Renton School District groundskeepers work to re-open the street and sidewalk at 11:00 this morning where a large lower limb of a century-old tree fell down overnight.
Renton School District maintenance specialists were at Kennydale Elementary School this morning working to reopen the street and sidewalk after a landmark tree split and lost a large limb. There was no obvious precipitating cause reported for the tree failure (no extreme wind or impact); but the newly-exposed center of the tree appears rotted and hollow.
It was a sad sight, for the workers as well as the onlookers, since this tree has been part of Kennydale Elementary since the beginning of the school. One of the members of the school district staff said that the tree appears in aerial photos dating back to 1930. Kennydale School was first opened near the tree in 1970. As of this writing I’m not sure of the species of this tree. A friend of mine told me he thinks its a Northern Catalpa tree, and that seems likely to me.
Unfortunately, the open wound of the tree revealed a hollow core and significant rot. The tree is now unbalanced, and with the rotten center it is likely that it will have to come out entirely.
When Renton High School is torn down and replaced in the next four years, it won’t be a win for the environment. Yes, its replacement will have a “highly-efficient HVAC ” system and meet the “requirements of Washington Energy Code and Clean Building Act.” But constructing an all-new school instead of updating/expanding the existing one has a nearly insurmountable environmental cost. Millions of pounds of materials will be crushed and trucked to landfills, while millions of pounds of new materials will need to be mined, manufactured, and transported to replace them. It may take 80 years before an improved HVAC system overcomes this environmental impact, if it ever does.
In 2007 Carl Elefante, former president of the American Institute of Architects, summarized the new-vs-remodel dilema by pointing out that “the greenest building is the one that is already built.”
This link includes an excellent interview with Mr. Elefante, where he elaborates on this point. The argument that we should preserve buildings when possible extends far beyond Renton High School. We should be practicing it everywhere.
The Renton High replacement also involves tearing down 40 homes and businesses, which along with causing misery through unwanted takings and displacements, will also have to be replaced. And the new high school project will cut down hundreds of trees, more than the Renton code would typically allow for a site of this size. No amount of insulation in the new school will overcome the environmental cost of these impacts.
Our Renton students deserve the very best high schools we can give them, but no one should be arguing that this particular plan for Renton High was the most environmentally friendly one.
One of 32 houses being torn down for the new school. There are also eight businesses being bulldozed.Some of the trees being removed for the new baseball fields at the schoolThis page from the “New Renton High” presentation on the School District’s website implies that the new high school will be a win for the environment. (It won’t be)
This is one of the 32 homes and 8 businesses that are being taken by Renton School District. None of these were mutual agreements with “willing sellers,” in spite of the School District’s attempts to spin them that way.
Renton’s School Superintendent, School Board Members, and at least one Renton Council Candidate are all attempting to dismiss the degree of harm done to families near Renton High School by asserting that many of the properties acquired by the School District were “agreements” with “willing sellers.” This is a falsehood that adds insults to the life-changing injuries that the impacted families are suffering. This falsehood also reveals that those who made the decision to forcibly take these properties are unwilling to own their decision or its consequences.
To the best of my knowledge, none of the 32 homeowners or 8 businesses that are currently losing their property to the Renton High expansion were actively marketing their property for sale on October 25, 2023. That was the date that Renton School Board directed the superintendent to acquire all 40 properties, using eminent domain as necessary.
Excerpt from Resolution 02-23/24 threatening eminent domain, passed by Renton School District on October 25th, 2023
Every sale of these properties that occured after this date was by definition “under threat of eminent domain,” and not by agreement with “a willing seller.” The sellers can no longer be considered “willing” after Resolution 02-23/24 passed, since the District’s course of action compels them to sell. The School District would have had to complete the purchase before introducing the threat of eminent domain for the seller to truly be considered “willing.”
To put it bluntly, you can’t force someone to do something, and then argue that forcing them was okay because they were “willing.” Compulsion is the opposite of consent.
Courts and real estate professionals widely understand that anyone under threat of eminent domain is not a willing seller. With the threat of eminent domain looming over a property it can’t be kept or sold to to a third-party on the free market– it has to be sold to the government. The seller may ultimately agree on a price with the government to avoid incurring lawyer fees, but that does not make them a “willing seller.” It’s past time for Renton School District to figure this out.
