Port of Seattle to revisit Lora Lake fate next week

The full Port of Seattle Commission is expected to revisit on Thursday, Aug. 9, a recent offer by King County to buy the Lora Lake Apartments.

Port commissioners voted 2-1 last week to delay demolition of the apartments to give them additional time to re-evaluate the future of the affordable housing complex.

The action was proposed by commission chairman Bob Edwards, who reversed his earlier support for demolishing the 162 rental units to clear the way for commercial development.

Two commissioners who have supported demolition were out of town.

Edwards, who is seeking re-election to the commission, will face five challengers in the Aug. 21 primary election. One is Burien City Councilman Jack Block Jr.

The Lora Lake controversy pits regional advocates for affordable housing against Burien's authority to control land use within its city limits.

Should the Port decide to sell the complex, located at 15001 Des Moines Memorial Drive, the King County Housing Authority would keep Lora Lake open and operate it as affordable housing.

A decade-old agreement between the Port, the housing authority and Burien calls for demolition of the apartments before the third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport becomes operational.

The Port, which operates the airport, owns the property that has been managed by the housing authority.

Burien has jurisdiction over land use and zoning of the site.

On July 18, Port officials rejected an offer from King County Executive Ron Sims to buy the Lora Lake property for $18 million.

But last week, Edwards said increasing pressure on affordable housing in the region had convinced him that the port's plan was flawed.

Commissioner Alec Fisken, an advocate for leaving the apartments in place, also voted to delay demolition.

Commissioner Lloyd Hara voted against the delay. Commissioners John Creighton and Pat Davis were absent.

Burien City Manager Mike Martin said delaying demolition of Lora Lake was "off-base."

People should not live so close to the third runway, which is only 900 feet to the east, Martin added. "I'd rather see dirt there than apartments."

Burien council members have noted during the tug-of-war over Lora Lake that 81 percent of all rental housing in the city meets affordable or low-income standards, compared with just 46 percent of rental housing in the rest of King County.

Sims, other elected officials, the housing authority and low-income housing advocates made an unexpected eleventh-hour demand in March-despite the long-standing tri-party agreement-to keep Lora Lake open for affordable housing.

Initially, Sims attempted to pressure Burien into leaving the apartments standing instead of redeveloping the property for commercial use.

In addition to offering compensation to offset the financial loss Burien would incur if it left the apartments standing, Sims threatened to withhold funds already budgeted for transit-oriented development if the city proceeded with plans for demolition.

He later dropped his threat to withhold funding.

Burien lawmakers, who insist that Lora Lake is a poor location to house low-income people, rejected by a 5-1 vote on July 2 the Sims' proposal to let the apartments stay open.

The Lora Lake property anchors the city's Northeast Redevelopment Area, which Burien established and rezoned several years ago for commercial and light industrial uses because of its proximity to flight paths north of the airport.

Neither the housing authority nor low-income housing advocates objected at that time to the plan to demolish the apartments.

Originally the complex was to be demolished in 2005, but the contract was extended due to delays in construction of the third runway.

Only when closure of Lora Lake was just weeks away did the housing authority urge Burien not to close the complex and redevelop the property.

Some Burien council members and business leaders stress that commercial development there is key to expanding the city's limited economic base.

The Port commission's action came the day after a July 23 "service of lamentation" at Lora Lake, staged by members of the Church Council of Greater Seattle and low-income housing advocates.