A Lake Burien neighborhood organization and individual petitioners have filed an appeal challenging the Washington State Department of Ecology’s (DOE) approval and the City’s adoption of the Shoreline Master Program Update. The Growth Management Hearings Board will hold a hearing on the appeal in May 2014.

Under the state Shoreline Management Act, each city and county with shorelines must adopt a Shoreline Master Program (SMP) and regular updates. Work on Burien’s update began in May 2008 and has been through numerous meetings and hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council. A citizens group, the Burien Shoreline Working Group, in 2012 proposed changes to the draft shoreline master program where DOE and the City could not agree. The proposed modifications were vital in allowing DOE and the City to resolve areas of disagreement. Ultimately an amended version was approved by both the City and DOE in 2013.