The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by verified Burien shoreline resident who attended the August 19 Burien Planning Workshop on how to submit a comprehensive plan change request. The author has requested anonymity.
[NOTE FROM EDITOR: Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Burien.News or Daniel Media. If you wish to submit a story, photo, article or letter, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.]
The Burien City Planning Department held a meeting August 19th to review the process for updating the Comprehensive Plan as mandated by the City Council months ago. This direction by the Council was due to the uproar of citizens regarding last-minute changes to the plan by City Staff at the end of 2024. The last-minute changes to the plan had massive increases in zoning density, far exceeding what is required by the state.
So the meeting was held….. as far as a process? What a joke. I knew the City Staff would make updates difficult, but what was presented tonight was an impressive demonstration of bureaucratic warfare. Charging citizens $2,500 to $7,500 to fix what the city screwed up. How dare we challenge their plan.
Once again, the City Staff demonstrated tonight their complete contempt for any kind of reasonable process that might thwart their activist agenda. They ignored the city council mandate for an expedited amendment process by delaying until mid-August to have any engagement. City staff laid out how required inputs should be received by the city 30 days prior to the November 1st deadline. That’s 6 weeks from tonight’s meeting for citizens to try and navigate the labyrinth of bureaucratic hurdles they have created. This timing was well thought out by staff knowing that in the final weeks of summer most folks have other commitments and plans.
Staff also misrepresented the unelected Puget Sound Regional Council and other agencies as having requirements that must be adhered to which is not true. Other agencies have input, but it is not their plan to control. The planning staff flipped the current comprehensive plan and zoning map at the last minute in December of 2024 and hoodwinked the City Council. But now citizens must complete new SEPA assessments, fill out their amendments for changes, have pre-meetings with planning staff, etc and submit in 6 weeks!
Well played City Staff…… appear to comply with the Council’s instructions but just lead them and city residents along and continue with your plan as you see fit. In the private sector, a number of staff would have been fired months ago. But this is the government…….
There is an old saying in business…. If you can’t change the people, then you must change the people. Burien could and should do much better moving forward.
Signed,
A Burien Shoreline Neighbor
[NOTE FROM EDITOR: If you wish to submit a story, photo, article or letter, please contact us or email info@Burien.News. Even if you wish to remain anonymous, please include your name and phone number so we may contact you privately. We look forward to hearing from you.]