When Renton School District infamously acquired the Houston family farm in the 1960’s and then sold it for a profit to a developer in the 1980s, they bullied George Houston (who signed with an “X” because he couldn’t read) into signing away his family farm using the threat of eminent domain. The threat of eminent domain is frequently all the government needs to compel a sale from someone who can’t afford an attorney. That is why earlier this year, at the urging of George Houston’s son John, the Washington House and the Washington Senate both unanimously voted to approve Senate Bill 5142, the Houston Eminent Domain Fairness Act; the new law attempts to protect people from being exploited the way the Houston family was by even the threat of eminent domain.
Renton School District has many injustices they need to atone for. They should begin by recognizing that compulsion to sell by threat of eminent domain is just a more quiet (and often more exploitive) form of an eminent domain taking.
And if you hear anyone say that the properties around Renton High School were sold willingly, please explain to them how they are mistaken.
One of the 32 homes being taken by Renton School DistrictThe popular El Kiosko Restaurant is one of the eight business forced to move by Renton School District eminent domain actionsAnother home taken by Renton School District
At a recent walk around Renton High School, Counselor/Author John Houston (front-center) shared the story of his parent’s farm being taken in the 1960s by Renton School District. The District used the threat of eminent domain. Mr. Houston’s engaging and enlightening book covering the impact of this loss to his family, and his personal journey to move past it, is available here.
Below the cut I have photos of several more of the 32 homes being taken by either threat of eminent domain, or contested eminent domain court actions.
Gerry Kingen, Renton High class of ’62, receiving a “Wall of Honor” recognition at a ceremony at Renton High in 2013. Photo courtesy of Renton History Museum
Note: I owe this blog post to Anon E. Mouse -probably not their real name 🙂 –, who left me a comment on this previous post about this restaurant at 423 Airport Way being demolished. I was not aware of the link between that restaurant and the founder of Red Robin, and I decided this information was worthy of a post of its own.
During his high school years, Gerry worked part-time with his parents and brother at Renton’s “Kingen’s Steak House”, one of their family’s popular restaurants. They served steaks, burgers, and other american-style food in a bright, inviting building that they had specially constructed at 423 Airport Way, across the street from Renton Municipal Airport.
An advertisement in a 1963 Catholic Newsletter shows Kingen’s serving dinner at 423 Airport Way in RentonA Red Robin prototype? The 76-year-old Kingen’s Steakhouse Restaurant building as it looked two months ago, after a forced purchase by Renton School District; this building was inspirational for modern Red Robin restaurantsInterior of building that was once Kingen’s Steak House
After getting his education and learning the family business, Gerry purchased a small tavern in the Seattle U-District. He remodeled the tavern, added an outdoor patio, and he changed the menu to one that more closely matched the Renton family business. He changed the name from “Sam’s Red Robin Tavern, to simply “Red Robin,” and it became an immediate success. The “Red Robin” chain was born, and Gerry was soon adding restaurants and selling franchises.
Renton School District recently used the threat of eminent domain to acquire the still-pristine restaurant building that the Kingen family built that was such important inspiration for Red Robin and Salty’s. The District spent six million dollars in taxpayer funds to acquire the restaurant. Then, without acknowledging the building’s distinguished alumni history, they bulldozed it along with many homes and other businesses with an intent to construct a baseball field on the site in five years, likely the nation’s most expensive high school baseball field ever. The Superintendent and the Board based their actions, ironically, on their flawed premise that Renton High is an inferior school that needs its own lighted baseball field in order for its students to achieve their potential (the school currently already has several unlit baseball fields).
Gerry Kingen and his mother are among many distinguished alumni from Renton High, including Sally Jewel, former US Secretary of the Interior and former CEO of REI, US Olympian Aretha (Hill) Thurmond, Hollywood music producer Ron Hicklin, and many others. In this previous blog post I discussed other well-known and less-well-known-but-equally-important successful alumni from Renton High School.
