Some participants at a final Burien visioning open house June 13 objected to wording in the draft statement that they felt was derogatory to Burien.

Consultant Brian Scott presented the final draft at the open house. The headline for the visioning statement is "Burien....Really!"

Under the headline, the statement reads "A surprisingly vibrant community where the residents embrace diversity, promote vitality, and treasure the environment."

A few audience members said the use of the words "Really" and "surprising" play into negative impressions of people from outside Burien.

"It's like we are defending ourselves," one woman commented.

Another participant praised the inclusion of youth in the visioning draft but said seniors should have also been mentioned.

"Seniors need advocates, too," he noted.

The visioning statement, in the works for the past six months, will be available for review at the city's booth at the Wild Strawberry Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

On Monday, the City Council is set to approve the final version. The visioning statement is designed to give a framework for city budgeting decisions.

Besides the statement, the visioning framework outlines seven core values with three refining concepts under each core value.

The core values and concepts are:
Community- Genuine, Engaged, Stable
Diversity-Inclusive, Multicultural, Creative
Ecology-Natural, Green, Livable
Education & Youth-Teaching, Learning, Nurturing
Health & Safety-Healthy, Active, Peaceful
Vitality-Local, Prosperous, Multi-Centered
Governance-Responsive, Effective, Collaborative