During its June 29, 2026 meeting, the Burien City Council balanced long-term urban planning with immediate community concerns.
Key discussions centered on upcoming Comprehensive Plan and zoning updates—including contentious changes near the Northeast Redevelopment Area (NERA)—alongside a unanimous vote to enact an immediate one-year moratorium on new data centers.
The council also evaluated a massive potential hike to the city’s historically low Transportation Impact Fees, heard alarms over rising local immigration arrests, and looked ahead to both the city’s annual 4th of July Parade and the potential relocation of Cascade Middle School.
Comp Plan & Zoning Updates
Senior Planner Chaney Skadsen gave presentations on potential updates to the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which can be updated once per year, and a North of NERA rezone. The Comp Plan updates include some zoning changes at Three Tree Point and Lake Burien.
During Public Comments, speakers talked about North of NERA (Northeast Redevelopment Area) zoning changes. Due to its proximity to the airport this area could be reclassified as light industrial, while allowing residential and commercial use to continue. Commenters said these zoning changes will erase an entire neighborhood, as well as reduce their property value. Skadsen said they tried to tailor the zoning changes in a way that will minimally impact the community, while allowing a shift in the future. Changes will not restrict current residents or businesses in the area, even allowing for the construction of new ADU’s, under a special zoning label.
Chaney said anyone interested in the details of these updates can attend a July 1 webinar, where she will walk through every single proposed change of the Plan. There will be a public hearing on these changes at the July 8th Planning Commission meeting. The city council will be briefed on Planning Commission recommendations on Sept. 14. Final adoption of any approved changes will take place Oct. 12.
Immigration Arrests On The Rise
During Public Comments, one speaker said they have been closely monitoring ICE arrests in Burien since January. June has been the most active month this year, with 11 known kidnappings, with a total of 32 in 2026. She said these arrests generally take place at the start of the week, in the mornings. However, she did add that there are certainly more arrests that the group does not know about. She added that this organization helps the impacted families deal with the burden of losing a family member, helping to cover the costs of groceries or towing fees.
4th Of July Parade
Councilmember Alex Andrade mentioned that this weekend will be Burien’s Annual 4th of July Parade. The parade begins at 11 a.m. and runs for two hours. The procession travels through downtown Burien along SW 152nd Street. The popular event is Burien’s largest parade, featuring 80 parade entries.
Transportation Impact Fee Update
Staff have been comparing city fees with those of other cities in the region, and found Burien’s Transportation Impact Fee (TIF) to be well below that of its peers. This is a one-time fee on new development, which helps pay for improvements to infrastructure impacted by the development. Burien’s TIF is the fourth lowest in the state, at $948. The state average is $5,486, with comparable cities charging $8,104.
Staff recommend phasing in a rate increase every three years, in order to minimally hamper development. Proposed fees would increase to $7,122 in 2027, $9,259 in 2030, and $11,395 in 2033. Other cities are expected to increase their fees as well, bringing up the current average that developers will look at. There would be significant reductions for certain types of development, such as affordable housing, early learning facilities, and ADUs.
Deputy Mayor Hugo Garcia said that this was an important update, and that he was glad to see it being prioritized. His only issue with the plan was that the phase-in seemed too slow. He thought that an increase every two years would be more appropriate, since Burien’s rate is currently so far behind other cities.
Concerns Over New School
Deputy Mayor Hugo Garcia expressed concerns with traffic impacts related to a potential new school in Burien. Highline Public Schools is considering rebuilding Cascade Middle School at the Shark Garden location. Cascade Middle School is currently located in White Center. If the bond for this project is approved, this would be the first time an entirely new school was built in Burien, in many years. The council will discuss the potential impacts of this at a future meeting.
Data Center Moratorium Approved
The council unanimously approved an emergency, 1-year moratorium on new data centers. This is to give staff time to research the drawbacks and benefits of data centers, such as resource utilization and job creation. Interim City Attorney Ann Marie Soto said Burien doesn’t have anyone knowledgeable on data centers on staff, so the wording and definition for data centers used in the moratorium was borrowed from Seattle. The moratorium is effective immediately.
Video
Watch full, raw video of this meeting here:
