Little opposition to razing Discovery Park housing

When the Lora Lake apartments in Burien were threatened with demolition, homeless advocates occupied the building. The Church Council of Greater Seattle held a service at the site to lament its impending destruction. The King County Housing Authority went to court to stop the tear-down.

On Wednesday, the Seattle City Council held a hearing to discuss razing 66 apartments in Discovery Park to create open park space. One person showed up to testify against the plans.

"It's really, really strange that there was all this human outcry about loss of housing at Lora Lake," said Tim Harris, executive director for the community newspaper Real Change and the lone opposing voice at the hearing. "Here there is housing on land the city is negotiating for, which is being torn down without any public process at all."

Only one council member, David Della, attended the hearing. Two people testified in favor of the city's plan, which would spend $11 million to buy the Capehart property, 24 acres that the Navy no longer wants.

The property, in the middle of the 534-acre park in Magnolia, includes 66 units of military housing. The Navy would move families who live there to housing closer to the Everett naval base.

On a separate parcel in the park, the Navy is working with a private developer to preserve and sell 26 officers' homes.

On Wednesday, housing advocates were scratching their heads over why no one was protesting the loss of the 66 apartments after the measures public officials used to save 162 affordably priced apartments in Burien this summer. Recent pleas to save 200 apartments in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood slated for condo conversion have also received little attention.

Prominent politicians rallied when the apartments in Burien, owned by the Port of Seattle and located near the third runway of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, were threatened with demolition that had been planned for seven years.

Gov. Christine Gregoire, King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels urged the Port to reconsider. Sims offered $18 million to buy the apartments, citing the region's goal of ending homelessness in 10 years. The King County Housing Authority filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court to stop the demolition and a judge ruled in its favor.

On Wednesday, Sims' office had no comment about the Capehart housing. The Rev. Sandy Brown, who led the Church Council's service of lamentation in Burien, could not be reached for comment.

"I have not been aware of the negotiations" about Discovery Park, said Bill Block, project director for the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in King County.

Said Port Commissioner John Creighton, who voted to demolish the Burien apartments: "Why is it OK to tear down apartments in nice areas of town but not to tear down apartments next to the airport? We should be wanting to place families in nice areas" like Magnolia.

Della, chair of the parks committee, plans to vote on the property plans at the next committee meeting in two weeks. "Everyone agrees it should be open space," he said.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com