By Tommy Butzerin
Two main issues drew public attention at the Burien City Council meeting on September 22. Residents voiced concern over the Port of Seattle’s plan to remove six large trees as part of its flight corridor safety program, but the highlight came when Councilmember Stephanie Mora introduced an amendment directing the city—not residents—to correct errors in the Comprehensive Plan and zoning amendments, as related to the Shoreline Master Plan.
Meeting Overview
All members of the council were present at the September 22, 2025, Burien City Council meeting.
The agenda was confirmed unanimously.
Port of Seattle Presentation
The meeting started with a presentation on the Port of Seattle Flight Corridor Safety Program, made by Port of Seattle representatives. The presentation focused on keeping flight paths and landing zones safe for incoming and outgoing planes. This relates directly to the removal of the six trees, which was discussed at the previous meeting. Many members of the council asked about the value of the trees to the environment and to the community, how the decision was made, and if more trees will need to be removed in the future.
Proclamations
Due to the Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation being pushed to October, only one proclamation happened at this meeting. A councilmember made a proclamation on Suicide Prevention Month.
Urban Forestry Presentation
After this proclamation, another presentation—this time on Sustainable Forestry Initiative Urban Tree Cover Benchmarking—was made by Urban Forest Planner Joshua Petter and Director Mike Martini. SFI is a nonprofit group that works for sustainability in urban forests, and they explained how their organization operates in the presentation. Councilmember Garcia asked what the grant would cost, and the presenters answered $65,000.
Parks and Facilities Wayfinding Plan
Parks and Facilities Wayfinding Sign Plan update was made by PaCRS Director Casey Stanley. This presentation included various plans for the installation of new signage for parks, trails, and facilities around Burien. Councilmembers asked questions about the installation process, different designs for the signs, and even whether certain signs should be left alone due to their historical value.
Councilmember Reports
Councilmember reports began with Councilmember Alex Andrade. She discussed attending the Joint Transportation Board meeting, which included the Port of Seattle, Sound Transit, King County Metro, and others. She talked about the successful Kids’ Day event at the Fire Department, as well as the Welcoming Burien event which took place at the same time. She concluded her report by briefly recalling her tour with Habitat for Humanity.
Mayor Schilling spoke about meeting with the seventh- and eighth-grade classes of Glacier Middle School to help them get involved in the Gear Up program, which helps them stay connected with counselors all the way through high school. He also mentioned attending the Burien Fiesta and the Kids’ Day event, and concluded his comments by talking about attending the groundbreaking for the new Mary’s Place project that will construct 90 new units for the homeless.
Councilmember Garcia also attended the Burien Fiesta, and once again shared ICE rapid response resources for people concerned about immigration enforcement.
As he mentioned in the last meeting, Councilmember Matta discussed the food trucks in violation of health codes and explained that they are working with the owners of these trucks to make sure all health guidelines are followed. After briefly speaking about attending the Burien Fiesta, the rest of his report focused on the ongoing issues with DESC.
City Manager Report
- Parks Department is replacing lights in Moshier Park, and suspicious activity in the park is receiving attention from law enforcement.
- Councilmembers received a summary of the action taken by the Burien Airport Committee in their agenda packets.
- Congratulations to Mary’s Place on their recent groundbreaking.
Public Comment
As with many previous meetings, while a few comments concerned the environmental impact of removing the trees, the majority of comments focused on the ongoing zoning issue. While only 13 people signed up to comment, the first of them stressed that this was due to a major lack of confidence in the council because of this very issue. Another commenter requested they immediately make an amendment to the Comp and Zoning Plan.
Public Hearing on Block Grant Funds
Following public comments was a public hearing on the proposed use of FY2026 Community Development Block Grant funds, led by Human Services Manager Anyah Zupanic. She discussed the proposed use for these funds, which are helping low-income residents and making ADA improvements at Jacob Ambaum Park.
Consent Agenda
The council unanimously approved the Consent Agenda, then took a short recess before reconvening.
Councilmember Akey moved to add the FY2026 funds proposals to the Consent Agenda, and after some discussion, this was approved unanimously.
Comprehensive Plan Amendment Process
The highlight of the meeting was initiated by the second item on the business agenda, which was a follow-up on the Comprehensive Plan Amendment process for 2026 from Community Development Director Liz Stead and Senior Planner Chaney Skadsen. This pertained to the issue that has brought wave after wave of dissatisfied Burien residents to council meetings for months. In their presentation, they explained the details and process for amending the Comp and Zoning Plan.
Councilmember Mora’s Amendment
After the presentation, Councilmember Mora made an unexpected—but also very exciting and encouraging—move for the Burien residents in attendance. She introduced a motion to revise the Land Use Map to correct errors in the plan, specifically in the areas of Three Tree Point, Lake Burien, and Seahurst.
The full amendment reads as follows:
“I move to add the following to the docket of proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments and to direct staff to review and prepare proposed amendments to the land use and zoning sections for Council consideration and approval by the next council meeting:
Three Tree Point Amendment
Revise the land use map and re-designate all RL2 properties within Three Tree Point to RL1 in order to allow an areawide rezone from R-3 to R-1, and re-designate all commercial mixed-use designated properties within Three Tree Point to RL1 in order to facilitate an areawide rezone from MU-1 to R-1.Lake Burien Amendment
Revise the land use map and re-designate all RL2 properties adjacent to Lake Burien to RL1 in order to allow an areawide rezone from R-3 to R-1, excluding the Ruth Dykeman Center property.Seahurst Amendment
Revise the land use map and re-designate the Seahurst neighborhood from R-3 and R-2 to R-1 in order to allow an areawide rezone.Additionally, staff shall review and correct any areas that were erroneously zoned without the required application of SMP and Critical Areas regulations and restrictions, or that are inconsistent with these regulations (including, but not limited to, Three Tree Point, Lake Burien, and Seahurst).”
After a brief recess and an edit being made to the amendment by Councilmember Akey to instead submit a city-initiated application for consideration, the amendment passed 5-2. Councilmember Garcia and Deputy Mayor Moore were the only dissenting votes.
The council reviewed their Planning Calendar with the City Manager.
The meeting adjourned at 8:22 PM
