Hi, I'm Randy Corman, Renton City Councilmember. I am the most senior member of the council, currently in my 25th year (I have been elected seven times). I pay for this website with my own funds. Please recognize that all views expressed in my journal entries are my own, and not the official position of Renton City Council, other councilmembers, nor the city of Renton. Thanks for reading.
This Renton School District chart is deceptive. It shows taxes dropping on a home “valued in 2025 at $750,000.” But the value of the unrealistic house in this chart is $750,000 every year (not just 2025). Real Renton houses doubled in value during these ten years and had major increases in their taxes.
Renton School District is preparing to ask voters to renew operating and technology levies on the November ballot. While I support schools, I’m alarmed (again) by the misleading and unethical way District leaders are making the case for the money.
Their current website has a chart for an “Example home valued in 2025 at $750,000,” and shows the taxes dropping from $4,012 in 2016 to an expected $2,542 in 2026. That sounds great, except it is completely wrong.
A typical home worth $750,000 in 2025 would have been valued at about half that in 2016, or approximately $375,000. Hence the Renton School District local taxes would have been $2006, not $4012 back then.
So 2026 taxes on an “Example home valued in 2025 at $750,000” have risen about 25% over the time period, NOT dropped by 37% as errantly shown.
This chart has earned an “F” in both mathematics AND in ethics.
This graphic of the City’s future Cedar River Park Plans shows an outdoor amphitheater in the exact spot as Carco Theater, raising questions about whether Carco Theater is threatened.
Renton published a press release this week saying plans were underway to purchase the former Stoneway Concrete site, next to Cedar River Park, consistent with the “Tri-Park Master Plan” that was developed in 2006. The purchase would increase the size of Cedar River Park by about 12.5 acres.
An information display was set up in the Community Center for Renton River Days, giving ideas of what the expanded park system might look like under the Tri-Park Master Plan. As my wife Cathy and I reviewed the display, my wife asked me “Would they seriously consider tearing down Carco Theater?”
“No, of course not” I said. But then Cathy pointed to the poster, and I was not sure what it was depicting– it appears that Carco was to be replaced by an outdoor amphitheater. And then I noticed a sticky note someone else had left on the “Concerns” board asking the city NOT to get rid of Carco Theater, along with another commenter “Seconding” the comment.
Some concerns identified by public: “Strongly oppose getting rid of Carco Theater”; “I second that”
Getting rid of Carco Theater was most definitely NOT what the 2006 Tri-Park Master Plan envisioned. The approved plan called for an expanded lobby of Carco Theater, as well as other improvements to Cedar River Park:
When I was young my Mom helped organize a drive to implement city-wide recycling programs in my home town of Livermore, California. Tom Lehrer’s musical number “Pollution” became an informal anthem for their effort, as my Mom and a small team of musicians and artists incorporated the song into a multi-media show about the value of reusing resources and protecting our environment. This song remains relevant today, and I listened to it occasionally during the many years of debate about the asphalt plant on our aquifer. Happily, this asphalt issue was resolved favorably last week.
Tom Lehrer’s songs frequently had a serious point to make, along with being catchy and entertaining. Many pollution sources have been successfully eliminated in our cities since this popular song was written in 1965, but there is always more work to do.
A Renton High School neighbor who’s home is threatened by eminent domain asked me if I could give background on why she received this postcard.
The postcard announces a public meeting that is part of the permit approval process for new large projects in the City of Renton. The code that applies can be found here.
Here is an excerpt:
“4-8-090 PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS: A. NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS:
1. Purpose: A neighborhood meeting is an applicant-hosted forum intended to assist in producing applications that are responsive to neighborhood concerns, and to reduce the likelihood of delays and appeals. The City expects an applicant to take into consideration the reasonable concerns and recommendations of the neighbors and other interested persons when preparing an application. Neighborhood meetings are not City-sponsored and neither delegates any authority to the public nor reflects the City’s perspective on the merits of the project.”
The meeting will be held on August 6, at 6:00 PM, at Renton High School. The point of this meeting is to hear concerns and inputs from neighbors before formal permit process get underway. Neighbors can read the code to learn more about the expectations for the meeting. The relevant section is (A) 1-9.
This could be a lively and important meeting since many of the neighbors are having their homes forcibly taken. School Officials will have to ask something to this effect: “Tell us how you REALLY feel about us taking your homes by eminent domain for a baseball stadium? … Please avoid profanity if possible.”
Section 8 is a key paragraph:
“8. Consideration: The City shall consider as part of the development review process the concerns and issues raised by the neighbors and applicant at the neighborhood meeting, including any agreed-upon solutions or resolutions to outstanding issues or areas of contention. The City, however, shall not be bound in its decision-making by any agreements or understandings made between the neighbors and applicants. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to delegate design or project review decision-making authority to the participants in the public meeting.”
Bob Baker speaking to Renton City Council on March 3, 2025. His presentation can be found here.
In October 2017 a worried resident posted a social media warning for their community that a hot asphalt plant was proposed for Maple Valley Highway, just a couple hundred feet from the Cedar River. Bob Baker who lives nearby soon found himself joining a group of concerned citizens to stop the plant from being built at that location.
Mr. Baker is not an asphalt or soils expert by profession, but he is an avid reader and a quick study, and he soon began learning all he could about the potential impacts of the asphalt plant on the sensitive Cedar River Valley.
As he learned more through document searches and self-study, he began seeking out experts who specialize in the immediate and long-term effects of Asphalt Plants. He spoke with experts throughout the US, OSHA and even the UK to get the proper training on how these plants affect air, ground, water, human quality of life, fish and wildlife, plant life, and traffic. His ready-recall of these details is striking. Whether he’s telling you the specific carcinogenic contaminants in recycled asphalt or how much water is needed to extinguish an asphalt fire, he knows the names and numbers without looking at his notes.
Months before the news broke this morning that the Asphalt Plant was halted, “Save the Cedar River” leader Bob Baker was on record with a Churchill-like fortitude “We have every intention of stopping this project. We will take this to the very end. If it takes another five years, it takes another five years.” Similarly, County Councilmember Reagan Dunn made his position clear in an open letter to the King County Council, calling the plant a “Mistake of Monumental Proportions” which threatened the “Cedar River- the drinking water source for 1.4 million people in the region, and critical habitat for Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, and Kokanee salmon..”
Bob Baker’s “Save the Cedar River” organization and Councilmember Reagan Dunn worked to protect salmon spawning grounds and our drinking water aquifer
In contrast, Renton’s Mayor Armondo Pavone published a lengthy press release five months ago undermining Mr. Baker’s and Mr. Dunn’s strong positions, titled “Word on the Street.” This press release attempted to assure the public that the Asphalt Plant proposal was “relatively low” risk. It included two pages of arguments like “The contamination risk is further lessened by on-site requirements of the asphalt plant.” and “Any spills from those tanks would be confined to the containment areas to allow for cleanup.” The Mayor’s press release characterized the many environmental concerns broadly as “misinformation.”
The ridiculous “misinformation” label frustrated Mr. Baker so much that he confronted the Mayor and Council directly on the environmental issues at a Renton City Council Meeting this past March.
Now that Bob Baker, Reagan Dunn, and Lakeside Industries have succeeded in saving the Cedar River and its underlying aquifer from the risk of contamination by the asphalt plant, the Renton Mayor’s office is scrambling to articulate a new position.
Migrating salmon won’t need to pass an asphalt plant to reach the pristine upper spawning sites in the beautiful Cedar River Valley. And the aquifer that flows below the surface delivering Renton’s drinking water will be at less risk from contamination.
Lakeside Industries is withdrawing their permit requests for an Asphalt Plant on Highway 169, just upstream of Renton on the Cedar River. This is great news for so many: the surrounding residents; Renton and Maple Valley water customers who drink from the Cedar Valley Aquifer; Cedar River salmon and other wildlife; and Maple Valley Highway motorists who would have felt the traffic impacts.
Bob Baker, who has battled the proposed plant for 8 years, shared with me that the owners of Lakeside Industries didn’t wish to create so much controversy, and the owners have been seeking a solution that would satisfy community concerns.
I’ve written numerous articles about the long-term risks this plant could pose to drinking water systems in the Cedar River Valley, including Renton’s own municipal wells serving over 100,000 residents. These articles can be found here. By choosing to withdraw their Asphalt Plant permit application, the owners of Lakeside Industries are showing goodwill and stewardship toward all of these residents. I heartily thank them for it.
Here is the official press release:
King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn and local community group ‘Save the Cedar River’ have struck an agreement with Lakeside Industries that would halt the building of a proposed asphalt plant along SR-169 and the Cedar River.
