In response to a reader's dismay over the City Hall/Library color and design:

Certainly if the new City Hall/Library were a residence, it wouldn't fit in with the homogenized faux village being planned.

However a library is not a simple residence. It should stand on it's own merit, so that in 50 years no one will look at it and say, "Oh, yes, that was built in the early 2000s when every small town was imitating shopping mall architecture."

If we are very lucky, it may make Burien stand apart from Kent Station, Redmond Town Center, Renton Landing and all the other towns currently being "revitalized" with designed obsolesce. We can set our sites higher. We might have a tourist destination like libraries in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

Now, can we hope for more? This may be our first public building with a view of Mt. Rainier. Will there be a cafe at the top so everyone can enjoy it?

Heidi Clarke

Burien (for 37 years)