The Burien City Council agreed on procedure to discuss the Shoreline Master Program, but that agreement was far from unanimous.

Work on the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) by the Council will begin Monday, June 14 with the first of two public forums.

At the first forum a panel of scientists and biologists would give presentations and answer questions about the ecology and health of the Puget Sound and Lake Burien. Staff said they were open to scientists recommended to them by the community. However, a process was not given for those scientists to be chosen.

Names of any candidates should be sent to Scott Greenberg, Burien community development director, or David Johanson, Burien senior city planner.

Greenberg told the Council, at their May 10 meeting, they were envisioning a question and answer period from the community and council members of the scientists, as well as a back and forth between each-other.

The meeting is scheduled to be up to three hours long.

Councilmember Brian Bennett said he wanted to avoid advocacy in the experts.

Mayor Joan McGilton said the amount of science you get from 15-minute presentations is negligible and it turns into six hours of advocacy.

The second forum, which would be held on June 21, would address buffers, vegetation and non-conformance as well as what is required by the State in the Shoreline Management Act and how that compares with Burien’s Shoreline Management Program draft.

The Council is planning to approve the Burien Shoreline Management Program and send it to the Department of Ecology for Approval by August 30.

Staff presented the Council with two options for the topics at the public forums. The one the Council ultimately decided upon was more science heavy, leaving all of the property rights issues until the second forum. The second option addressed non-conformance and vegetation at the first meeting, and bulkheads and public access at the second forum.

A public hearing, in addition to the forums, will be held on August 16. Johanson said because a public hearing was held while the Planning Commission was reviewing it legally the City does not need to hold a public hearing. But, he said throughout the process citizens had been told a public hearing would be held, so he did not feel it was optional.

The Council was split four to three on which approach to take. In the end, Councilmembers Gordon Shaw, Brian Bennett, Kathy Keene and Mayor McGilton were in favor of having a forum for the science first and discussing property rights and citizen concerns at the second meeting.

McGilton said the option was linear and logical.

Deputy Mayor Rose Clark said she wanted to finish the process by August 2. “I don’t see the point in dragging it out,” Clark said. She did not want to extend the process because some people had not heard about the SMP update, saying people need to pay attention.

She said as it is the SMP is going to be taking up the Councils entire summer, and there are other important matters for the Council to discuss.

Councilmember Lucy Krakowiak said she was in favor of either making the public hearing a third forum, or holding a third forum in addition to the public hearing. Krakowiak was also in favor of having some kind of a review of the document at the end of the process.