On Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m. at Mt. Rainier High School in Des Moines, the Highline School District is holding a public hearing on the possible sale/easement of a strip of district property adjacent to the Westmark Emerald Pointe condo site in Burien.

The 9.8-acre site has no easy vehicle access and cannot effectively be developed unless access is obtained. By purchasing this land/easement from the district, Westmark will finally have easy access. This will allow the Emerald Point Condo project to strip and develop the 40-degree slopes above Seahurst Park.

This will result in damage to the headwaters to North Creek, the slope above Seahurst Park, the wetlands to the north and the salmon hatchery project at the Marine Technology Center.

The city of Burien recently lost a lawsuit on this project due to procedural error-not on the soundness, quality or viability of the project.

For years, Westmark had been reluctant to do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) perhaps due to inability of the site topography to fit their development plans. City of Burien staff also expressed concerns about the project's viability.

Work on the EIS was scheduled to start in September 2006 yet could not really start until May 2007 because Westmark's plan had to be revised a number of times. As of July 20, the critical stability analysis of the soil and the storm water data/plan on which the whole project hinged still had not been delivered to the consultants preparing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Without that information the group doing the structural engineering analysis could not adequately address the issues of the retaining walls and integrity of the proposed buildings to be anchored into the site.

The draft EIS went to printing in August 2007 for a public hearing in September 2007 with much of that critical information still missing. The public was presented with a document lacking valid substance on the project's viability. As a result of comments and concerns submitted by Burien citizens, it is going through a major revision to address geotechnical, storm water, transportation, and biological concerns.

Ironically, sale/easement of the school district property at the top of the hill for Westmark access will ultimately impact district property at the bottom of the hill-the salmon hatchery project at the Marine Technology Center.

Concerned citizens can attended the public hearing or contact the Highline School District and ask the school board to refuse to sell the property or to provide easement to Westmark. By opposing the sale/easement they are sending a statement to Burien citizens that the Highline School District values our environment, our children, and the unique Marine Technology Center in Seahurst Park.

Also, request that the school district complying with the State Environmental Policy Act before a sale is seriously considered.

Bob Edgar

Shorewood