The Burien City Council wrote to Port of Seattle leadership explaining why they suspended participation in the Sea-Tac Airport Round Table (StART), citing the Port's failure to respond to community concerns about health, noise, and quality-of-life impacts from growing flight operations. The council objected to the Port approving $10 million in design work for airport expansion under the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) without adequate community consultation, and called for that decision to be reversed as a condition of re-engagement. A companion comparison chart shows how StART's governance rules on elected membership, meeting recordings, and inclusion of expert witnesses fall short of standards used by similar advisory bodies at airports in Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Chicago.Open full document
Notes
The Burien City Council writes to Port Commissioners, Steve Metruck, and Lance Lyttle to explain their rationale for suspending participation in the Sea-Tac Airport Round Table (StART). The letter cites the Port’s failure to honor Resolution #406 requests, including delaying SAMP build-out and providing a report to the Council, and notes the Port instead authorized $10 million for SAMP design work. The Council states that reversal of the $10 million design work decision is a precondition for re-engagement in StART or any other forum.