The Airport Communities Podcast
On May 22, 2026 the Sustainable Airport Master Plan DEIS was released and a sixty day public comment period began.
Our fourth 3 minute explainer on how you can help your community by being patient and providing high quality comments. It is not click bait to say: It’s easier than you think. It’s not what you think.
In Ep #28, we said to stop obsessing over these documents. It’s been over a week since the Port released the SAMP/DEIS. And we’re seeing the same trends: people wanting to understand what is in the documents.
The Port provided a 60 day comment period — which is twice as long as the state requirement. On the other hand, their first Open House is a month after publication. But on the other hand, most of the documents were actually completed almost a month before publication.
So what? There are no penalties for ‘bad public engagement’. Surrounding communities have had decades to prepare for the SAMP — and more importantly — come to grips with the endless cycle. If you know Lucy is likely to pull away the football, maybe it is you who should stop playing the same game.
Rainy Days
In 2007, King County developed a Flood Control District to manage the fact that there are always going to be floods. Even if you don’t know when they will occur, you have to have a plan both to try to prevent them and to manage them effectively when they occur. You have to be prepared. This approach was fraught because areas that do not flood would not choose to pay for those that do.
Cities tend to be poor at long term cooperative planning. Even though we live next to a great river of commerce — and its negative impacts — we wait until it starts raining to act.
Topics
- 2007About King County Flood Control District
- 2025 – FAA SAMP NEPA Final ROD/FONSI
- 2025 – Port of Seattle press release on SAMP-NTP/SAMP-SEPA DEIS
- 2026 – SAMP/SEPA Draft EIS
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