6 Replies to "West Seattle might not add White Center after all"

• JumboJim December 17, 2007 (2:08 pm)

  Anyone know why Nichols thinks annexing White Center “is the right thing to do”? Could it be that if it became part of Seattle he could oversee the loosening of development regulations?

  If memory serves me correctly his developer brothers already bought out the old Peruvian restaurant property on Ambaum. Not that they’ve done a darn thing with the property yet.

• Pete December 17, 2007 (2:23 pm)

  It has to do with the tax base for the downtown White Center business distirct. I think he thinks this will outwiegh the 5 million dollars a year that it will cost the city to annex this area.

• Burienite December 17, 2007 (9:22 pm)

  A lot of folks think that Nickels wants North Highline because it has buildable land, something Seattle is running out of. Last year when the Seattle City Council declared North Highline as a potential annexation area, Councilmember Richard Conlin pretty much came right out and said as much when he stated in part of his discussion as to why he wanted Seattle to annex the area was that the people in North Highline came with land.

• chas redmond December 17, 2007 (10:34 pm)

  I’m in favor of the annexation for the following reasons: 1) It would provide new and needed services to a whole lot of folks. There would be a new community center, probably a library, certainly a storefront SPD facility and maybe even a neighborhood center. 2) The northern sections, particularly White Center, are already Seattle-centric in their transit and shopping use. Integrating the unincorporated area to Seattle would legalize a de facto relationship. Burien is several miles down the road. 3) It would add to Seattle an incalculable ethnic and cultural enrichment as well as dozens of established organizations and cultural institutions. Seattle would be richer for the addition and those in the unincorporated area would now have real representation in their municipality.

• Jan December 17, 2007 (11:58 pm)

  Chas…I have to agree. What is the southernmost boundary of that area, and what would happen to the schools that are now in the Highline School District..would they remain, as Shoreline schools have their own district? And, gee, White Center addresses are Seattle addresses, might as well make them really part of it.

• JumboJim December 18, 2007 (2:05 pm)

  And what becomes of White Center when Seattle gets ahold of it and develops the heck out of it? Lots of townhouses and condos that many of the residents there can’t afford? While I’m not dead-set against the annexation I do wonder about the political motivation for it and the repercussions for the annexed community down the line.

  Also, I don’t think White Center/Highline has much more affinity with Seattle than with Burien. Those metro buses running into West Seattle and downtown also go south to Burien and boeyond. I think its easy to see there’s far more affinity with Burien when you see all of the tiendas and other Latino businesses in Burien. I haven’t noticed as many Asian businessed in Burien but I tend to look for those less than the Latino ones, so I may have just overlooked them.

  I appreciate the discussion. Thanks.

Sorry, comment time is over.