The Burien City Council will be reviewing and discussing – and possibly making a decision – about four possible sites being considered for a homeless encampment at its Monday night (July 17, 2023) regular meeting.

Information on these sites were previously requested when Council directed city staff for a general profile on each property, which can be found starting on page 5 of the council packet.

The four sites under consideration include three located within Burien, and one just north of the city’s northern border on S. 116th Street.

The potential sites are as follows:

1. Former Lora Lake site in the Northeast Redevelopment Area (NERA)

This property is owned by the Port of Seattle and consists of four lots, and in this case would become a potential shared project site between City and Port. It was previously the site of the Lora Lake Apartment Complex, which was demolished as part of the third runway expansion project. The southern-most portion of the open land was used as a dredged material containment area, and the property falls under the Airport Industrial 1 (A1) zone, which prohibits new residential development. Therefore, villages, pallet homes, and sanctioned camps are not permissible in this zone. The proposed long-term use for this property is as City of Burien fleet maintenance and storage, as well as airport support facilities. Previous uses of the lot include residential housing (Lora Lake Apartments), Burien Auto Wrecking, and Novak Barrel Cleaning Company, which involved washing barrels containing contaminated materials. The property has undergone extensive cleanup efforts by the Port to remove hazardous chemicals and contaminated materials, although some contamination remains capped for protection.

2. City-owned lot on SW 150th Street

This property is currently leased to Burien Toyota (since 2014) on a month-to-month basis. It falls under the Downtown Commercial zone, where villages, pallet homes, and sanctioned camps are not permitted. The lessee uses the lot for staging one-third of their car inventory. The business owner has expressed a request for continued access to the full lot, as losing it could lead to a reduction in their workforce, potentially affecting 20 to 30 jobs (read our previous coverage about their letter to the council here). The loss of the lot may also result in a considerable loss of tax revenue for the City of Burien.

3. Beverly Park School (closed)

This property, owned by Highline Public Schools, is located just 30-feet outside Burien city limits. The field area of the property has been offered as a potential site for hosting a temporary shelter facility. King County has expressed interest in supporting Burien’s use of this location. Currently, the building is used for storage and occasional robotics events, while the field stores six unused modular buildings. The field is completely enclosed by a chain-linked fence, with controlled ingress and egress through designated areas.

4. Lot at S. 136th Street and 3rd Ave S.

This property – located just northeast of Kennedy Catholic High School – is owned by Seattle City Light and falls under the Residential Single Family – 7,200 zone. Similar to the other zones, villages, pallet homes, and sanctioned camps are not permitted here. The lot is currently used as a staging area for a local construction project and contains a significant amount of heavy vegetation. The presence of sensitive environmental areas on the lot cannot be confirmed through the county and city’s GIS system.

Information provided in the packet is meant to serve as a guide for the council’s consideration, and further in-depth information on preferred locations may also be conducted by city personnel at council’s direction.

The council is scheduled to evaluate each site’s potential and the implications of using them as homeless encampments, and possibly make a decision Monday night.

Which One Should Council Pick? Take Our Poll

We’re curious – which site do you think the council should choose? Please take our poll and/or leave a comment below:

The post Here are the 4 sites the Burien City Council will consider for a homeless encampment – which one should they pick? Take our poll appeared first on The B-Town (Burien) Blog.