As a citizen, each time I have tried to get information from the City of Burien, it has been like trying to milk a bull. Speaking nicely, pushing or pulling produces little results. The bucket remains empty and the bull gets angry.

The Neighbors of Seahurst Park have repeatedly tried to get the city to explain the procedures for an appeal to a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). We have concerns about the proposed Emerald Pointe/Westmark Condo Project and its impact to Seahurst Park and the wetlands.

No matter who we call or write to, we are always given the repeated, parroted same few lines from the Department of Community Development that "the City has concluded that the FEIS appeal procedures that apply in these circumstances are those procedures found in King County Code Chapter 20.44, attached as Exhibit A to Burien Ordinance 200, adopted June 1, 1998. Please refer to Section 20.44.120".

Having read the code, it is not clear who (the person) the appeal should be addressed to, what are the guidelines/grounds for filing an appeal, what are the exact timelines by which the appeal must be submitted and whether the responses have to be received by City Hall by a specific time or only postmarked by a specific time and date. This should not be a game of "hide the marble of information" between the city and its citizens.

Additionally, over 250 citizens have signed petitions asking the city to delineate the Seahurst Park wetland that is adjacent to the Westmark property. Those petitions have been delivered to the city council and nothing has been done other than to give us the same repeated, parroted response that the city, sort of, kind of, thinks it knows what the size and shape of the wetland might be. Almost only counts in the game of horseshoes; it does not hold up in a court of law. The city should be aware of this from the last court case it lost to the Westmark developer. How many citizen signatures does it take before the city takes citizen requests seriously?

Any citizen who has a concern about this condo project, how the FEIS will be presented to the citizens or the conditions for appeal, should immediately contact Mike Martin/City Manger, Scott Greenberg/Department of Community Development, or the city council members. The FEIS is scheduled to be available on May 27th or May 28th but the city does not yet appear to be forthcoming with information on how it is going to be handled.

The city is very eager to request our tax dollars but very stingy about sharing information and government processes with its citizens.

After all, Burien is a democracy and we do have freedom of information laws.

Bob Edgar

Burien