Burien resident John White has expressed concerns to the City of Burien about the upcoming demolition of the Eagle Landing Stairs – budgeted at $721,093 – which is set to start in December.
White wants other residents to learn more about his last-ditch efforts to save the Eagle Landing Stairs, and will be holding a public walk of them this Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, starting at Noon at The Bean coffee stand in Seahurst.
He also plans to speak during public comment at Monday night’s (Nov. 20) Burien City Council meeting and encourages others to as well.
White is concerned about the impact of the construction on his property next door to the stairs, the noise generated by the demolition, and also is still trying one last time to save the stairs, the demolition of which he says will cost the City at least $800,000, possibly more with cost overruns.
“What would you do, spend $800,000 tearing the stairs out or saving the city $800,000 to use for other more important issues?” White told The B-Town Blog. “We spent $1 million buying the property, we spent nearly $1 million building the stairs, now we’re going to spend nearly $1 million tearing them down when there’s nothing wrong with them?”
The City said it has hired a contractor for the demolition, and plans to post its “Notice to Proceed” on Nov. 27, 2023. The contract provides for 40 working days, so the actual date the work will begin would be up to the contractor, and also dependent on weather.
In his letter to the City (full text below), White highlighted that the easement agreement between the City and his property does not grant the City the right to shut down the Eagle Landing Park parking area for use as a construction site. He requested that the City ensure measures are in place to minimize any inconvenience caused by the construction, such as alternative access routes or temporary parking arrangements.
White also expressed concerns about the noise generated by the demolition of the concrete piers, noting that his home is less than 200 feet from the demolition area. He requested that the City provide him with advanced notice of when the construction activities are scheduled to begin so that he can make appropriate arrangements.
The City of Burien responded to White’s concerns in an email from Surface Water Management Engineer Dan O’Brien. O’Brien stated that the City is planning to close down the park to the public during construction and that the contractor has agreed that White’s driveway will not be impacted or blocked. He also noted that the City is planning to use the parking area for the contractor’s staff parking.
O’Brien stated that the City will provide White with another update when it has a better idea of when exactly the actual demolition work will begin.
Video Shows Condition of Stairs
Here’s a video White shot where he shows the condition of the stairs using a level measuring tool:
Here’s White’s letter, following by O’Brien’s response:
City of Burien Public Works
400 SW 152nd St
Burien, WA 98166Subject: Concerns and Request for Notification Regarding Eagle Landing Stairs Demolition
Dear Maiya Andrews,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I am writing to bring to your attention some concerns we have regarding the upcoming demolition of the Eagle Landing Stairs, which are located adjacent to our property in close proximity to Eagle Land Park. We are also the providers of a non-exclusive easement that grants the City of Burien the right to use six parking stalls for visitors to the park.
Firstly, I would like to highlight that the easement agreement does not grant the City of Burien the right to shut down the parking area for use as a construction site. As such, we are concerned that the construction activity associated with the demolition may disrupt the passage to our home, as the shared driveway to the park is also the entrance to our property. We kindly request that you ensure measures are in place to minimize any inconvenience caused by the construction, such as alternative access routes or temporary parking arrangements, if necessary.
Furthermore, we anticipate that the demolition of the concrete piers will require the use of jackhammers and generate significant noise. As residents in close proximity to the site, our home being less than 200-feet from the demolition area, this noise disturbance is of great concern to us. In order to mitigate this issue, we are considering planning a vacation during the period of demolition to avoid the noise problem. Therefore, we kindly request that you provide us with advanced notice of when the construction activities are scheduled to begin, so that we can make appropriate arrangements.
We value the importance of maintaining and improving our community spaces, such as Eagle Landing Park. However, we hope that our concerns regarding access and noise can be addressed in a manner that ensures minimal disruption to our daily lives.
We kindly ask that you take our concerns into consideration and keep us informed regarding the schedule for the demolition of the stairs. We greatly appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to receiving your response.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Yours sincerely,
John White
Here is the City of Burien’s reply:
From: Dan O’Brien dano@burienwa.gov
Date: November 16, 2023 at 11:47:24 AM PST
To: ForestLedge@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Eagle Landing Park stair demolitionJohn, I wanted to provide you an update on the construction schedule and plan for the Eagle Landing Park stair removal.
We now have the contractor under contract, and plan to send the Notice to Proceed on November 27. The contract provides 40 working days, so the actual date the work would begin would be up to the contractor (and weather dependent).
We are also planning to close down the park to the public during construction, and expect to offer the use of the parking are for the contractor (likely for staff parking). We have explained to the contractor our easement with you and they agreed that your driveway will not be impacted or blocked. We anticipate the majority of the project access will come from the maintenance entrance off the one-way street just south.
I’m happy to give you another update when we have a better idea of when the actual demo work might begin.
Dan O’Brien, P.E.
Surface Water Management Engineer
Read our extensive previous coverage of the Eagle Landing Stairs issue here.
