'Lamentation' at loss of affordable apartments in Burien

Carol Knudsen coveted many things when she and other protesters briefly occupied the Lora Lake Apartments last week: the washing machine, a living-room fireplace, a carpet to sleep on.

The 62-year-old has none of those comforts in the tent where she and her husband have slept since April, after losing their jobs and becoming homeless.

		Jim Bryant / P-I
	The Rev. Sanford Brown of the Church Council of Greater Seattle exhorts protesters to resist the destruction of 162 affordable apartments during a "service of lamentation" Monday at Burien's Lora Lake Apartments, which the Port of Seattle plans to tear down to clear a zone for its third runway.

"It was heaven," said Knudsen, who joined religious leaders from around the region Monday afternoon in another demonstration protesting the anticipated demolition of the apartments owned by the Port of Seattle.

The port bought the apartments, which were affordable to low- and moderate-income renters, in 1998 to make room for the third runway.

Since a temporary deal with the King County Housing Authority expired this summer, the port plans to demolish the apartments and replace them with warehouses or a commercial venture. The city of Burien has long opposed leaving housing so close to the runway.

"It really is a sin. I think that they're tearing up these apartments that are very livable," Knudsen said.

Seventeen clergymen and women -- from Seattle, the Eastside and Olympia -- led a "lamentation" service Monday outside the apartments.

The religious leaders, church members and activists supporting King County's 10-year plan to end homelessness sprinkled ashes on their heads -- a biblical symbol of lamentation. The Raging Grannies in feather halos sang "More Bucks for Housing, Not Military."

And a dozen church leaders tried -- unsuccessfully -- to cut the chain-link fence around the apartments with tin snips. Police escorted them away but said no charges would be filed.

The Rev. Alex Holt of Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church urged the crowd to listen to what they could hear in the parking lot: planes, cars, construction equipment.

"What you do not hear are the voices of children; what you will not smell is barbecues; what you will not hear is families in a place of safety," he said, "because our priorities are in a place of profit rather than a place of nurture."

Others said privileged Puget Sound-area residents who travel by air should recognize their convenience has come at a cost to the region's most vulnerable population.

But the protest and speeches were clearly aimed at one particular audience: five port commissioners.

"We are hoping the Port of Seattle will open its heart to the people that are homeless and recognize that affordable housing is the way to solve the problem," said the Rev. Sanford Brown, executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle.

A letter written by Port of Seattle Chief Executive Tay Yoshitani in response to the protest said the port regrets the anger that the controversy over the Lora Lake complex has stirred. The port recently rejected an $18 million offer from King County to buy and preserve the 162 apartments that lie outside the third runway's safety zone.

But Yoshitani said the port needed to honor its commitment to the city of Burien, which decided in 2003 that the best use of the port-owned property would be for commercial or industrial purposes.

"We are all aware of the tight housing market in the Seattle area, but this is a story about Burien, not Seattle," said Yoshitani, who wrote that Burien already has a significant number of affordable apartments.

Burien officials have said they object to warehousing the region's poorest people so close to a noisy airport runway. Instead, they would like to work with the county to replace the lost rental units in a more desirable part of the city, which could cost $30 million.

But those jurisdictional disputes didn't matter to homeless activist Loyd Hogan. In his mind, the port needs to step up and do the right thing.

"I have an open invitation to any Port of Seattle commissioner to stay at my shelter," he said. "I've got a clean blanket and a bus ticket out of the shelter. The door's open. I'll even read a bedtime story."