The Burien Planning Commission held a meeting on Wednesday night June 26, 2024 to discuss the “Shape Your City” plan and make recommendations for zoning code changes.

The plan aims to meet state-mandated growth targets while prioritizing walkable neighborhoods, affordable housing, and a balance between residential and commercial development.

Shape Your City Presentation

The Planning Commission heard an update on Shape Your City, which provided recommendations for zoning changes based on two years of public engagement. These recommendations will help meet state-required growth targets, increasing both jobs and housing units throughout the city. Residential density helps to create thriving businesses by increasing the customer base, while increasing businesses can improve walkability and access to services and necessities like groceries in each neighborhood.

The themes of the Shape Your City recommendations are the following:

Strengthen Ties to Place – Maintaining cultural significance in each community.
Safer & Healthier Communities – This includes walkability and access to transit, as well as minimizing air and noise pollution.
Grow With Intention – Maintaining affordable housing, as well as equitably distributing growth and services throughout the city.

The plan includes utilizing tax exemptions to incentivise developments that focus on both affordable and market-rate multifamily housing. These higher density developments will be along bus routes, reducing the need for parking. In addition, the plan includes connecting existing bike routes to make the city more bikeable. For more details on what zoning changes will mean for various regions of the city, you can check out this Letter To The Editor from a former member of the Planning Commission.

Public Comments

Commenters generally supported increasing residential density, and one suggested lowering the parking requirements for new developments, as other cities have done. They said that streets should be made safer for walking in our neighborhoods instead of designing just for cars.

One commenter expressed concerns that a neighborhood north of Downtown has been included in the “downtown core.” She worried that this community would be destroyed by multi-story developments.

Another commenter said that flood issues in Boulevard Park still need to be addressed. Later in the meeting, Interim Public Works Director Glenn Akramoff mentioned that there are “a couple of projects going on” in Boulevard Park to address the flooding, one of which is experiencing temporary delays. Funding is expected from the Army Corps of Engineers, and Akramoff explained that projects with the Corps take a long time to process. However, the sewer district is working on getting septic conversion to the neighborhood, an expensive transition which will help with the flooding issues.

Planning Commission Asks For More Info

It was mentioned that developers point to parking requirements as the biggest impediment to making a new development pencil out. It was also pointed out that we are in a time when many people don’t own cars, as public transit is being improved and its use encouraged. The Commission asked staff to bring them examples from other cities including Seattle, which has reduced its parking requirements for new developments.

The next Planning Commission meeting will be on July 3rd, when the Commission should solidify their final recommendations to the city council. The July 3rd meeting will take place on the 3rd floor of City Hall, rather than in the first floor meeting room, due to a scheduling conflict.

New Murals In 152nd Art Alley

Planning Commission Chair Shelli Park shared that new murals have been painted along the SW 152nd Art Alley. She said people should check out these “dynamic and beautiful” pieces.

Housing On Church Owned Land

The Planning Commission Director shared that in the future the Commission will discuss the possibility of allowing affordable housing on religious sites. Creating affordable housing on the extensive properties owned by churches throughout the city could help to increase housing density and affordable options.