Burien Beat
No policy was decided at the Oct 20, 2025 Burien City Council Meeting. Burien CARES and the transparency of other government-funded organizations dominated public comments and were the topic of a heated council discussion later in the meeting. Councilmember Garcia reported ICE operations and pleaded for the City to not cooperate with ICE officials.
All members of the Burien City Council were present at the October 20th Burien City Council meeting. Participants frequently gave score updates on the Mariners’ game taking place, adding a bit of levity to the unusually lengthy 4-hour meeting.
Presentations
Burien Comprehensive Safety Action Plan - presentation by the Public Works committee. They stated that transportation safety is the top priority for the public. This led to a discussion about the “Vision Zero” plan, which aims to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries to zero via a holistic system that makes every element of transportation safer. Many council members asked questions about the various crash statistics, and the majority clearly supported the plan.
Legislation Session Overview - presentation by Burien Lobbyist Jake Johnson. This presentation outlined legislation currently working its way through the Washington and the federal Congress, as well as how it specifically affects Burien.
During this overview, Johnson explained the potential impact of the government shutdown, acknowledging that it could result in the termination of a great number of state government employees and a reduction in the state’s ability to provide certain government services. He also spoke about the House Transportation Appropriations Bill, which requested 3 million dollars from the federal government, but has only been allowed a third of that amount due to action from the current administration. He implied that this administration withholds or grants federal funds on a red vs. blue state basis, although saying that the current administration is withholding federal funding from sanctuary cities might be a more accurate representation of the situation.
Following this, the city manager explained that our state lobbyist is transferring to the private sector, so the state will no longer be able to employ her and will need to find a new lobbyist. He also mentioned that they must have sufficient funds to do so.
Council Member Reports
Council member Matta began his report by congratulating Orange Bakery on their recent opening, then shared updates on how the city is handling the illegal food businesses that have recently become an issue. He also shared his concerns about how funding cuts can impact schools and the importance of funding education.
Council member Andrade gave a lengthy defense of the Burien CARES foundation, calling out criticisms of their practices by people who she feels don’t understand the challenges of running an animal care facility. CARES has been publicly criticized for a variety of reasons, such as allegedly failing health inspections.
Council member Garcia said that he met with King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda about unlicensed food vendors and the progress they are making in resolving this issue. He then reported that he was recently asked by a local nonprofit to watch for I.C.E at their food distribution event, and shared multiple anecdotes of recent I.C.E arrests in the city of Burien. Finally, he encouraged the city to resist immigration enforcement action.
City Manager Report
- The City Chat with the finance department recently took place, where the finance team answered questions about how the city’s budget is made. The next City Chat will feature the Economic Development Division and the Human Services Division
- Burien is attempting to modify the interlocal agreement to investigate and file appeals against the airport, which plans to continue expansion.
- Burien was unable to join a response letter to King County’s proposed safety implementation plan due to time constraints
- The city recently held its first emergency preparedness workshop in Spanish
- On a related note, the city is developing a new Language Access Working Group
- Dia de Los Muertos event will take place at the Burien Community Center
Councilmember Mora asked for an update on the plan to receive reports from government contractors such as Burien CARES and The More We Love, and the City manager answered that this would be discussed during the business agenda.
Public Comments
Of the 13 public comments made, the vast majority focused on the issue of transparency from government-funded organizations like Burien CARES. Almost every public commenter on the subject advocated for regular presentations from these organizations to the council, to ensure accountability for taxpayers, although a few claimed this was unfair to the employees and the council. One speaker in support of these presentations sarcastically remarked that when listening to Council member Andrade’s report, she was confused as to whether she was listening to an employee or a council member. Another speaker, who identified herself as an experienced animal welfare professional, gave a detailed explanation of the various health code violations committed by the Burien CARES facility. Other comments covered a variety of issues, including low-income housing development, tree removal in Mathison Park, and the critical areas ordinance.
Following public comments, the council met in Executive Session to discuss real estate transactions. They reconvened at 7:39 PM.
Business Agenda
The consent agenda passed unanimously
Ordinance 880 - Public Works Director Rod Steitzer briefly explained that the franchise agreement with PSE has expired and needs to be renewed. The council voted unanimously to place it on the consent agenda for the next meeting.
Ordinance 878 (Critical Areas Ordinance Periodic Update) - Community Development Director Liz Stead and Senior Planner Amanda McIntire gave a presentation. They explained how they define critical areas and displayed maps of these areas. “Critical areas” refers to environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands and conservation areas, which must be protected from development by law. The council voted unanimously to place this item on the business agenda for the November 17th meeting.
Request for Proposals for Redevelopment Opportunities on city-owned property - Economic Development Manager Chris Craig explained that the city has the opportunity to develop two city-owned properties, including building a hotel on one of them. Due to economic uncertainty and a desire to be responsible with the last two properties the city can develop, the council voted 6-1 to table this issue until the third quarter of 2026, with only Mayor Schilling voting against.
Capital Improvement Plans Update - This item involved a series of presentations about proposed projects around the city and their budgets, presented by Finance Director Casey Headley and Public Works Director Rod Steitzer.
The final item on the agenda was a discussion of whether the council should create a subcommittee to review the contracts of government contractors. The debate was contentious, with Council members Akey and Andrade, as well as Mayor Schilling, opposing the requirement of contractors to report to the council because they could not manage reports from all 335 contractors, and that selecting only a few would be unfair. The rest of the council argued in favor of receiving reports from certain contractors regularly. As the discussion continued, the acting city attorney joined the meeting and clarified that contractors can only be made to testify to the council if already agreed upon in their contracts. As a result, the council voted 4-3 to table the matter until legal counsel can review contracts. Dissenting votes came from the same side that wanted these reports - Mora, Garcia, and Moore - but Matta voted to table.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM
Next Council Meeting, Monday, November 3, 2025, at 5:30 pm.
Members Discussion