The still-pristine Kingen’s steakhouse building was demolished last month. It had been freshly remodeled and was ready to reopen as an Asian food restaurant.King County records show that the building was constructed in 1949, making it 76 years old when it was taken by school district (for $6,000,000) and then demolished.Historic photo of Seattle’s original Red Robin Restaurant. (The building has been replaced by the Robins Nest mixed use apartments and pizzeria.) Photo and history in this Seattle History Blog A typical modern Red Robin Restaurant; Photo from wiki commons
The aftermath of Friday’s demolitionThe restaurant on 423 Airport Way as it looked a month before demolition. It had been in Renton School District possession for many months. The District paid six million dollars for it right before it was scheduled to open as a freshly-remodeled Asian restaurant.
Many Renton residents on social media yesterday were asking about the restaurant getting demolished on Airport Way. This is just the latest in a string of demolition projects– up to as many as 32 homes and 8 businesses– to make way for expanded athletic fields at Renton High School.
Even though the demolition is happening today, the replacement ballfields won’t be open for use for about five more years (the school has four other ballfields onsite they are using now). In addition to the heavy human toll of destroying homes and businesses, the high prices of these downtown Renton properties likely makes this the most expensive high school baseball field in our nation’s history. I covered the controversial timing of these demolition projects more extensively in a previous blog entry here and in another entry here.
I fondly remember dining on this once-inviting dining patio with Boeing colleagues in the summertime. The patio and building became neglected under Renton School District ownership
Like many long-time Renton residents, I have warm memories of this restaurant at 423 Airport Way. I first knew it as Schumsky’s All City Diner, a popular choice for those of us working in nearby Boeing Renton facilities. In addition to satisfying and fast lunch service, the All City Diner offered us a large bright upstairs banquet facility that we used for retirements and other celebrations. And during summer days we enjoyed dining on their outdoor patio. This was one of five restaurants owned by well-known Renton restaurateur and active community leader Don Schumsky.
Around 2006 the restaurant switched from a diner to a sports bar format, and was known first as Home Run, and then later as Touchdowns. I was working at Boeing Field at that time, so I visited less, but I heard it remained popular with Boeing employees.
Most recently the restaurant was purchased by partners that were preparing to run it as an Asian restaurant called Kirin. The new owners had completed years of expensive remodeling and upgrades on the building to get it ready, and were just weeks away from opening. As they made final preparations for opening day, the School District lawyers informed the owners the property would be purchased under threat of eminent domain.
The School District paid the owners six million dollars for the property. They then neglected the building for months as they prepared to demolish the neighborhood.
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.
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.”
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.
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
Renton School District has sent out another quarterly mailer that misleads 130,000 residents about their taxes. Renton’s school taxes have been on a fast-rising trend since 2020 as shown in the chart below. Where the mailer says “we continue to see a decrease of our school district total combined tax rate even as our voters support school construction measures,” district leaders appear to be either: (a) trying to mislead the public into thinking that taxes are dropping because of their good stewardship; or (b) demonstrating they don’t understand math. Either way, it raises issues about whether they are qualified to teach our children math. School tax rates-per-thousand are dropping simply because assessed valuations are skyrocketing, and the net effect is that our actual taxes paid for schools are going up sharply.
The District did drop the most flagrant sentence from their last mailer that said “that’s a $1500 savings for the owner of a home valued at $715,000” after I posted about it, but even without this statement the graph and verbiage remains misleading.
Since they are leading an educational system, I look forward to one day receiving a mailer that says “Yes, we acknowledge your school taxes are going up, and here are the reasons we think you are getting good value for the extra money you are giving us” followed by a list of achievements and plans proving they are spending every dollar wisely in a way that improves student performance.
I’ve voted for every school bond issue in the past, and I care deeply about our schools. In return for this support I expect an honest accounting of the cost trends and results from the district. Whoever is suggesting that they make it look like our taxes are dropping in every one of these mailers should be sent for retraining or serve a time-out in the corner.
In reality, the taxes for the school district are rising quickly. This is a typical Renton Highlands house (owned by my son) valued at $723,000 in 2025. This house appreciated at a normal rate with all the others, with no remodeling. The local school taxes went up significantly.
