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Burien staff briefs Planning Commission on 2026 comp-plan docket, shoreline and sea-level-rise map tweaks
Summary
Planning staff presented the 2026 comprehensive plan amendment docket, proposed mapping changes (moving parcel baseline to centerlines), targeted shoreline jurisdiction down-designations, and options to trim the urban growth center boundary to meet PSRC certification and address sea-level-rise vulnerability.
Planning staff briefed the Burien Planning Commission on May 27 on the 2026 comprehensive plan amendment docket and associated mapping and SEPA-procedure adjustments.
Staff explained a proposed change to map methodology that would align land-use designations to center lines instead of parcel-by-parcel geometry to eliminate blank or unzoned rights-of-way and make future mapping cleaner. The presenter said that change is non-substantive but administratively helpful.
On substance, staff proposed removing mixed-use commercial designations from parcels located within the 200-foot shoreline jurisdiction where commercial uses are generally not permitted under the shoreline master program; staff noted an exception for the unique Ruth Deichman Center designation near Lake Burien. The presenter also discussed potential down-designations along Puget Sound edges where a city climate vulnerability study flagged sea-level-rise risk and suggested converting some RL-2 designations to RL-1 in the most at-risk areas.
Staff also described planned-action map amendments (Ambaum/Boulevard Park and Greater Downtown) and minor updates to BMC 14.10 SEPA procedures to avoid overlapping mitigation and double-counting when projects both fall under planned actions and pay traffic-impact fees.
Commissioners asked about allowing mixed uses through a parcel swap, timing for shoreline master program guidance from the Department of Ecology, and whether the urban growth center boundary should be trimmed to meet PSRC future-activity-unit thresholds. Staff said Ecology guidance is expected later in the year and that some targeted map cleanups are non-substantive "Scrivener" fixes; more detailed materials will return in future meetings and a public hearing is planned in coming months.
The briefing is part of an ongoing periodic update; staff said they will return with additional packets and a public hearing on the docket items later in the summer.