“Given the alternatives, this is a far better use of the property, and a big win for the community,” said Dunn, who represents this area on the King County Council. “Rather than rock crushers, truck traffic, noise, dust, and odors, this plan will provide benign warehouse space and avoid the impacts of an asphalt plant on the greater community.”
‘Save the Cedar River’ and other stakeholders have expressed concerns in the past about potential leaks to the nearby Cedar River and wetlands, noise and light pollution, truck traffic, and potential impacts on salmon from the plant. Typical asphalt plants require onsite crude, burners, storage silos, rock crushers, mixing drums, and machines for separating materials.
“This brings an eight-year-long, hotly contested battle to a great conclusion for all parties involved: there will be no asphalt plant, Lakeside Industries can finally utilize their property, and King County can put this chapter to rest,” said Bob Baker of Save the Cedar River. “I could not be prouder of the ‘Save the Cedar River’ organization and the long, hard hours that each member put in during this challenge. And to the citizens, HOA’s, businesses big and small, that supported us, thank you!”
‘Save the Cedar River’ was formed in response to a proposal to site the asphalt plant in 2017. After protests, environmental reviews, appeals, and a lawsuit, Lakeside Industries was issued a permit for the asphalt plant in April 2022. ‘Save the Cedar River’ sued in Superior Court but ultimately lost that legal battle in May 2024. This new deal puts all that in the past.
“We see this as a win-win for the community and Lakeside,” said Mike Lee, CEO of Lakeside Industries. “Lakeside is a third-generation, family-owned, local company. We want to be good neighbors in the communities in which we operate, and finding a creative solution balancing Lakeside’s needs, our obligations to our employees, and the concerns of the community, is a success that took all parties working together.”
Under the new agreement, Lakeside Industries would not move forward with construction of an asphalt plant under its approved permitting. Instead, they would reengage with King County to permit a warehouse as an alternative. ‘Save the Cedar River’ has agreed to support this alternative use and agreed not to oppose the permit application.
“I want to give credit to Mike Lee with Lakeside Industries for listening to the community and finding a solution that is a win-win for everyone,” continued Baker. “And a huge thank you to Reagan Dunn who stood by my side throughout this and for brokering this fantastic deal.”
This alternative use of the site would be a warehouse building for commercial use. The estimated trip traffic for a warehouse is substantially lower than what was estimated for the asphalt plant. The warehouse plan would protect all the critical areas as required by the County Code. However, the alternative use would still need to go through a new permit process by the King County Permitting Department.
Dunn and Baker will be available for interviews at the Lakeside site from 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Dunn can also do interviews over phone or Zoom. 18825 Renton-Maple Vally Road, Renton, WA 98058.
My full bins await pickup along with others on my street, a day after our normal pickup. Like everyone else, I have no idea whether I should bring them back up my driveway. Since the green and blue bins normally gets picked up only every other week, I don’t want to miss the day the trucks finally come again. They gray one is getting ripe from food waste rotting in 80-90 degree temperatures.
“This account is subject to or in foreclosure.” This is the taxpayer information for the dilapidated Park Ave buildings, formally known as Garden Plaza
The deathtrap buildings on Park Avenue may potentially be falling into foreclosure according to the King County Taxpayer website. A foreclosure, whether for tax or lending reasons, would further complicate resolution of the dire safety issues that have gone on much too long with these buildings.
The website also shows that the owners, ION Renton, have been hit-and-miss with tax payments in recent years, although they appear to be caught up now.
The data can be found at the King County website here. When you access the site, the parcel number is 7564600055.
The King County assessor has updated their photo of the building. This can be found on the King County Parcel Viewer by navigating to Park and 6th in Renton.
Renton Fire Authority must once again respond to the abandoned buildings on Garden and Park Avenue. Photo taken at about 8:30 PM today.
This evening there has been another fire call to the abandoned Park Avenue Buildings. Christopher Krystofiak, a firefighter with the Renton Fire Authority who helps with online media communication gave me the following details at 9:00 PM:
“Randy, it was black smoke from the roof. We have determined that all fire responses to this building will be defensive only due to the open elevator shafts and damage/hazards inside the building. Crews eventually located a small fire, quickly extinguished it and are releasing most of the apparatus as we speak.”
These buildings require an urgent fire response every time they catch on fire, as they lack the code required fire suppression systems. The systems were mined out of the buildings by metal thieves after lax security invited trespassers. If a fire spreads from floor to floor through the open elevator shafts it could turn into an inferno.
