Times/News

The owner of the Meal Makers restaurant property will appeal a recent court ruling that would allow the city of Burien to take their land for development of Town Square.

Robin Oldfelt, a spokeswoman for Strobel Family Trust, told the Times/News on Aug. 12 that "we'll follow all avenues of appeal to be able to keep our property and develop it according to the original Town Square objectives."

King County Superior Court Judge Michael Heavey determined on Aug. 5 that acquisition by the city of the property owned by Strobel Family Trust is in the public interest because the property will be put to public use.

The city wants to extend Southwest 151st Street to Fourth Avenue South as part of the Town Square project. Plans call for locating the street extension through the restaurant site.

But, Oldfelt declared, "We have not given up and still hope to develop our land. We're filing for our development permit with Burien to build the connected structures on our property that we presented to the citizens of Burien on May 2 and published in [the Times/News] on May 18.

She also claimed that City Manager Gary Long had "deliberately asked city staff to put a road though Meal Makers.

"The judge accepted ... testimony that the city deliberately chose to put the road right through the Meal Makers building, but indicated that he felt the law allowed the city to do so.

"We disagree," Oldfelt added, citing two state Supreme Court decisions that suggest the city is required to try to avoid harming property owners because there were alternatives.

Strobel's alternate plans "make much better use of our property than those of the city of Burien and better promote the Town Square concepts of appropriate density and use of space," she said.

Those plans include keeping Meal Makers Restaurant in its current location and adding a new facade to match the design of the rest of Town Square.

"Our plans provide the sought after luxury residential units and a total of 23,000 square feet of retail/office space on our 28,400 square foot parcel," Oldfelt stated.

"Our offer ... to [restaurant owner] Kevin Fitz and his employees still stands.

"Meal Makers can stay in its current location on the same lease terms he has now for as long as Kevin wants to keep his restaurant there," she continued.

The city is spending too much on Town Square