This home along Burien’s Three Tree Point shoreline was severely damaged by a 2010 storm. The home, which was occupied by Dane Johnson and Kathy Justin was scheduled to be demolished on Wednesday, April 24. Johnson said that while the couple won their lawsuit against their insurance company, the award funds were not enough to pay off the mortgage and pay to demolish the house.
After five often-tortuous years, the Burien City Council is set to approve this month a shoreline master plan that will likely be approved by the state.
The council will hold a public hearing May 6 on a compromise plan worked out by an ad hoc committee. The hearing will be held as part of the regular 7 p.m. council meeting in the City Hall/Library multipurpose room, 400 S.W. 152nd St.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the plan May 20 and send it on to the state Department of Ecology (DOE), which must OK it.
On May 23, 2011, the state agency approved Burien’s previous plan with a few required changes. But when the city and DOE could not agree on the changes, the state agency was set to formally deny the city’s plan but held off after the city decided to form a committee to come up with a compromise over a few sticking points.
The largest controversy concerned setback requirements along the city’s Puget Sound shoreline.
After fierce lobbying by marine waterfront homeowners, the council established a 20-foot setback between the ordinary high water mark and a home or building.
The DOE insisted on a 65-foot setback (50 foot buffer plus an additional 15-foot setback.)
At the April 22 council meeting, ad hoc committee chair Michael Noakes, who is also president of the Burien Marine Homeowners Association, offered a compromise.
Noakes suggested that each marine property be split up into two zones, one closest to the water and the other one landward of the water.
In the first zone, any new adverse impacts would be severely limited, according to Noakes. No new impervious surfaces would be allowed and vegetation would have to be left intact.
In the second zone, some adverse impacts would be allowed if mitigated by restoration in Zone 1, Noakes said.
In marine areas already highly altered, the setback requirement would be 20 feet in Zone 1. Some adverse conditions would be allowed in the next 15 feet of Zone 2 if mitigated in Zone 1. Noakes said about 25 percent of the city’s marine properties fall in this category.
About 53 percent of the Puget Sound waterfront properties in Burien are considered altered. In this category, Zone 1 would be 30 feet and Zone 2, 15 feet.
In natural marine areas, about 23 percent of the properties, the Zone 1 setback is 50 feet and Zone 2 is 100 feet. Noakes noted the natural area setbacks in the compromise plan are expanded from the DOE’s recommendations.
Setbacks on Lake Burien have not been controversial, Noakes noted. The compromise sets the Lake Burien setbacks as 30 feet in Zone 1 and 15 feet in Zone 2.
Noakes indicated DOE staffers have looked favorably on the compromise.
He said waterfront homeowners could have an easy worksheet to evaluate setback requirements and needed mitigation for their properties.
“I have thanked you numerous times for changing my mind on this,” Councilmember Joan McGilton told Noakes. “What changed my mind was your work in documenting this,
“No other city has done the work to clarify areas susceptible to near shore impact.”
Noakes estimated he walked the beach from Three Tree Point to Shorewood at least three times during the course of the ad hoc committee’s work.
McGilton emphasized that education not regulations is the important thing in maintaining the health of Puget Sound along the developed shoreline. She said she hoped the city could put together an educational program for marine property owners.
She added that native vegetation is a better permeable surface than grass lawns.
Another sticking point between the city and DOE involved the launching of watercraft on Lake Burien if public access areas are allowed in the future. Burien wanted to ban the watercraft but the DOE said it was premature to place a ban in the city’s shoreline plan until the public access points are established.
Noakes said the ad hoc committee agreed with DOE.
Noakes also emphasized a destroyed home in the marine area would be allowed to be rebuilt on its previous footprint.
He said bulkheads could be restored to their previous condition but different or larger bulkheads would not be allowed, according to the shoreline plan.
