Monthly Archives: January 2018

Common Cause Housing Balance for Sammamish-Part 3

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Part 1 may be found here. Part 2 may be found here.

  • How to attain sustainable housing affordability, create vast community wealth and improve driver experiences.

Paul Stickney

By Paul Stickney

Guest Contributor

Article Three of Three

 Statement:  As you have been reading these articles, you have seen me use “we” and “our” quite often. This refers to either The City, the Community or both.

For over four years, I have attended nearly all City Council meetings, Planning Commission meetings and Transportation Committee meetings plus others. I am definitely NOT a Politician. I see myself as a citizen “Statesman”–bringing a bedrock of principles that are right, to benefit the members of our community, with a vision of long-term housing affordability and sustainability.  I am working to build consensus for achieving that vision.

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Sammamish City Council retreat begins tonight

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The Sammamish City Council retreat begins tonight with dinner.

It runs through mid-day Saturday.

The agendas for tonight, Friday and Saturday may be found here. Click on each day for the day’s agenda.

The retreat is at the Plateau Country Club. This is the first time the Council is holding its retreat in the city.

Since it is being held locally, there won’t be a webcast.

Common Cause Housing Balance for Sammamish-Part 2

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Part 1 may be found here.

  • How to attain sustainable housing affordability, create vast community wealth and improve driver experiences.

Paul Stickney

By Paul Stickney

Guest Contributor

Article Two of Three

I am beginning Article Two with five transparent Position Statements:

  • Traffic concurrency should limit additional single-family homes in most of the City, that we have Internal oversupplies of; and Traffic concurrency should NOT limit adding smaller and different homes in our Centers that we have Internal undersupplies of.
  • It is not who’s right, it is what’s right for the majority of Sammamish residents over time.
  • In Sammamish, our Internal Housing ‘Needs and Wants’ deficient supply gap numbers are from 2-4 times the size of our External growth target number.
  • As a City, we should make a paradigm shift from “Keeping all Housing to a minimum within Sammamish” to “Ensure Housing supply reaches optimum sustainability within Sammamish.”
  • We, as a community, are HOLISTACALLY far better off with Housing Balance, then without

Please, evaluate these five position statements as you read and critique this series of articles.

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Baughman, Indapure named to Planning Commission

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Mark Baughman

Two candidates who were defeated for Sammamish City Council were named last night to the Planning Commission.

Mark Baughman and Rituja Indapure received the nod from the Council.

Baughman ran against Jason Ritchie for Position 1. Indapure ran against Chris Ross for Position 5.

Rituja Indapure

Baughman and Indapure answered candidate questionnaires from Sammamish Comment, providing a good understanding of their positions on issues. Links are below the jump.

The Planning Commission is the first stop for changes to the Comprehensive Plan, land use, traffic and related issues.

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Common Cause Housing Balance for Sammamish

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Editor’s note: This is the inaugural article of occasional Guest Contributor columns from Sammamish residents. See this post for details about contributing to Sammamish Comment.

 How to attain sustainable housing affordability, create vast community wealth and improve driver experiences.

Paul Stickney

By Paul Stickney

Guest Contributor

Article One of Three

Disclosure: I have, since 1997, had an interest in a five-acre parcel on the Plateau with Richard Birgh, who has owned the land since 1968. In 2008, this property became part of the Town Center.

In Sammamish we, as a community, are facing many important issues, including:

  • Trees coming down; Loss of tree canopy; Worries over wildlife habitat.
  • Tough commutes, traffic congestion and worsening driver experiences.
  • Storm water management; Erosion and sediment issues; Kokanee runs.
  • Preserving community character and aesthetically displeasing development.
  • Housing affordability and options to stay in Sammamish as ones needs change.
  • Capital needed to remedy extensive, inherited transportation deficiencies.
  • Voter tax fatigue – especially with recent impacts of McCleary and ST3.
  • Costs of community desires – Open Space; Parks; Trails; Arts; Human Services.

Several of the above issues are symptoms of two fundamental root ailments.

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