This 2021-2025 chart for my son’s typical Renton home comes directly from King County’s Tax Transparency Tool. The red bar is the local schools tax, and the blue is our state school tax. 56% of our property taxes goes to schools. Total school tax has increased from $3,134 to $4,092. Local school taxes have increased from $1,658 to $2,469, up $811, a 32% increase (about twice the rate of inflation).
The School District is rushing its application to demolish homes on the newly acquired property near Renton High School. They’re in such a hurry they have not even formally halted a six-year project that was about to build thirty new apartments on Airport Way in the “Dreamliner” project (where they now plan to move the baseball field). The project board for the School District’s demolition plan is now posted next to the project board for the Dreamliner.The Dreamliner Apartment Project has been in the formal approval and permitting process since 2018, and was soon to bring 30 desperately-needed new apartments to Airport Way. But the School District recently purchased this property under threat of eminent domain, and plans to include this property in their relocated baseball field. They’ve also taken 32 houses and 8 businesses for this purpose.
But none of these important public process elements appear to be slowing down the School District in tearing down the checker-board of homes and businesses they’ve been able to acquire, in an effort that some people feel is intended to make it impossible to save the neighborhood while lowering the value of properties that the District has not purchased yet.
Even worse, the immediate tearing down of the homes before the project is formally approved is an end-run around the recently approved Houston Eminent Domain Fairness Act, which was passed unanimously this year by the legislature to assure that if property taken by a school district is not used for its intended purpose it will be sold back to the original owners. How can it be sold back if it is destroyed?
By tearing down the homes they acquire under threat of eminent domain they eliminate the possibility of having to sell them back if their plans are not approved.
Big public projects like a new high school require years of planning and approvals, and any number of steps could cause the project to go sideways. This is especially true at the end of an airport, in an archeological sensitive area, near a salmon-bearing river, with a shallow water-table. The School District themselves acknowledge that the building won’t be complete for about five more years, and that’s IF everything goes according to plan.
The current Renton High School is shown outlined in red. It sits at the confluence of the original Cedar River and the extinct Black River, the historic outlet of Lake Washington. Every salmon spawning in Lake Washington or its tributaries, or Cedar River or its tributaries, passed through this area until 1917 when the Ballard Locks were opened. This site was cherished by indigenous residents for fishing and living for time immemorial. The property now being acquired by the School District includes the historic Cedar River bed and northern shore, and contains significant artifacts that should only be uncovered by trained archeologists. Heavy machinery use will be limited.
Under these circumstances the right thing to have done would have been to leave the neighborhood intact until construction is near, by either buying options on the properties or purchasing them outright and renting them back to the owners. Purchasing them and tearing them down immediately, before they have an approved plan, unreasonably forces the hands of decision-makers downstream in the process and violates the spirit of proper public planning.
Out to bid; Renton School District is inviting bids to tear down some homes in the neighborhood while others are still contesting the eminent domain taking through the courts
Renton Resident Angie Laulainen spoke at last night’s Renton City Council Meeting on this topic, and she provided me a copy of her speaking notes. I’ve included then below the cut:
Renton Resident Angie Laulainen speaks to Renton City Council on May 12, 2025
Renton School District is wielding the public’s authority when taking properties for their new Renton High baseball field, so the public deserves a thorough understanding of what Renton is losing in the process.
This post features the stunning landscape in just the latest one of the 32 homes being taken for this project, which calls for this garden to be leveled and covered with artificial turf or asphalt.
Regardless of where anyone stands on the tradeoff of a ball-field vs private homes, they should admire, respect, and grieve the stately trees, stunning foliage, and wildlife that Renton is losing in this project.
Catherine Ploue-Smith, has owned and meticulously cared for this property across from Renton High School for decades, while raising her family and immersing herself in our Renton community. She enjoys downtown living, and she told me this home has always felt like an oasis in the city to her and her family. She was born in France, and I can see french “country garden” influence in her beautiful landscape.
Renton is a “Tree City,” and we should expect our School District to at least replace her magnificent trees if the trees can’t somehow be saved (which is unlikely since they appear to be in a baseball field in the current school plan.)
