Notes from planning commission mtg. 4/22

The Burien Planning Commission meeting on 4/22/2026 held at 5:30pm at Burien City Hall (400 SW 152nd St) My Notes and reflections from planning meeting, 4/22 -City planner admits a consequence and goal of this plan is to phase out single family homes -700 jobs portion of the 4,770 needed, outlined in the 2044 Burien Comprehensive Plan to come from our little neighborhood specifically -the change will not be encouraging more residence in this neighborhood going forward -non-compatible businesses (very long list) currently include a daycare? Do they know that? -overlay of new “airport zones” within neighborhoods (1-3) has different allowances, restrictions on current and future living options, and personal business options. -amendments of the current zoning change proposal are totally outside of the city’s control, except they also haven't really finished it yet? -they were asked about SeaTac’s comprehensive plan, but they haven't read it yet. (Seriously?) -height restrictions on new development buildings are not possible, cannot possibly regulate development of the free market. (Wild West baby.) -keeps holding up a white binder of the Burien 2044 Comprehensive Plan as if it's the New Testament. -when I asked Liz during the Open House portion, about the possibility of the zone change being something other than Industrial, she said “no, not really” with a kind smile. -I asked if there was a possibility of the City Council not voting for this and maybe coming back to them with a changed plan that might be better suited, she said, “possible but it's very unlikely”. I'm wondering why there is even a Council vote at all then. The planning committee members had some thoughtful questions for the two city planners, Chaney and Liz, and some concerns of their own as well. After public statements from residents and perhaps even reading the discontent in the room, commissioners asked questions of the city planner on behalf of concerned residents and that was very appreciated. City planner Chaney is very good at making a NO answer take 5 minutes and drowning the questioner in feet of jargon. At one point a commissioner asked whether home businesses can still have an ability to build ADU’s for a certain time period after the change, she answered, “well, I’ll just let you finish your question”, he said. “I was finished”. She then had no real answer but carried on anyway changing the subject. She appears very driven to push this through regardless of residents’ concerns, public welfare, or shred of empathy. As if an automaton whose only directive is to ensure the replacement of human neighborhoods with industrialization and phantom job numbers. The lack of concern for the people here has been very disturbing. The real world human consequences of this new raw deal can potentially add more fates to the already daunting numbers of the unhoused in this area. This is a neighborhood of hard working families. Large families working several jobs with many dependents. Most are one injury or illness away from a possible foreclosure. This new rezone will harm their ability to refinance the home they've worked so hard for. That alone can be possibly catastrophic for many people here, resulting in further displacement. What happens to a house that now cares for an extended family of 5-10 people, no longer being able to keep their home due to medical bills? Should they take consolation that now there's a new wine bar/storage facility at the end of the street? Where's this neighborhood’s advocacy? No one has talked about any homeowners’ protections at all as if it hasn't been thought of. My frustration with this is not centered in Nimbyizm, but in the fear for the people in this community not being able to decide their own home safety and futures. It's difficult to say ‘Not in my backyard’, if you no longer have that backyard to say it in. This neighborhood has no sign on it that says “new changes are coming soon!” Some homes have been recently sold, imagine how those families will feel when they learn that this long-standing historical neighborhood they just bought into won’t exist moving forward? For the resident elders that have spent their whole lives here in the home they love, (and in some cases built with their own hands), this is an awful way to repay them for contributing everything they've had to offer to this place. There are alternatives to this Industrial zoning change that still be able to feed the (supposed) inalterable Burien 2044 Comprehensive plan its phantom job numbers, and I addressed some of those in my public statement at the planning meeting. It appears to me that the city planners don't really want to work that hard with the people here in mind because to be fair, it's not their city. They don't live here. They're not invested in the people here. We’re just numbers. This is just their job, or a stop on an ambitious career path. The Council should be thinking of the people here though. That's why they asked for our votes, I believe? They need to hear from everyone in and around this neighborhood so they have a full understanding of the impact they will be making here for better or worse. I really hope it’s for the better. If people can retain their full property rights while at the sametime benefit from the city’s encouragement of a home-based business strategy- that could help the city AND help the residents here without one day erasing this place for good. One of the paths keeps this neighborhood, the people, the trees, the environment, the history, the local elementary school funded, and a thriving community moving forward; and the other looks like a shitty Industrial corridor. But hey, apparently ya gotta find those phantom job numbers and future city tax incentives somewhere right? That's really all that matters in the end.