[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, submitted by a verified resident. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The B-Town Blog, nor its staff:]

I reviewed the Jan. 21, 2022 article that Nicholas Johnson wrote for The B-Town Blog. The DESC has moved to intervene in the lawsuit because the lawsuit was timely and properly filed.

I am writing to you with a concern about errors and false information provided to your reporter through the DESC’s court filings. It states, in a quote from the DESC, that due to us not filing an appeal by December 30, 2021, our complaint should be thrown out. This is misleading information obtained by the blog from the DESC court documents where they are wishing to join the lawsuit. Please let me explain as follows:

The Notice of Decision the DESC referenced in the article stated that:

“The City of Burien has issued the decision described above. Parties of record may appeal this decision to the Hearing Examiner pursuant to Burien Municipal Code Section 2.20.020.” (emphasis added).

There were only two parties of record—the City of Burien and the DESC. I, along with the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, were not required to appeal—we were not even entitled to appeal. Our only route forward was to file this lawsuit because the City of Burien refused to address our concerns. The lawsuit was properly filed and the Court’s ultimate decision will demonstrate that fact. I would politely ask that you print my response here, making clear that the lawsuit was properly filed and that the December 16, 2021 Notice of Decision only applied to the parties of record.

Thank you.

– John White
Seahurst

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have an opinion you’d like to share with our highly engaged local Readers? If so, please email your Letter to the Editor to [email protected] and, pending review and verification, we may publish it. Letter writers must use their full names and cite sources – as well as provide an address and phone number (NOT for publication but for verification purposes). Read our full Letter to the Editor submission guidelines here.

Since 2007, The B-Town Blog is Burien’s multiple award-winning hyperlocal news/events website dedicated to independent journalism.