News, Neighbors of Seahurst Park

We will update this page/site with new information as it becomes available, so please check back frequently. The latest news is posted at the top.

Join us at 7:30 PM on Friday November 27, 2008 at the E.B. Foote Winery at 127-B SW 153rd Street in Burien. This will be a chance to taste some award winning, locally produced wine, learn about the winery, and to hear a talk by a guest speaker. Our speaker will Greg Wingard one of the founding members of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. Their organization participated in the making of the award winning Poisoned Waters video recently aired on PBS. His talk will focus on the effectiveness and power of grassroots movements. Ticket cost will be $10 per person, $5 of which goes to the legal fund, $5 pays for the wine. Additional donations are always welcome of course.

Space is limited, so for guaranteed admittance, please <RSVP> by email or call (206) 618-1742 and we can hold a ticket at the door for you. Ticket purchases [and any additional donations] will need to be by cash or check, please pay at the door. Receipts are available on request.

Dress warmly and comfortably, the winery is chilly. Guests for the wine tasting must be 21 or older. Coffee, cider, tea and cocoa will also be available. Parking is available in the lot on SW 153rd St. then use the well marked stairs to get down to the winery. There is limited winery level parking in the alley on the south side of the building for those who can't use the stairs.

E.B. Foote Winery was founded in 1978, bought by the current owners in 1991, and moved to Burien in 1999. They started winning awards with their second vintage, and haven't stopped since. They produce about 2,200 cases of wine each year. Details on which wines will be presented will be posted soon. All of the wines including the winery's other vintages will also be available for purchase by the glass (with a couple of exceptions), bottle and/or case. Mixed cases are available. Wine purchases by the glass are cash only, other purchases can be by cash, check or credit card. The winery also has a Gift Shop. More information about the winery including directions and a map are available on the E.B. Foote Winery web site.

Our Saturday June 13, 2009 sale at the Shorewood Streets of Yard Sales event was a huge success. We were set up on 16th Ave SW just off of SW 130th St, near the north end of Seahurst Park. Friends and supporters of Seahurst Park donated lots of great items for the sale, and we raised a significant amount of money. Thank you to all the donors and buyers. Watch for us again next year. And if you're cleaning out your garage, please keep us in mind.

As of October 2008 two pages with information about the Wetlands and the potential impact of the development are now hosted on this site. They have not been updated, but the information is still relevant. There's a Seahurst Park Wetlands information page, and an analysis of the impact of the development based on the Critical Areas ordinances.

This Google Map shows the approximate boundary [in red] of the Project property and the adjoining area of the Park, including an estimated boundary for the wetlands. You may need to zoom out to see the whole area.

50 people turned out for the wine tasting, and were very generous. R. L. Streater put on a great show and everyone had a wonderful time. The original announcement is below.

Join us at 7:30 PM on November 28, 2008 at the E.B. Foote Winery at 127-B SW 153rd Street in Burien. This will be a chance to taste some award winning, locally produced wine, learn about the winery, and to hear a talk by R. L. Streater, a conservationist, author, humorist and fisherman. Richard is the author of "The Fishing Lure Collector's Bible" and will be giving a humorous talk on little known fishing inventions that never quite worked, including showing some of his collection. He is also a member of the Western Bass Club, B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, N.F.L.C.C. (National Fishing Lure Collector's Club), Puget Sound Anglers, NOWA (Northwest Outdoor Writers Assoc.) and the Alumni Assoc. for the University of Minnesota. He is willing to look at old tackle and lures for people who would like to know more about what they have.

Dress warmly and comfortably, the winery is chilly. Tickets are $8 [$3 of which benefits the NoSP legal fund and is tax deductible] and space is limited, so for guaranteed admittance, please <RSVP> by email or call (206) 618-1742 and we can hold a ticket at the door for you. Ticket purchases [and any additional donations] will need to be by cash or check, please pay at the door. Receipts are available on request. Guests for the wine tasting must be 21 or older. Coffee, cider, tea and cocoa will be available for those who don't drink wine. Parking is available in the lot on SW 153rd St. then use the well marked stairs to get down to the winery. There is limited winery level parking in the alley on the south side of the building for those who can't use the stairs.

E.B. Foote Winery was founded in 1978, bought by the current owners in 1991, and moved to Burien in 1999. They started winning awards with their second vintage, and haven't stopped since. They produce about 2,200 cases of wine each year. The wine tasting will offer 6 wines, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The six wines (in order) will be 2006 Syrah, Rainy Day Red IV, 2004 Merlot, 2004 Cab-Merlot, 2005 Cabernet and 2005 Perfect à Trois. All of the wines including the winery's other vintages will also be available for purchase by the glass (with a couple of exceptions), bottle and/or case. Mixed cases are available. Wine purchases by the glass are cash only, other purchases can be by cash, check or credit card. See the Price List for details. The winery also has a Gift Shop. More information about the winery including directions and a map are available on the E.B. Foote Winery web site.

The event was a great success with over 50 people showing up to pitch in. The group pulled ivy off of the old caretaker's house and a couple of nearby trees, removed several large holly trees, including one that was going to seed, and cleared blackberries and other invasives from two areas near the North Shelter. In one area some ferns were planted to replace them. See SeahurstPark.org for details.

September 10, 2008: Some time ago Westmark Development asked the Highline School District to allow them an easement or the right to purchase some surplus School property so that they could use it for easier access to the proposed Emerald Pointe Condominiums. The School Board has been considering the request and listened to the concerns of the citizens who signed petitions asking them to turn down the request. They spent time and money looking at all the factors involved and were ready to vote on it on September 10, 2008.

