Burien

North Highline Annexation:  Area residents are getting numerous opportunities to comment on the potential annexation of the North Highline unincorporated area at meetings in May and June both in Burien and in North Highline. The City of Burien is holding three “community conversations” to give Burien residents the chance to speak out on the annexation. King County is holding four Open Houses in May in North Highline to give residents of the unincorporated area the opportunity to speak out. Burien has signed on to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Seattle and King County to jointly examine the potential annexation of all or part of the North Highline unincorporated area. Burien is studying how annexation (or no annexation) would impact police and fire services it currently shares with the North Highline community, the costs of replacing or duplicating those services, the costs of providing other municipal services in North Highline, and the overall impact on the character of Burien.

Town Square Deposit:  The City, on March 31, received a down payment of $233,300 from Town Square developer Urban Partners for the purchase of City-owned property where Town Square’s residential, professional and retail buildings will be constructed. Both the City and Urban Partners so far have met every deadline in the public-private partnership to build Town Square.  When completed in 2009, Town Square will have more than 300 condominiums and apartments, retail shops, restaurants, professional offices, a new City Hall/Library and a one-acre public plaza and park, which will become the community’s main gathering space. Construction is set to begin in fall 2006, with the demolition of existing buildings at the site. 

Road Repair Project Recognized: A major road repair project in Burien has received national recognition as a Public Works Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association. The project was to repair the extensive damage to the roadway from the Nisqually Earthquake in 2001. Maplewild Avenue Southwest is a narrow road that is cut into the side of a steep slope that drops to the Puget Sound waterfront and provides access to the Three Tree Point neighborhood. Construction was completed in May 2005.

Clean Sweep: Burien residents and businesses teamed up to give downtown and some residential neighborhoods a good spring cleaning at the annual Burien Clean Sweep held Saturday, April 29. Participants gathered at 8 a.m. Saturday at the downtown fire station and were given specific areas to clean up. They picked up litter, swept sidewalks, and weeded and planted flowers in some areas. They ended the cleaning session at a free lunch party provided by Burien merchants. While this popular annual event has focused primarily on the downtown area, last year it expanded into the residential neighborhoods.

Submitted by: David Cline

Interim City Manager

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