

“I think people who saw us at our Feb. 23 meeting see how serious we are … I think at this point we’re doing a good job of taking into account all the ideas and concerns we’ve heard.”

The planning commission stopped receiving public testimony at that meeting, and began the process of working through citizen comments point by point.

Written comment is still being accepted, addressed to either the Burien Planning Commission or Senior City Planner David Johanson, at 400 SW 152nd St., Burien, WA, 98166, or by emailing DavidJ@burienwa.gov.

Although a general time frame for Shoreline Master Program review indicates the planning commission will complete its work by the end of March and forward the draft document to the city council, which then will adopt a final plan by July and submit it to the state Department of Ecology for final approval, Fitzgibbon suggested this is not a strict timetable.

The planning commission is “not trying to guess when we will finish,” he said. “We would like to finish soon, but we will take as long as it takes. We’re not looking at any date and saying, ‘that’s our deadline.’”

Requests for the city council to extend the time for planning commission review of the draft plan were repeated at their March 8 meeting.

Tades Kisielius, an attorney representing the Burien Marine Homeowners Association, urged the city council to add another public hearing to the process or to extend the time for planning commission review, noting that the petition with 400 signatures had made such a request.

There has been “no real substantive discussion … on significant regulations,” he said. These include a 65 foot setback from the average water line, non-conforming structures, and public access.

The homeowners want the planning commission to work out these and other concerns before the plan goes to the city council, Kisielius added.

Shoreline resident Dennis Reed said they wanted the opportunity to review a final planning commission draft that includes all changes before it is sent to the city council.

City Councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak later asked City Manager Mike Martin to direct the planning commission to extend the review process – apparently overlooking the fact that such a request must come from the council and neither staff nor an individual council member.

This letter is in response to the article posted about Brian Bennett and the Shoreline Advisory Committee that he served on (read the original story here). In this article, Brian claims that he has his own higher priority for what should be the purpose of Shoreline Master Program. The State’s priorities are, “protection of the environment so that there is no net loss, enhancing public use on publicly owned shorelands while protecting private property and public safety and the coordination of shoreline development around the state to protect the shorelines.”

Perhaps his misunderstanding of what are the priorities for the Shoreline Master Program stem from the fact that he did not attend the 50% of the four critical writing meetings. And the last meeting he attended, he came unprepared without his document that was to be discussed. He was unaware of the functioning rules of the committee and did not know how to take citizen input at the meetings. Perhaps this is why citizens did not get heard at this level. These issues of attendance, not bringing your homework to the meeting and not knowing the operating rules are of importance when you are acting as the chair of the committee, as Brian was supposed to be doing.

Additionally, had Brian read the Appendices to the draft document he was reviewing, he would be able to answer the question he posed in the blog article, “How to create public access to Lake Burien without impacting property owners around the lake?” The consultants to the study noted that there is visual access to the lake from several streets. These points could be further enhanced by the city to provide visual public access points to the lake. Whether the city will pursue them is another question and the real one that he should be addressing as a councilmember. The City of Burien has a number of beautiful public access points to the city’s shorelines which they currently do not secure or protect adequately. Jim Branson has written a number of blogs about this problem with the city not being willing to spend any money on enforcement and protection of shorelines and parks. The city has a legal obligation to protect them under the Shoreline Master Program.

Lastly, the Ruth Dykeman Children’s Center is a wonderful asset to the state, community, children and families. It requires high security for its clients. The last thing that they need is a public park next to them. This will breach their security. Brian knows that the Center has not put their land up for sale as of yet and they have clearly stated they do not want a public access next door to them. During the same time that the City of Burien issued a public statement that it was not seeking a public access to Lake Burien, behind closed doors, Brian directed the city manager to contact the Ruth Dykeman Children’s Center to again try to buy their land. Ruth Dykeman repeated they were not interested. But still again in this latest article, Brian makes a public issue of wanting to buy their land again. This demonstrates a complete lack of respect for private property rights and does not follow the concept of transparent government practices. This councilmember needs to do his homework and brush up on the etiquette of good manners with regard to the property of others.

- Chestine Edgar

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by Ralph Nichols

Burien residents had their final opportunity on Tuesday night (Feb. 23rd) to voice to the Burien Planning Commission their opinions and concerns about proposed rule revisions in the draft update of the city’s Shoreline Master Program.