Sweltering summer temperatures in Renton’s downtown can already climb 10 degrees hotter than in Renton’s tree-covered neighborhoods in the surrounding hills. Replacing more downtown trees with asphalt or artificial turf will increase the heat island effect.
For decades the homes, businesses, and landscaping on Tobin and Airport Way have been the only buffer between Renton High School and 170 acres of asphalt, concrete, and jet blasts at Renton Airport. Flattening homes and gardens like this one, so that the High School will be adjacent to the airport, does not seem like an improvement. And with increasing jet traffic at Renton Airport, conflicts between the airport and High School needs are only going to get worse.
Renton residents expressed deep concerns regarding the Board’s proposed elimination of school librarians and other key staff, while they simultaneously spend tens of millions of dollars taking homes and businesses by threat of eminent domain to adjust Renton High School’s footprint.
The zoom portion of the meeting was recorded, and the audio is good quality. I’ve included it in this post. Unfortunately, the visual part of the recording only includes a thumbnail-size video of the Board Chambers, and does not include the speaker’s podium during audience comment. But this does not interfere with understanding the commentary.
There were two sessions of audience comment. I’ve included both of them in their original audio, and in an AppleNotes “voice-to-text” transcription. The voice-to-text is imperfect, and I apologize to the speakers that I don’t have time to go through and correct all the errors. It is useful for helping those of you reading to quickly see what was covered, and you can listen to the video for an accurate record.
Here is the first period of audience comment from the zoom video, including the first ten comments:
Here is the second period of audience comments from the zoom video:
A blow-up of the thumbnail video showing Renton’s school superintendent (on left) and all board members were present.
And then, below the cut is the automated transcript of the audience comment. Again, my apologies for the electronic transcription errors…please listen to the videos for the official record.
This image from google earth shows Renton High School’s baseball fields and the airport runway
Renton High School currently has four baseball diamonds, and two of them are in the Runway Protection Zone. Per FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-4B , 2.2.5.1 “the purpose of the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ) is to enhance the protection of people and property on the ground.” The FAA would discourage construction of these baseball diamonds today. But the baseball diamonds have been in use since before FAA’s current land-use policy was in place, so they are considered “pre-existing” or “grandfathered” under regulatory guidance.
This screenshot from the 2022 Renton Airport Layout Plan shows that the northern two baseball fields are in the “Departure Runway Protection Zone”In this schematic of the revised High School layout, the architect depicts an “EXISTING TRACK” in the Departure Runway Protection Zone. This track is not actually existing, and would likely constitute a new use with a new concentration of people. It may not actually be allowed per Renton’s commitments to FAA. This would mean no space was gained by moving the ballfields.Closeup showing the “Existing Track” that does not existThe baseball field as shown on Google Maps today
With the relocation of these baseball diamonds into the current Tobin neighborhood, the School District is proposing to change the use of the property in the Runway Protection Zone to a high school sports track. I question whether this new use meets FAA guidelines. And unlike the existing baseball diamonds, the sports track can not be said to have been approved long ago, before current FAA regulations. Instead, it requires that professional engineers approve it in 2025, with concurrence of city permitting authorities who have responsibility for safety and to FAA.
Everytime Renton Airport accepts federal grants, the city commits to grant assurances which promise that Renton “will take appropriate action, to the extent reasonable, including the adoption of zoning laws, to restrict the use of land adjacent to or in the immediate vicinity of the airport to activities and purposes compatible with normal airport operations, including landing and takeoff of aircraft.”
As a new use in the Runway Protection Zone, the new sports track must be evaluated as to whether it would draw an assembly of people, and how densely populated this assembly could possibly be in the event of an airplane accident at this location.
“2.2.6.1 The number of people concentrated in an area near an airport is the land use characteristic tied most closely to the consequences of aircraft accidents. The most direct method of reducing the potential severity of an aircraft accident to the people and property in proximity to an airport is to limit the maximum number of structures and/or people in areas close to an airport.”
“2.2.6.5 In general, the lower the density, the greater the level of compatibility a use will have with aircraft operations. An airport and the local community should evaluate density near an airport…. the goal would be to require any ensuing development to be at or below the current levels. This essentially focuses on making the current situation no worse. “
Foot races during PE class might be a relatively low density with just 20-30 students on the track. But a competitive track-meet could be very high density, attracting hundreds of people, with spectators on the infield and around the perimeter of the track.
