Burien (/ˈbjʊəriən/ BURE-ee-ən)[9] is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle on Puget Sound.

[10] Ouellet had first arrived in the Washington Territory at 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.

[10] 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).

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

A small passenger train ran the tracks and was affectionately named by the residents the Toonerville Trolley.

[citation needed] 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.

Late in 2004, the city assessed the possibility of annexing North Highline (which includes White Center and Boulevard Park), "one of the largest urban unincorporated areas of King County," which would double the size of Burien.

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.

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.

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 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.

This resulted in a new population total of 52,066, making Burien the 25th largest city in Washington State.

It includes retail space, condominiums, rental apartments, a senior living center, and a King County Library branch with underground parking.

It has been the subject of contentious debate due to it being surrounded by private property with no public access.

[15] "Olde Burien" is a name for the area surrounding SW 152nd Street on the west side of Ambaum Boulevard.

Of these, the violent crimes consisted of 6 murders, 28 forcible rapes, 108 robberies and 124 aggravated assaults, while 369 burglaries, 930 larceny-thefts, 783 motor vehicle thefts and 21 acts of arson defined the property offenses.

[27] In 1997 the city was subject to international media attention when Shorewood Elementary School teacher Mary Kay Letourneau raped one of her sixth grade students and became pregnant with his child.

[32] King County Metro operates public transportation services out of Burien, including buses that connect the city to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Bellevue, Downtown Seattle, West Seattle, Kent, Auburn, Renton, Normandy Park, Des Moines, and Tukwila.

Several major arterial streets connect downtown Burien to areas to the north, including Ambaum Boulevard and Des Moines Memorial Drive.