Written comment still will be accepted, addressed to either the Burien Planning Commission or Senior City Planner David Johanson, at 400 SW 152nd St., Burien, WA, 98166, or by emailing DavidJ@burienwa.gov.

Concerned citizens will also have opportunities to speak out on the draft plan at public hearings, which will be scheduled later, conducted by the Burien City Council and the state Department of Ecology.

After hearing the last of the public testimony Tuesday evening, Planning Commission members began the process of working their way through a detailed summary of earlier comments by shoreline-area residents and draft responses prepared by city staff and consultants.

Public interest in this issue is so great – as is the level of concern among local shoreline residents who fear their property rights could be impacted by a revised plan – that the Burien Planning Commission, which will continue its review of the plan, will meet in the City Council chambers on the first floor of City Hall.

Almost 200 people, troubled primarily about the impact revised regulations – and public access to shorelines – will have on their property, crowded a smaller room for the Planning Commission two weeks ago.

But in the wake of that meeting, said several persons involved in the planning process, many of those commenting on the draft document were not well informed or were basing their concerns on “disinformation.”

Burien City Manager Mike Martin and Senior City Planner David Johanson recently sat down with The B-Town Blog to address what they said is misleading information circulating about provisions in the draft update of the Shoreline Master Program; here are their reactions:

Non-conforming structures on shoreline property cannot be rebuilt if damaged.

Martin: “That absolutely is not the case.”

Martin: “It does not do that. Period.”

Rights-of-way at the water’s edge can be taken over by the city.

Martin: “Contrary to what anyone may have heard, there is nothing in the document that gives the city new authority to take over any right-of-way.

The Planning Commission will make the final decision to approve the shoreline plan.

Martin: “That absolutely is not true. The City Council will make the final decision.”

The Planning Commission is expected to deliberate on the public comment it has received, complete its review of the document, and forward a recommendation to the City Council by the end of March.

At least one public hearing will be held by the council while it considers the plan before taking final action. Once the city has adopted its updated Shoreline Management Program, it still must be reviewed and approved by the state Department of Ecology.

Because of widespread misconceptions about provisions in the draft plan, some Planning Commission members are encouraging concerned shoreline residents to read it first, and then ask questions and address specific concerns, rather than simply reacting to rumors about what purported new regulations would do to their property.

The draft shoreline plan is available on the city’s website at http://burienwa.gov/index.aspx?NID=851.

Johanson noted that updating the city’s Shoreline Master Program is not a local option. “The state requires us to do this … over 200 jurisdictions [in Washington] are doing this.”

The state requires all cities and counties to periodically update their Shoreline Management Programs, which implement the Shoreline Management Act at the local level.

According to Ecology, local plans are based on state law and regulations, but “are tailored to the unique geographic, economic and environmental needs of each community.”

This is to improve and protect the health of Puget Sound and other waterways, improve water quality and salmon recovery, and enhance the state’s economy and tourism, Johanson added.

Information about the Shoreline Management Act and guidelines for local Shoreline Master Programs is available on Ecology’s website at http://www.ecy.wa.gov.

Burien was awarded a $117,000 state grant from Ecology for this project, which began with a comprehensive review of the current document by the Shoreline Advisory Committee. The committee then made recommendations and submitted that draft to the Planning Commission.

Martin stressed that the draft revisions give the city “no new rights or authority under its shoreline document.” This includes Lake Burien, which has no public access to its shoreline.

“The city does not have any more authority in this document to provide public access [to the lake] than at any time in the past,” he said.

Johanson said setbacks allowed in the proposed revised plan, in the event of reconstruction due to property damage, are “similar to those of other urban jurisdictions” in an attempt “to strike a balance between state objectives and the urban setting” where shorelines already are developed.

The draft plan would require a 65 foot setback from the average high water level, compared to a current setback of 20 feet along the Puget Sound shoreline. If adopted, those homes would be classified as non-conforming structures – but could be rebuilt on their existing footprint if damaged.

Johanson indicated that after the Planning Commission has finished taking public testimony, staff will compile a list of frequently asked questions together with clarifications and answers, and post this on the city’s website.

As the City of Burien prepares to annex the North Highline “South Annexation Area,” most likely in March 2010, its Planning Commission is considering converting zoning designations there.