Renton Fire Authority responding to abandoned buildings on Garden and Park Avenue. Firefighters are using ladder trucks instead of the building’s stairwells to reach the roof due to the many hazards inside the building. Photo taken at about 8:00 PM today along Park Avenue (west side of building)More units were positioned defensively on the north side of the building, many from neighboring jurisdictions. If the fire had grown into an inferno, these rigs were positioned to reduce the chance of it spreading.
In the midst of a statewide housing crisis, Renton School District has begun tearing down homes for a ballfield that won’t open until 2030. Ten homes on the block are still in legal dispute, but the residents of these homes will soon be surrounded by weeds and broken concrete where they used to have neighbors. Those opposed to the School District’s actions have suggested this is why the School District is moving so fast– to destroy the neighborhood so the remaining owners feel compelled to move, while lowering their property values. The school district plans to tear down 32 single-family homes along with eight businesses.
No permits for a new school have been issued, and the Renton City Council has never taken a vote on whether to vacate any of the public streets that would be necessary to complete their plan. So by tearing down the neighborhood, the School Board has chosen to “force the hand” of city government to grant all of their future requests or else forever live with the blight of a demolished block of houses where a vital neighborhood once stood.
The demolition of the houses is also an end-run around the new Houston Eminent Domain Fairness Act recently unanimously passed by both houses of the state legislature. The act was named after the Houston family in Renton who lost their property to the Renton School District in the 1960s, and then watched it get sold for a profit. The act requires the School District to sell back property taken by threat of eminent domain to the previous owners for the original purchase amount if it is not used for its proposed public purpose. By demolishing the homes on the land before any building permits are issued, the School District has ensured that the owners can not get their homes back even if the district is unable to build, defeating the intent of the State Legislature.
Other homes on the right of these signs will soon be getting demolished. The elimination of the neighborhood will put Renton High adjacent to the Renton Airport. (The building at the end of the street is an airport building that will remain.)
The project schedule shows the new high school, including the new ballfields where this home is being torn down, will not be complete until late in 2030– over five years from now.
A Wikimedia Commons image of a Learjet 45. There were two Learjet 45 arrivals in Renton overnight, along with several other business jet arrivals and departures.
The Mayor responded by publishing his “Plane Speak” memo which included the nonsense assertion that the airport would be closed when the tower was closed (something that isn’t true and would not be allowed by FAA). Here is a quote from the memo: “Will Renton Municipal Airport be opened up to 24/7 jet traffic? No, any business operations will be subject to the air traffic control tower operation hours – from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM in winter; and 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM during summer.”
After hearing some jet activity last night, I took a look at the flight tracker to see how much traffic we are starting to get on a typical night.
The FlightAware flight tracker shows five business jet arrivals in Renton last night. A Cessna Citation from Milwaukee at 9:51 PM, A Gulfstream G200 from Chicago at 12:31 AM, A Learjet 45 from Anchorage at 2:56 AM, A Bombardier Challenger 600 from Bakersfield (Meadows Field) at 1:00 AM, and a Learjet 45 from Juneau at 12:52 AM.
There were also two overnight departures, a Learjet 45 left for Juneau at 2:26 AM, and a Bombardier Challenger 600 departed for Portland at 1:40 AM.
There were no propeller aircraft operating at these hours; only jets in Renton in the middle of the night.
As we get into the summer months and residents begin leaving windows open at night, the noise from these jets will likely become a bigger issue. If residents become concerned, they should write to the Council at council@rentonwa.gov, and ask the Council to adhere to the Renton Airport Management Sustainability Plan to keep our community airport from turning into a regional jet center.
Renton airport arrival data for last night, pulled from Flight Aware flight tracker
Renton airport departure data for last night, pulled from Flight Aware flight tracker
The derelict buildings on Park Avenue put public safety at risk, harm nearby businesses, blight the northern entrance to downtown, and make it harder to lease the new office buildings at nearby Southport.
Renton’s 4-5-060 code is clear. If Renton’s building official determines that a building is an immediate danger to occupants or those nearby, the official should post it with a message that says “This Structure Is Unsafe and Its Occupancy Has Been Prohibited by the Code Official.” It is then unlawful for anyone to enter unless they are officially repairing it. This is commonly known as the city putting a “red tag” on a building. The building official should then order the work to be done to bring the building up to code. If the danger is imminent, the code official is allowed to make emergency repairs to prevent imminent danger. The cost of the emergency repairs will be temporarily covered by the jurisdiction, but billed to the owner of the building.