And if the track surrounds a new soccer field, as most do, where spectators typically set up tents and chairs along the side lines, the density of people in the Runway Protection Zone could frequently exceed what is currently seen on the baseball diamonds.
The baseball fields as they exist today have movable soccer goals, but these are located in the southern half of the field, outside of of the Runway Protection Zone, in an area proposed to be converted to parking with the new high school.
For some reason the new high school design approved by the board shows an “existing track” at the location, but there is no track in existence– only baseball fields.
The review and final approval of the details will not come from the FAA themselves, but must come from the Renton School District (as project designer and applicant) and the City of Renton. The City of Renton has final say as both the permitting authority and the airport sponsor. While the FAA won’t specifically make the determination about the compatibility of the use, they will determine whether the City of Renton has used an acceptable process to determine compatibility. If Renton has not, then the city’s ability to receive FAA grants will be in jeopardy, which would put our city’s finances and businesses in jeopardy. In the event of a catastrophe in a crowded gathering, Renton’s current City and School District elected officials will own many of the decisions that led up to it.
First two rows of table in AC 150/5190-4B. FAA expects elected officials who sponsor airports to become familiar with, and uphold, airport safety guidance. Per the AC: “Coordination and communication between elected and appointed officials and airport sponsors is vital to effectively implement and enforce land use compatibility initiatives because most land use decisions are vested with local governments.”
In summary, the baseball fields could continue to be used at their current locations since they are preexisting. If they get moved to a new location, it is questionable whether any high school sports facilities could be built at their current locations without potentially worsening the safety risks and possibly violating airport grant assurances.
In the end, Renton School District may find they forcibly cleared an entire city neighborhood and ended up with no more sports facilities than they have now.
At the last School Board Meeting, a School Board Member mentioned an episode in which a light plane made an emergency landing in the baseball field right after take-off from Renton Airport. This was indeed a dangerous incident, and the fixed base operator associated with the incident was asked to leave Renton Airport a short time later. But this risk is not in any way lessened by changing the baseball field into a running track and soccer field. It is very likely made worse.
The most effective way to limit the airplane risk to Renton High Students would have been to move the high school, as voters approved in the 2022 ballot issue. Institutional uses, which include high schools, are the FAA’s least favorite uses in the danger zones around runways.
The second-best way to limit the risk would be to minimize jet traffic on Renton Airport, as Renton’s 5,300-foot runway is very short for jets landing and taking off at 140 miles per hour, and the risk increases with the number of operations. But our current Airport Management seems to be eliminating piston-engine aircraft and encouraging more jets at Renton Airport.
Residents and taxpayers may have to pick up the pieces as Renton School District and Renton Airport continue their headlong collision into one another.
A small plane flies over one of the Renton High’s two baseball diamonds in the Runway Protection ZoneThe current Renton High School Baseball field includes three baseball diamonds and portable soccer goals. This field is proposed to be redeveloped into a parking lot and an “Existing Track,” even though no track exists in this area.This entire $500,000,000 project (which eliminates 32 homes and 8 businesses) is being done because the Renton School Board does not feel like the strikingly beautiful, historic Renton High Building is good enough for a high school, even after tens of millions of dollars of remodeling have been done to it in recent years.The FAA discourages institutional uses, including high schools, in proximity of an airport per this Advisory Circular
“Number of people concentrated in an area near an airport is the land use characteristic tied most closely to the consequences of aircraft accidents” according to AC 150/5190-4B
Parks and Rec facilities discussed in FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-4B FAA guidance from FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-4B on typical number of people per acre in different uses. Lower is better. A two-acre baseball field with 18 players and ten spectators could come in at the low end, but a sports tournament with hundreds of spectators could come in at the high end.
Longtime S. Tobin Street resident Catherine Ploue-Smith (right) offers numerous reasons that the Renton School Board should not be taking her house by eminent domain; Board Member Pam Teal looks on
Last night the Renton School Board voted 4-0 to continue their condemnation efforts near Renton High School.
