It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone, but with 2016 upon us, it’s time to take a look into the rearview mirror at some of the stories that affected our readers this year.

From the resignation of the Renton schools superintendent to the launch of a new line of 737s at the Boeing plant to the grand opening of the city’s new downtown library, 2015 had a little bit of everything.

Here are some of the stories that we followed this year:

Tiffany Park appeal denied

In 2014, a battle began over plans to build a 97-home development in the city’s Tiffany Park neighborhood on previously undeveloped 21.7-acre parcel of land owned by the school district that was used as green space by the community.

Residents in the area formed the Tiffany Park Woods Advocacy Group and appealed the city’s determination of environmental non-significance in an attempt to halt the project.

In January, the city’s hearing examiner rejected the group’s appeal on grounds that while the woods may have had recreational value, they are not subject to a State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) review and the developer does not have to maintain the woods or the view.

TPWAG appealed the examiner’s decision before the City Council’s Planning and Development Committee, which found no substantial error in fact or law in the hearing examiner’s decision and recommended their findings to the full council in the regular council meeting later that evening.

The decision ends the group’s ability to try and stop the project from going forward.

Kenyon-Dobson Property officially turned over to city

After a seven-year wait and two years in the courts, a house and 2-acre parcel of land that was donated to the city as part of a bequest in 2008 was finally turned over to the city in February.

The land was donated by Arthur Kenyon who left it to the city in his will with a handful of conditions, including that it be called “Kenyon-Dobson Park,” the trees be left standing and the land be minimally developed. He also included a section allowing Karen Dobson, his partner of 25 years and the will’s executor, to live on the property for five years.

After the five years had passed, the city began to work on taking ownership of the property, but Dobson refused to sign over the deed or vacate the land, saying it was her duty as executor to make sure the land was accepted according to what she said were Kenyon’s wishes, which included stricter standards, despite what the will states.

The courts disagreed and in February, the courts again ruled with the city and eviction proceedings were started.

In May, the city announced it had already spent more than $25,000 cleaning the house, with work still to be done. The city plans to use the land as a park and possible trail head that links to the larger May Creek Corridor, an area of land protected through agreements between the City of Renton, King County and the City of Newcastle. The house may be used as an interpretive center.

Interchange funding

When the dust settled from the extended session of the state legislature, the approved transportation package included to money to finally deliver $1.2 billion to widen the Interstate 405 corridor from Renton to Lynwood.

Included in the project is the state Route 167/I-405 interchange, one of the busiest and most-clogged interchanges in the state. According to the WSDOT website, drivers in the area can experience congestion for up to eight hours each day.

While the previous year’s budget included money to begin buying land around the planned project, it did not fund construction, which will build a new flyover ramp connecting the HOT lanes on SR167 to the carpool lanes on I-405. This year’s package included construction money.

Lots of new rooms coming to Coulon Park area

Construction began this year on two major hotel projects near the entrance to Gene Coulon Memorial Park, joining a third project that broke ground in late 2014, that in total will bring about 600 new hotel rooms to the city.

The largest project, a hotel and convention center at the Southport Hotel was even visited by a delegation of Chinese investors this year.

In addition to the Southport project, two more hotels are slated for the area for the area across the street from the entrance to the park, a Residence Inn by Marriott and a Hampton Inn.

The Residence Inn is set to be built on the property presently occupied by the Cowgirls Espresso stand. It is slated to have approximately 140 rooms.

The Hampton Inn is scheduled to go on the parcel just to the north of the Residence Inn. It will have approximately 110 rooms.

Along with the buildings, improvements were made to the intersection at the entrance to Coulon Park, adding a new traffic light and flow.

Renton’s first recreational pot shop opens, medical to close

The city of Renton’s first and second recreational marijuana shops opened this year.

First to open their doors was the Evergreen Market on Rainer Avenue South in April, followed by Emerald Haze of Northeast Sunset Boulevard.

Rapper Snoop Dogg was on hand for the opening of Emerald Haze and then returned in November for a public event.

But while the recreational shops have opened with little or no trouble, the state legislature’s passage of a law designed to combine the medical and recreational industries prompted the city to urge medical dispensaries to apply for new state recreational licenses or eventually shut down.

In October, the City Council responded to state plans to lift the limit on recreational stores within a municipality by limiting to five the number of stores allowed in the city, previously capped at three.

The state began accepting applications for new retail stores in October. Several dispensaries in the area said they planned to try and get a new medical license to allow them to stay in business.