County sues Sammamish over Lake Trail

City_of_SammamishKing County sued Sammamish Jan. 3 over a determination by the City that the County’s clearing and grading permit application for development of Section 2B of the East Lake Sammamish Trail is incomplete.

The County asks King County Superior Court for a declaratory judgment that the application is complete and vested to rules in place Nov. 16. Companion permit applications were deemed complete then by the City. The County also asks for unspecified damages.

This is the latest in long-running disputes between the County, City and residents along the trail.

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City considers live streaming Retreat, with some internal opposition

City_of_SammamishThe Sammamish City Council is considering live webcast streaming of its annual retreat, a move that may be a first among governments in the great Seattle region.

The retreat will begin Thursday night with a 6pm dinner and continue to noon Saturday. It’s at the Murano Hotel in Tacoma.

The Murano is about an hour’s drive from Sammamish in normal rush hour traffic. Tacoma was chosen for the second year in a row in lieu of the City’s historic location at the Suncadia Resort in Roslyn, east of the Cascades. The driving time is about the same, provided there aren’t any snow issues or closures over Snoqualmie Pass.

Council Member Christie Malchow proposed the live webcast. City Manager Lyman Howard opposed the idea, reflecting an opinion from the facilitator hired for the retreat.

Council Members Ramiro Valderrama and Tom Hornish strongly supported Malchow. Members Tom Odell, Kathy Huckabay and Bob Keller gave general support, with some reservations or questions. Huckabay and Keller expressed support for taping the meeting rather than broadcasting it live.

Odell expressed general support but also some reservations.

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Sammamish, County once again head for confrontation over Lake Trail

City_of_SammamishProperty owners along the East Lake Sammamish Trail in the middle section, called 2B, in Sammamish this week implored the City Council to intervene on their behalf in their long-running conflicts with King County over final development of the trail.

Section 2B runs from roughly from the 7-11 on East Lake Sammamish Parkway north to Inglewood Hill Road.

A score of residents asked Sammamish to rescind permits for the section.

Actually, one permit application for designing the trail has been deemed “complete.” However, this permit remains in review.

Another application, for clearing and grading, was deemed by the City as incomplete. The County filed a lawsuit over this determination and is seeking damages, said City Attorney Mike Kenyon.

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