The first planning meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 10th at 7pm at Burien City Hall, 400 SW 152nd Street (Suite 300).

The second event will be a public hearing on the proposed conversion on Tuesday, Nov. 24th, at 7pm, also at Burien City Hall. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend and/or submit written comments.

For more information:

• Link to the city’s page on annexation
• Link to information on the proposed conversion (PDF file)
• Zoning map with current designations (PDF file)
• Proposed zoning designations (PDF file)

Here are the full details from a press release issued by the city on Nov. 9th:

Zoning Conversion for North Highline “South Annexation Area”

The City of Burien continues it preparations to annex the North Highline “South Annexation Area” as approved by voters in August 2009. A required step is adoption of zoning for the area. The City of Burien Planning Commission is reviewing a proposal from the City’s Department of Community Development to convert the existing King County zoning designations to City of Burien designations. A more formal review of these designations would occur as part of the City’s scheduled planning process in 2010 and 2011.

The Burien Planning Commission will be taking its first look at the proposed conversion on Tuesday, Nov. 10th, at 7 p.m. at Burien City Hall, 400 SW 152nd Street (Suite 300). The Commission will conduct a public hearing on the proposed conversion on Tuesday, November 24th, at 7 p.m., also at Burien City Hall. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend and/or submit written comments. The Planning Commission then will make a recommendation to the Burien City Council, which must adopt zoning for the annexation area prior to annexation in 2010.

Information on the proposed conversion, and zoning maps showing current County zoning and proposed City zoning are available online at burienwa.gov/annexation or by contacting Chip Davis, planner, at (206) 248-5501 or by Email at chipd@burienwa.gov.

The deadline for applying to be on one of the Advisory Boards for the City of Burien has been extended to Monday, Feb. 23rd.

If you’re wondering “why should I join one of these things?” here’s a testimonial from resident artist Maureen Hoffman, who served on the Arts Commission:

“Community is important to me.

Very important.

So that’s been the biggest aspect of being on the Arts Commission: giving to my community, nudging its direction, and building the community around me.

I have stepped into “circles” I likely may never have been a part of, and for that I have been immensely blessed. Art and Design are also key in my life, and to be on the Arts Commission at a time when Burien’s aesthetic expression is becoming so tangible and so visible has been exciting.

There is tremendous momentum in Burien, evident all around, and to have a hand in that, in even a small way, has been satisfying in ways I hadn’t envisioned.”

The four Advisory Boards are:

• Arts Commission
• Business and Economic Development Partnership
• Parks & Recreation Board
• Planning Commission

All appointments are made by the City Council and are for four-year terms (ad-hoc committee appointments are for the duration of the study or special purpose).

Applications are being accepted through Monday, February 23rd,and here’s how to get in on the action:

• Apply online by visiting the city’s website here.
• Download an Advisory Board Application and mail it to:

Citizen Advisory Board
City of Burien
15811 Ambaum Blvd. SW, Suite C
Burien, WA 98166

• If you prefer the “real world” in-person method, you can pick up an application at:

Burien City Hall
15811 Ambaum Blvd. SW
Burien, WA 98166

Further information about Burien’s citizen advisory boards is available by contacting:

Monica Lusk
City Clerk
(206) 248-5517
MONICAL@burienwa.gov

The City of Burien is seeking volunteers to serve on one of four Advisory Boards:

• Arts Commission
• Business and Economic Development Partnership
• Parks & Recreation Board
• Planning Commission

All appointments are made by the City Council and are for four-year terms (ad-hoc committee appointments are for the duration of the study or special purpose).

Applications are being accepted through February 13, 2009, and here’s how to get in on the action:

• Apply online by visiting the city’s website here.
• You can also fill out an Online Application Form.
• You can download an Advisory Board Application and mail it to:

Citizen Advisory Board
City of Burien
15811 Ambaum Blvd. SW, Suite C
Burien, WA 98166

• If you prefer the “real world” in-person method, you can pick up an application at:

Burien City Hall
15811 Ambaum Blvd. SW
Burien, WA 98166

Further information about Burien’s citizen advisory boards is available by contacting:

Monica Lusk
City Clerk
(206) 248-5517
MONICAL@burienwa.gov