Burien's first Comprehensive Plan was adopted in November 1997 following months of town meetings, workshops and public hearings. The plan has been amended several times since then, most recently in December 2007.

The plan is based on the Burien Vision, an expression by the community of what the community should be in 20 years. The plan also reflects the goals and guidelines of Washington's 1990 Growth Management Act.

The City of Burien is updating the Comprehensive Plan to be consistent with state, regional and countywide laws and policies.  This periodic update is required by Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA). 

The Comprehensive Plan expresses a community’s vision of itself, the community it would like to become, its hopes and dreams, and the philosophical underpinning for any planning activity. It is a key element in the land use planning process and an expression of the “public interest,” in the sense of exercising the public authority of a municipality. Since the GMA was enacted, the Comprehensive Plan has become an enforceable blueprint or framework for all subsequent land use regulation activity.

The Comprehensive Plan update is split into two phases.  Phase 1 to be completed by the end of 2011 and Phase 2 to be completed by the end of 2012.  To receive E-mail or text message notification of Comprehensive Plan update activities, please subscribe on the Notify Me page.

One of the primary items in this cycle of Comprehensive Plan updates is the inclusion of North Burien into the plan. This will involve updating both plan policies and maps to include the area annexed in 2010. The City must determine future land use designations for North Burien. These future land use designations show "the future distribution, extent and location of generalized land uses within Burien." Both the Comprehensive Plan Land Use map and the Zoning map will be amended as a part of this process.

A component of the update process was an outreach effort in the North Burien area, including two open houses. The purpose of the first open house was to introduce the residents, property and business owners to the City of Burien and gather input and understanding of land uses in North Burien. The information obtained at the open house is being used to assist the Planning Commission and the City in updating the Comprehensive Plan and associated land use maps, including comprehensive land use and zoning designations. Approximately 65 attendees participated in group discussions designed to gain insight into the following topical areas: single-family residential areas, the Ambaum Boulevard Southwest corridor, the 1st Avenue South corridor, the Boulevard Park business area, and Healthy Eating Active Living.

The City received valuable input on land use-related issues and captured many other comments regarding streets, sidewalks, parks and code enforcement. The meeting comments are assisting both the Planning Commission and staff in establishing comprehensive land use and zoning designations for the North Burien areas.

Following the community open house, the Planning Commission explored three varied land use alternatives generally reflecting low, medium and high growth patterns. In January, the commission agreed upon a preliminary land use alternative to be used as a basis for an open house and public hearing. To assist in the review of the proposed changes, the North Burien area has been divided into three corridors: Ambaum Boulevard, 1st Avenue South and Boulevard Park. Each of these corridors includes changes to the existing zoning designations. Along with the maps showing the proposed changes, written summaries of the changes for each corridor detailing each proposed change also have been prepared.

• Ambaum Boulevard Corridor Map Proposed Zoning (6.7 MB)
• Ambaum Boulevard Corridor Map Existing Zoning (7 MB)
• Ambaum Boulevard Summary Sheet

• 1st Avenue South Corridor Map Proposed Zoning (6.6 MB)
• 1st Avenue South Corridor Map Existing Zoning (6.9 MB)
• 1st Avenue South Summary Sheet

• Boulevard Park Corridor Map Proposed Zoning (6.3 MB)
• Boulevard Park Corridor Map Existing Zoning (6.5 MB)
• Boulevard Park Corridor Summary Sheet 

On February 29, 2012, the City will host an open house to present the preliminary land use changes to residents and land owners and allow them to ask questions and provide written comments. Following the open house, the Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on March 13, 2012, and ultimately will make a recommendation to the City Council on land use designation changes.

The City Council will review the recommendation and make a final decision at the end of 2012, along with other unrelated Comprehensive Plan amendments. The actions regarding North Burien land use designations are taking place in December because, by state law, the City may amend its Comprehensive Plan only once per year.

The plan has several major concepts, summarized as follows:
Burien amends its Comprehensive Plan annually. Requests for amendments must be submitted to the Community Development Department by June 1. The list of amendments that will be considered is established by the City Council in July following a recommendation from the Planning Commission.