On Monday October 28, 2024, the Port of Seattle presented its newly released “Sustainable Airport Master Plan” (SAMP) to the Burien City Council.
Several Burien council members asked pertinent questions at the council meeting, but most of the queries were deferred by the presenter, Dave Kaplan. The Burien Airport Committee, chaired by Councilmember Sarah Moore, has been digging into the 4,000+ page document, trying to decipher what it means for Burien and its residents.
The committee’s vice chair, Brian Davis, also testified (in his personal capacity) at the council meeting, advising Burien residents, “I can’t say emphatically enough how important it is for residents of our city to get involved in this process.”
In his statement, Davis introduced several important concepts about the long-term ramifications of this master plan, especially since the analysis seems to ignore negative “cumulative effects” of the airport and related transportation projects like the current SR-509 project, which will bring thousands more vehicles along the Burien highway daily.
Detrimental airport effects include air quality, sound (which needs mitigation), loss of property value, and health, which disproportionately affects poorer, residential neighborhoods, especially in Boulevard Park, which Davis calls “airport alley.”
Here is our interview with Brian where he shared some of what the committee has found – and more importantly – how residents can make a difference in Burien’s future.
The Port of Seattle SeaTac Airport traffic will continue to expand, there’s no stopping it, so now is the time for residents to advocate for Burien’s equitable compensation.
One Response
After listening to Brian Davis’ discussion of the SAMP I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I lived for decades between Seatac Airport and I-509. We recently moved to Seahurst to get away from the noise of both. I was shocked to learn how greatly the value of my house and property was reduced because of its proximity between Seatac and I-509. I was heartened by Mr. Davis’s comments about not being able to stop the expansion of Seatac Airport, but, rather, the effort should be about making effected residents not bear the total burden of this expansion. He commented that during the discussion of the 3rd runway Burien’s efforts were to stop its construction, and that this did not happen.
At the time I felt that this effort would be in vain, and that proved to be the case. I’ve always felt that one way to mitigate the effects on property values would be to have the Port of Seattle subsidize the property taxes of the properties adjacent to Seatac. That would partially compensate the owners for the reduced property values caused by the noise and pollution. I would like to see subsidized property taxes be part of the conversation in addition other mitigations from the beginning. I guess now I’m going to have to go to the meeting on November 14th.
Ken Becker – Seahurst