Editing Burien, Washington (section)

==History==
European settlement in the Burien area dates to 1864, when George Ouellet (1831–1899), a [[French-Canadian]] born in [[Sainte-Marie, Quebec|Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Quebec]], purchased his first of several land patents for homestead sites directly from a federal land office.<ref name=HHS>[http://www.highlinehistory.org/oral_histories/gottlieb_burian.html Highline Historical Society, ''Gottlieb Burian and His Family History: From Hussinetz, Silesia to Sunnydale, Washington''], downloaded July 29, 2012</ref> Ouellet had first arrived in the [[Washington Territory]] at [[Port Madison, Bainbridge Island, Washington|Port Madison]] on [[Bainbridge Island]], off the [[Kitsap Peninsula]], in 1858. Three years after purchasing his homestead in the Burien area, he married 14-year-old Elizabeth Cushner, who was born in the Washington Territory, and started a family. Several years later, the Ouellet family moved to the White River Valley, near [[Auburn, Washington|Auburn]].

A popular local tale recounts that an early settler named Mike Kelly gave the community its first name after he emerged from the trees and said, "This is truly a sunny dale." Today, a few long-time residents still refer to the Burien area as Sunnydale.

In 1884, [[Gottlieb Burian]] (1837–1902) and his wife Emma (Wurm) Burian (1840–1905), [[Germans|German]] immigrants from [[Hussinetz]], [[Lower Silesia]], who owned two taverns in downtown Seattle, arrived in Sunnydale.<ref name=HHS /> The tiny community was without improved roads or commercial buildings and was reached primarily by trails.<ref name=HHS /> Burian built a cabin on the southeast corner of Lake Burien and reportedly formed the community into a town bearing his name (misspelled over the years).<ref name=HHS /> A real estate office was built and soon attracted large numbers of new residents to Burien.<ref name=HHS />

In the early 1900s, visitors from Seattle came by the [[Washington State Ferries|Mosquito Fleet]] to [[Three Tree Point]], just west of town, to sunbathe and swim.

In 1915, the [[Highland Park and Lake Burien Railway|Lake Burien Railway]] was completed. It ran on what is today Ambaum Boulevard from Burien to [[White Center, Washington|White Center]] to Seattle. A small passenger train ran the tracks and was affectionately named by the residents the Toonerville Trolley.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

===Incorporation===
{{citation needed section|date=November 2024}}
Several proposals to incorporate the greater Burien area, an unincorporated portion of King County, were attempted but failed. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, citizens felt they needed a more responsive government to help address the looming threat of the [[Port of Seattle]]'s airport runway expansion (known as the "Third Runway") at [[Seattle–Tacoma International Airport]] to the east, so an effort was again made to incorporate as a city. Citizens also felt that multi-family apartments and dwellings had proliferated out of control in Burien and other unincorporated areas of King County, and that they had no local voice in government, other than the King County Council, that would hear their concerns.

The city of Burien was incorporated on February 28, 1993, after voter approval.

===North Highline annexation===
[[Image:threetreepoint BurienWA.JPG|thumb|[[Three Tree Point]] in Burien at sunset]]
Late in 2004, the city assessed the possibility of annexing North Highline (which includes [[White Center, Washington|White Center]] and [[Riverton-Boulevard Park, Washington|Boulevard Park]]), "one of the largest urban unincorporated areas of King County," which would double the size of Burien. Many citizens spoke against the annexation and created picket signs and petitions to protest against it. Other citizens welcomed the expansion, as they felt parts of the so-called North Highline area should have been part of the original Burien incorporation, and the area in question is part of the larger Highline area. (The Highline area includes the cities of Burien, Seatac, Des Moines, Federal Way and an unincorporated area called North Highline.)

In May 2008, the Burien City Council proposed an annexation of the southern portion of North Highline, comprising 14,000 residents. In late summer of 2008, the city of Burien prepared to submit their annexation proposal to King County's Boundary Review Board. However, after the city of Seattle protested Burien's proposal, Burien opted to withdraw their annexation plan and resubmit it after new countywide planning policies went into effect.

In October 2008, the Burien City Council voted to resubmit their annexation plan to the county Boundary Review Board. However, the cities of Burien and Seattle, along with King County and other stakeholders, first participated and completed [[mediation]] to ensure the interests of all parties involved were met. Affected stakeholders would have agreed to a preliminary annexation framework that stipulated how annexation would play out between the cities of Burien and Seattle and with King County. However, the Seattle City Council voted against the agreement that February. It is not known if Seattle has any future plans for annexation of any part of the North Highline area.

On April 16, 2009, the Boundary Review Board of King County approved Burien's proposal for annexation of the southern portion of the North Highline area: parts of the [[Riverton-Boulevard Park, Washington|Riverton-Boulevard Park]] CDP.

In early May 2009, both King County and the city of Burien passed resolutions to place an annexation proposition on the August 18 primary ballot. The annexation area voted on consisted of southern North Highline and had an area of about {{convert|1600|acre|km2}} and approximately 14,000 citizens.  The ballot issue was approved by a majority of southern North Highline residents, and on April 1, 2010, southern North Highline became part of Burien.<ref name="CoB annexation">{{cite web|title=North Highline Annexation|publisher=City of Burien|url=http://www.burienwa.gov/index.aspx?NID=321|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029031049/http://www.burienwa.gov/index.aspx?NID=321|archive-date=October 29, 2012}}</ref>

After the annexation vote, a special census was conducted, and it was determined that the newly annexed area had 14,292 residents. This resulted in a new population total of 52,066, making Burien the [[List of municipalities in Washington|25th]] largest city in Washington State.

The Boundary Review Board approved a second proposal for Burien to annex northern North Highline (also known as Area Y) in February 2012,<ref name="CoB annexation"/> but this was rejected by Area Y residents in November 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.westseattleherald.com/2012/11/13/news/update-north-highline-voters-clearly-decline-buri |title=UPDATE: North Highline voters clearly decline Burien's annexation offer |first=Ty |last=Swenson |date=November 13, 2012 |newspaper=West Seattle Herald |access-date=August 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826113214/http://www.westseattleherald.com/2012/11/13/news/update-north-highline-voters-clearly-decline-buri |archive-date=August 26, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Downtown development===
[[Image:Olde Burien.jpg|upright|thumb|SW 152 Street in Olde Burien]]

In 2017, the Town Square development in downtown Burien was completed. It includes retail space, condominiums, rental apartments, a senior living center, and a King County Library branch with underground parking. City Hall is located on the top floor of the library building.  Town Square Park is at the center of the square and features a spray park for children and a [[rain garden]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://burienwa.gov/facilities/facility/details/Town-Square-Park-20 |title=Town Square Park |access-date=November 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114040558/https://burienwa.gov/facilities/facility/details/Town-Square-Park-20 |archive-date=November 14, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>