In a letter dated September 3, 2008 Westmark asked the Highline School District to postpone a decision on their request until the first part of 2009, and if that was not possible, that they be allowed to withdraw their bid. Because of the last minute notice [after well over a year of discussion] there were several changes to the Meeting Agenda in the few days prior to the meeting. In the end the Board had a Consent Agenda item to vote on the withdrawal and not the postponement. Prior to voting the Board pulled the item from the Consent Agenda so that they could discuss it. The Board members all stated that they would have voted against granting the easement under the current conditions. They made some strong statements about integrity, the need to listen to citizens, the value of the natural environment and their duties as Stewards of the Public Trust. After expressing their serious concerns about the potential environmental damage that the Emerald Pointe Project might cause, they returned the proposal to withdraw the request to the Consent Agenda and voted to allow the withdrawal.

We want to thank the Staff and Board of the Highline School District for their careful and detailed consideration of all aspects of the proposal. It is a real pleasure to see elected officials that really listen and respond to the concerns of the public. This Highline Times article has more information on the statements made by the School Board.

Please keep in mind that this only one step in the fight to protect Seahurst Park and Puget Sound from the potential damage that this development could cause if it is built as it is currently planned. We need to continue our fund raising efforts so that we can pay for more technical experts and for legal costs. Please see our How to Help page.

Posted September 9, 2008: The Westmark property is back on the School Board Agenda as of Tuesday morning. This is a change since yesterday. They will be voting on something related to the Westmark request for access, but we don't know what yet. We'll post more details as they become available. Please try to attend the meeting. We will post the supplemental agenda as soon as we can, and hope that it will have more details.

Posted September 5, 2008: The School Board will NOT be voting on the Westmark easement at the meeting on September 10. The Agenda has just been released and there is 10 minutes set aside for a SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT: Westmark — Emerald Point Project but no vote. I called and confirmed that they will not be voting on the issue at this meeting. At this time we don't know when the vote will take place, hopefully more information will be available in the Superintendent's report. Whatever we find out will be posted here as soon as possible. If you can do it, it would still be good for people to show up for this meeting and demonstrate that they are concerned about the impact that the Development could have on the Park. The agenda hasn't shown up on the School District site yet, until it does, you can check this copy. Update September 8,: The agenda is now posted on the School Districts page.

Posted August 28, 2008: The Highline School District is getting close to a decision about whether or not to allow Westmark Development to access the Emerald Pointe Condos using the back part of School District property on SW 136th near Ambaum Blvd. Their choices are to deny the request, grant Westmark an Easement for the strip of land, or sell it to them outright. The Board met in Executive Session at their August 27, 2008 meeting to discuss the subject, and assuming there are no unresolved issues, the decision will probably be made during the next Public Meeting.

Posted July 31, 2008: On July 9, 2008 the City of Burien's appeal to the State Supreme Court was declined without comment. The current amount owed to Westmark Development by the City of Burien when interest is included is just over $12 million. Also on July 28, 2008, and with the agreement of all parties involved. our appeal of the FEIS was dismissed due to not being the appropriate means of appeal. Our appeal was filed due to conflicting statements in the Burien Municipal Code, and the other avenues of appeal listed in the Code are still available to us. We are continuing to build our legal fund which will used to pay for legal expenses and to hire required Technical Experts.

Posted July 24, 2008: We have completed our registration as a non-profit corporation with the State of Washington. We have also opened our account at Key Bank, so donations may now be made by walking into any branch of Key Bank and making a deposit to the Neighbors of Seahurst Park. Thank you for your support.

Posted July 18, 2008: An Ambassadors for Seahurst Park: Education & Action Meeting is being held by Neighbors of Seahurst Park, a grass roots group of Burien citizens concerned about the proposed Westmark Emerald Pointe Project's impact on Seahurst Park. The meeting is Wednesday, August 6th from 7:00-8:45 PM at the Burien Library, 14700 6th Ave SW. We will report on the status of the project and concrete steps each person can do to protect Seahurst Park as this project moves forward. All concerned citizens are cordially invited to attend.

June 20, 2008: Neighbors of Seahurst Park were unable to determine which appeal process applies to the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) because of inaccurate and conflicting information provided by the City of Burien, and conflicting information on City forms and in the Burien Municipal Codes. Under state law, the City has the responsibility of providing correct EIS appeal information for those requesting it.

Because of a potential appeal filing deadline and, in order to protect the Park Neighbors of Seahurst Park filed an appeal of the Final Environmental Impact Statement with the City of Burien. The status of that appeal is pending.

June 10, 2008: The City of Burien released the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Westmark Development Project; Emerald Pointe on the Sound. It can be downloaded from the City of Burien as either one large file, or individual sections. It can also viewed at City Hall and the Burien branch of the library. Hard copies or a CD version can be purchased from Roadrunner Print and Copy, 120 SW 153rd St, Burien, WA 98166. (206) 242-4042.

It is our opinion that the FEIS does not provide adequate protection for the wetlands, the Park and Puget Sound. The developer has proposed a voluntary 50 foot buffer and 15 foot setback for the section of wetlands on the corporation's property, but nothing for the wetland on the Park property. There is also inadequate analysis of planned grading and filling on very steep slopes, with no consideration given to current landslide and seismic hazard maps.

Neighbors of Seahurst Park needs donations to pay attorney costs, court fees for filing appeals and technical consultants to contest the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Westmark Project. As we fight to save our park this effort requires the support of many people and may take several years. While large donations would be greatly appreciated, we know that the backbone of this effort will be many people contributing small amounts. All contributions are sincerely appreciated. We ask people who use any sort of online payments to consider setting up a monthly automatic recurring donation. Monthly support of $10, $15 or $25 dollars from enough people can make a huge difference as we move forward with this fight. If you are unable to support the effort financially, please consider volunteering, we will be developing a list of things that need doing. We also plan to arrange other donation options soon.