As I described in yesterday’s post, the Renton School Board held a special meeting last night to continue their taking of private homes to expand their Renton High School playfield site. (Please see yesterday’s post for full background, with links, on this topic)
Board Members began yesterday’s meeting by asking a few basic questions of Matt Feldmeyer, the District’s Executive Director of Capitol Construction and Planning who is leading the design of the project. One of the questions was whether any of the furniture could be saved in Renton High’s brand new $11.5 million science center that the District just completed last year and now plans to demolish. Mr. Feldmeyer said yes, some of the furniture could probably be repurposed. Board members seemed happy with this answer, as if saving $100,000 in furnishings would somehow make tearing down a new $11.5 building acceptable.
They also asked whether Renton High School sometimes shares their nearby Renton Memorial Stadium with other schools, and Mr. Feldmeyer said they do; based on their reaction, this seemed to be justification to the board that Renton High needed a second football field.
Several residents then testified, offering alternatives to condemnation and other baseball field locations. They also challenged the assumption that Renton High needs a second football field just because they sometimes share their large and well-equipped Memorial Stadium, noting the Memorial Stadium was built for Renton High, and many schools sometimes share facilities (The stadium sits on 17 acres, and has 5,500 covered seats, an electronic scoreboard, a pressbox, concessions, and an all-weather surface). Residents asked the Board to take time to review the many options they have submitted before proceeding. They also itemized many other related concerns.
North Renton Resident Meredith Farmer (who is also the North Renton Neighborhood President but was not speaking in that capacity), gave detailed testimony and closed by asking the Board Members an important question: “If this was your house, would you vote to condemn?”
Catherine Ploue-Smith, a S. Tobin resident who has lovingly maintained her beautiful home and gardens for about 20 years, gave many reasons she and her neighbors should be allowed to keep their homes.
She said the District had just completed the above-mentioned major remodel of the science building, and residents would continue paying taxes for decades to pay off the $11.5 million in bonds for the demolished center.
She also pointed out that the District is not properly maintaining the properties they have already acquired, in many cases leaving them deteriorating with boarded-up windows. These properties are likely to continue being a blight for months or years, as much permit process lies ahead for the project. These properties run down the neighborhood and city, and the haphazard unpainted plywood window-coverings are not allowed by Renton code. (Renton code requires either uncovered windows or painted architectural panels on vacant buildings).
Renton School District is breaking Renton’s ordinances when leaving houses in this boarded up, deteriorating condition. It’s also not fair to those nearby homeowners that are having their homes appraised.
She also felt that the Board was losing sight of how much money they were actually spending in bonds, noting that the last few bonds added together amounted to over a billion dollars, and there was still much unmet need in the district.
Partway through Ms. Ploue-Smith’s thorough testimony I began video recording, and I have provided the video below.
Following about 15-20 minutes of public testimony, the board deliberated for about seven minutes. Part of the brief deliberations included a back-and-forth with a member of the public about whether they would publically read the letters and correspondence they had received, and the Board President said they would not. One Board member mentioned that an airplane once landed on Renton High’s ballfield in the 1990s, but no one explained how redeveloping the baseball field into a soccer field and track (the current plan) would prevent this risk. (I video-recorded the deliberations and provide a link below.)
The Board then voted 4-0 (with one member absent) to proceed with condemning the latest home in the process, 402 S. Tobin Street.
Renton’s School Superintendent (left) and four School Board members watch aa a concerned resident asks them to reconsider taking private property for a new baseball field and reminding them that the bond issue was supposed to pay for a swimming pool for Renton High (which has now been dropped).
In the clip below, S. Tobin Street resident Catherine Ploue-Smith is partway through her testimony encouraging the school board not to take her and her neighbor’s homes for a relocated baseball field. The clip begins with her discussing the 11.5 million dollar Renton High science center that was completed last year and will be demolished for a parking lot.
The clip below is the full deliberations of the Renton School Board (April 24, 2025) as they choose to authorize the latest eminent domain action, the taking of 402 S. Tobin Street.
The latest home being targeted by eminent domain in the meeting. The house will be leveled, along with many others on the block, to relocate the high school baseball field.
