[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, written by a Reader and originally sent to the City of Burien. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The B-Town Blog nor its staff:]
Dear Department of Community Development:
With reference to the proposed land action stated above the intent of this letter is to express my concern with the planned development and expansion of Kennedy High School’s field master plan. There are a number of concerns from lighting, sound, parking, increased traffic flow, and loss of neighborhood property value all of which will negatively impact my quality of life as well as my neighbors. I am asking that the city of Burien not allow the expansion of Kennedy High School’s athletic field.
The proposed lighting for the project is six 70 foot light towers on the football field and four 50 foot light poles on projected tennis courts. This would need a variance as it extends the height and setback zoning. I would ask that careful consideration is made with a decision of this magnitude. These zoning standards were set to maintain the buffer and impacts on our residential neighborhood. There have never been artificial lights on Kennedy’s athletic field and the impact from this proposal would be severe. My living room window is 200 feet from the projected light pole design.
An additional impact would be amplified noise from a proposed sound system on the field, up to 1800 spectators, and bands or music playing during the events. Kennedy High School has never hosted a varsity football game on their field and only had a capacity of roughly 150 for junior varsity game and practice. Witnessing the sound level of games at their current Highline Memorial Stadium, the impact would be severe to the neighborhood and significantly affect our quality of living.
Another major impact to the approval of the projected athletic complex will be parking. Currently Kennedy High School does not have sufficient parking for normal school days and smaller events (500-1000 students). Numerous police reports have been filed and vehicles towed for parking in right of ways along with blocking roads due to this. Having a varsity football game and other proposed events with 1800 attendees will severely impact our residential neighborhood.
The impact from additional traffic from this large athletic complex will significantly increase the risk to residents and children in our neighborhood. Currently there are no traffic control devices, sidewalks, or the room to facilitate this projected athletic complex. I would ask the City of Burien to carefully consider the safety and impact on the quality of life to myself and to my neighbors if this project is approved.
I met with key stakeholders of Kennedy High School, their architects, and systems contractors at a public meeting regarding the proposed athletic field project. After the meeting I invited all of them to my residence (13657 3rd AVE S.), to truly understand the impact this project would have on my quality of living. When they arrived they made it clear that there would be significant impact from light, noise, traffic, and that my residence was going to be impacted the worst. They also advised me that Kennedy was paying them to design and build and athletic complex and that is what they were going to do, but that it would have a significant impact.
I also extend an invitation to any and all parties involved with making this decision on this project to visit my home. It will be very apparent how significant the impact will be by looking from my front window where 70 foot light towers, sound systems, and 1800 spectators will be looking into my window, along with a heavy increase of traffic on our streets. Your decisions will have a severe impact on my quality of life along with my neighbors.
Kennedy High School has also made it very clear that they will be allowing other entities use of their field for private events. Since the renovation of their athletic field surface there has been increased use of private athletic leagues. Kennedy was also served a stop work notice as they tried to install seating capacity for 1000 along with three announcer booths without permitting. When I met with Kennedy High School at their neighborhood meeting, President Prato advised they in fact would not be using the field for private events; this was a false statement as these events have continued as recent as 7/9/2015. Kennedy’s field has never been used for private sporting events until the surface was renovated. With the proposed project and its features, a field that has constant private sporting events along with school activities, there will be a significant impact on our quality of living and safety.
With the proposed building of an athletic complex and its features that are against current zoning regulations there will be a negative impact to my property value along with others in my neighborhood. The current RS 7200 zoning for my neighborhood along with Kennedy High School’s property should be respected to maintain the quality of life in a residential neighborhood. The proposed project belongs in a commercial area with zoning that allows such structures and setbacks.
I also ask that consideration be made to Kennedy at considering the use of Highline Memorial Stadium as they have used during their entire existence of the school. Highline Memorial Stadium was recently renovated and has the capacity to handle such events. Approving this project and its features to build an athletic complex directly into a residential neighborhood is a poor choice. Please contact me with any questions regarding this major decision. I would also request that I be contacted and receive copies of any decisions made towards this project.
Thank you,
Will Spruill
Dear Department of Community Development:[Have an opinion or concern you’d like to share with our ~80,000+ monthly Readers? Please send us your Letter to the Editor via email. Include your full name, please remain civil and, pending our review, we’ll consider publishing it.]