Monthly Archives: March 2016

Grounds for appeals of developments

Posted on by
2
  • A previous column described some of the changes in Sammamish over the 20 years I’ve lived here, ending with appeals I filed over some development along SE 8th Today’s post takes up where that left off.

When I filed appeals of the Greens of Beaver Crest and a companion development, I knew little of what I was doing. I only knew I wanted some traffic calming on SE 8th, where I lived at the time, and King County said no. (This was before Sammamish incorporated.)

Tom Harmon, a citizen activist and a member of SHOUT, a citizens group, dropped off a manual of sorts about how to pursue appeals. I also began attending the public hearings of another appeal of a development along SE 228th by a resident, James Jordan, to learn about the process and evidentiary rules and requirements.

Still another appeal, over traffic issues that were at the heart of my appeal, had been filed a resident, Craig Dickison, and adjudicated by the King County Hearing Examiner.

The appeals were all denied, although the decision on Dickison’s appeal had been a close call. This decision became the one to follow for the Greens.

Citizens lose

One of the early takeaways from these appeals above was that citizens lose appeals. It was very, very rare that they win.

Under the law, Examiners give great weight or deference to the presumed expertise of those government employees making the decisions to grant approval of developments. Appellants have the burden of proof to demonstrate the decisions were in error.

When I talk about appellants as citizens, I should note that developers have the right to appeal as well. They sometimes do, objecting to conditions imposed by the government’s staff. We’ve seen this most recently in King County’s appeal of Sammamish staff conditions for development of the south leg of the East Lake Sammamish Trail. The County largely prevailed, while a homeowner’s group, SHO, did not in its appeal of the same ELST permit.

We also saw the developer appeal the Chestnut West development permit. Citizens won their appeals; the developer lost.

Continue reading →

County appeals Trail decision, claims Examiner didn’t have jurisdiction

Posted on by
Reply

March 15, 2016: Despite telling local press that it would not appeal a Sammamish Hearing Examiner’s decision on the East Lake Sammamish Trail development–a decision in which the County largely prevailed over staff-imposed conditions for the permit–the County filed an appeal with the State Shoreline Hearings Board.

The City previously filed an appeal over two decisions by the Hearing Examiner, which favored the County.

The full County appeal is here: KC Appeal ELST to State. Including the original Examiner’s decision, the PDF document is 88 pages.

Essentially, the County is asking the State Hearings Board to find not only did the Examiner not have jurisdiction, it’s also asking that all conditions imposed by the Staff be voided, just as it did when it appealed to the Hearing Examiner in the first place. (The Examiner had denied a motion from the City over his jurisdiction in the matter, thus last December’s full hearing. The County essentially seeks to relitigate the entire matter before the State.)

Continue reading →

20 years in Sammamish

Posted on by
6

I was cleaning out some old photos the other day and came across one that is perhaps as representative as any of how Sammamish changed in the last 20 years.

SE8th Sammamish 19960002

SE 8th St. east of Skyline High School at the bottom of the hill, left, in 1996. Compare SE 8th to today. Right, that winter in a rare, heavy snow.

I moved here in May 1996, from Dallas. I had come home for lunch one day and found a huge, open field behind my house marked by surveyors. I decided then and there to move away from what looked like planned development. Having been to the Seattle area and the San Juan Islands a short time before, I decided to move here for a lifestyle change.

I chose what was then unincorporated King County because it was near mountains and water, and in the winter, snow (at least then, this was true). I chose SE 8th St. because it was a small country road with few houses.

Little did I know.

Continue reading →

Mars Hill Church, ELST appeal thoughts

Posted on by
2
  • Sammamish Comment has been silent since Feb. 8 because of travels. We’re back in town now for a while and are back with coverage of Sammamish.

Mars Hill Church

The former Mars Hill Church on 228th Ave. in Sammamish. Photo via Google.

The former Mars Hills Church on 228th appears to be on the verge of becoming the proverbial white elephant.

Purchased in a hasty manner for nearly $7m when the church organization collapsed, with the expectation that colleges were interested in opening a campus here, this dream went up in smoke due to circumstances beyond the City’s control.

At the March 1 meeting, Deputy Mayor Ramiro Valderrama moved to lease the building for five years while the Administration sought to find a long-term solution. Members Christie Malchow and Tom Hornish supported the motion. Members Tom Odell, Kathy Huckabay and Bob Keller opposed it as premature and suggesting too long a period. Mayor Don Gerend, who would be the swing vote, instead moved to put the issue over to the March 15 Council meeting. This passed unanimously.

Here is some background information.

Continue reading →