The buildings on Park Avenue reached an unsafe condition two years ago, with unabated fire damage, disabled fire protection that could cause a seven-story inferno, blocked fire exits, broken windows falling from 7 stories up, open elevator shafts, mold build-up from rain and fire hose water, biohazards from human occupancy without sanitation, and the attractive nuisance of being a dystopian former aerospace office that looks like it belongs in the game “Fallout.”
It took a year and a half, and much cajoling from residents, to finally get the city to follow the code-prescribed procedures to visibly “red-tag” the building. For months the city effectively just kept writing letters to the building owner threatening that an even more firm letter would be coming if they didn’t take action.
A Renton reddit user recently posed a question on a Renton reddit page asking “could we please have light rail connectivity in Renton?”
Click here to see the complete Reddit thread on this topic.
One commenter says Renton Councils and residents of the past didn’t want light rail, some point to unfair lack of Renton representation on the Sound Transit board when key decisions were made, some point to Renton’s lower density than Seattle, some say our topography is to blame, and some say we’re not working hard enough to get it today. One made an interesting point that Boeing, our largest employer, has many workers with shifts starting too early in the morning for Sound Transit trains (although Everett has a similar workforce and it is scheduled to eventually get Link light rail).
I’ve covered Renton’s concerns regarding Sound Transit extensively in the past, and I don’t agree with some of the reddit comments. For instance, I always wanted Link light rail during the time I was on council (first writing about Renton’s struggles with the agency in 2007), and I don’t think our topography or density are less suited than other areas like Redmond or Issaquah. I also agree with many of the comments, and I’m happy to see our community discussing it. I’m impressed with the level of interest and engagement by our community.
As I’ve said in my previous blog entries, I would like to see Sound Transit complete the five million dollar study that voters agreed to as part of Sound Transit 3 to determine an alignment and layout for a future Link light rail station in Renton. This study should be completed soon, to make sure Renton is not left out of any future Sound Transit 4 planning.
Renton resident Sarah Becker presented to Renton City Council last night regarding the eminent domain takings around Renton High School. Her notes are attached below.
Renton School Officials have repeatedly said that Renton High School is built on “a small parcel of land” and should have 30-40 acres to be competitive with other high schools. But Renton resident Sarah Becker put together data showing Renton High has more property than many high schools in our region, especially when taking into account the nearby 17-acre Renton Memorial Stadium that is available for Renton High use.
She presented the data at last night’s Renton City Council Meetings, and asked the City Council to help stop the destruction of 32 homes and eight businesses being taken by Renton School District by threat of eminent domain.
While Renton Council did not initiate the eminent domain takings, the Council arguably has the power to stop the takings because the plan requires the Council to give the school district three public streets. If Council said “no” to the street taking, the District’s plan could not go forward (the School District can’t take city-owned property by eminent domain). And in addition to saving 32 homes and 8 businesses, Council has good reason to keep these streets. South Tobin Street is an important alternative to Airport Way in a high traffic area constrained geographically by Renton High School, Renton Airport and Lake Washington. Without South Tobin, any disruption to Airport Way could gridlock Renton.
Ms. Becker also put together a listing of all the affected properties purchased so far under threat of eminent domain, and noted that the cost has exceeded 38 million dollars even before the School District has acquired the ten most-contested properties; the takings of these ten properties have now been turned over to the School District’s pricey outside law firm, who is initiating a potentially costly legal fight with the owners of the land. If the District wins these court fights, this land will end up costing taxpayers 10-20 million more.
If Renton ultimately submits to giving up streets, the School District should pay Renton for the land. The streets belong to City of Renton taxpayers, and the School District has larger geographic boundaries extending into Newcastle, Kent, Tukwila and King County. City of Renton voters have never agreed to donate this property to the larger school district. The fair market value of the land under these streets is probably another ten million dollars or more.
All told, the district has over 38 million invested with potentially as much as another 20-30 million to pay out to acquire land before they even break ground. The purchases will allow them to move the ball fields a few hundred yards east, where they might be allowed to have lights on them– but 100 or so residents and eight businesses will have lost their homes. As I showed in a previous entry, this is likely the most expensive high school baseball complex ever built.
Here are Ms. Becker’s charts:
Acreage data summarized by Renton resident Sarah Becker and presented to Renton City Council
Sales data of properties around Renton High School summarized by Renton resident Sarah Becker
