Category Archives: City Politics

So long, Sammamish—sort of

Posted on by
3

Personal message from Scott Hamilton, Editor of Sammamish Comment.

Hamilton KING5_2

Scott Hamilton

After 20 years, two months and 10 days, I have moved from Sammamish.

For my wife, Gail Twelves, it’s been one month short of 16 years.

We’ve moved to Bainbridge Island, where we will build a home. For the first time in decades, we’re renters—for the time being.

Sammamish Comment will continue through next year, at which time this community service to Sammamish will close. The Comment was formed in 2003, so at the end of next year, this will have been a 14 year run.

Continue reading →

Writing Sammamish’s first Comp Plan

Posted on by
8

In Part 1, the background, objectives and membership of the Planning Advisory Board was described. In Part 2, the PAB gets down to work writing Sammamish’s first Comprehensive Plan. This is six pages when printed.

City_of_SammamishThe 17-member Planning Advisory Board members were a cross-section of environmentalists, activists, developers, real estate agents and businessmen. The City Council did an admirable job of appointing a broad spectrum of people.

Open divisions from the start

However, from the start there was open tension among the members. Divisions from the bitter 1999 City Council election carried over to the PAB, which was appointed by this Council. Most of the members of the PAB supported the candidates who won in that bitter contest; a few supported the losing candidates, who, it will be remembered, lost by wide margins in what turned out to be a nasty race filled with anonymous fliers and a forged newsletter.

Sammamish MapOne of the developer-real estate appointees who supported the Council candidates later told one of the environmentalist-activists it was her personal mission to oppose everything he said. The two strong personalities clashed often and openly.

Two members resigned early. One Council Member later said they resigned because they thought the PAB was too heavily dominated by environmentalists. Whether this is an accurate characterization or not is beside the point. The broad spectrum of the appointees belies any charge that environmentalists ran away with the process. In the end, the Comp Plan was adopted and recommended by the PAB with just one dissenting vote and this vote had nothing to do with the environment or any other issue. The dissenter complained the PAB hadn’t finished its job. (This will be described later.)

Continue reading →

Sammamish Council split on supporting ST3; taxpayers get to pay about half a billion dollars for a park-n-ride

Posted on by
12

Seattle Times image.C

Update, July 17: Council Member Tom Odell had been engaged in family matters when this post was written. He has now supplied his position on ST3. It is added below.

The Sammamish City Council is split whether to support or opposed ST3, the new mass transit plan headed for the November ballot for voter approval.

The Sound Transit Board approved ST3 for the November ballot. This $54bn, $27bn new taxes package plans for new rail and bus routes over 25 years. New park-and-rides are also included.

Sammamish City officials estimate our residents will pay an average $1,100 per year per household in new taxes. In return, a park-and-ride is slated for the north end but bus service is actually reduced.

In a heated debate, the City Council in May approved mass transit “principals,” but stopped short of taking a position on ST3 itself. Every Council Member except Bob Keller expressed disappointment or opposition to the draft ST3 plan; Keller did not express a view one way or another.

The Comment opposes ST3 because of the details of the plan regionally, the cost to Sammamish taxpayers and the reduction of service to our City. Additionally, the proposed light rail extension to Issaquah has a target date of 2041. Instead of going directly to Seattle, it goes to downtown Bellevue, where rail riders would have to connect to go to Seattle.

Sammamish Gets a Park-N-Ride

Sammamish gets a Park-N-Ride out of ST3. It also gets reduced bus service. Given the average taxes and fees the average household will pay over 25 years if the plan is approved in November, Sammamish citizens will pay more than a half billion dollars for this park-n-ride and reduced service.

Now that ST3 is headed for the ballot, Sammamish Comment surveyed the Council members for their definitive position on the issue. Their responses are below.

Continue reading →

Sammamish delivers punch to King County over ELST

Posted on by
11

July 5, 2016: Sammamish handed King County a strong left hook to the jaw tonight when the City Council voted to withdraw from a 12-year Inter-Local Agreement (ILA) section involving the East Lake Sammamish Trail (ELST).

Fed up with complaints from property owners and increasing tension between City and County officials over how the County has developed the trail, the City Council’s move to cancel the ILA means Sammamish now has complete control over approving Section 2B of the ELST.

Section 2B is the center section, from the 7-11 to Inglewood Hill Road. Section 1, north of Inglewood to the Redmond city limits, is complete. Section 2A development is under appeal to the Shoreline Hearings Board, which is now deliberating. A decision is expected this fall.

Continue reading →

Sammamish unprepared for disaster, says city consultant

Posted on by
4

City_of_SammamishWhen it comes to disaster preparedness, Sammamish is unprepared.

This is the conclusion of a consultant hired by the City to assess its emergency management planning.

The results, first revealed to the City’s Public Safety Committee June 22, paints an alarming picture of just how unprepared City government is to handle a major disaster like an earthquake. The City also failed to comply with federal and state law to prepare plans. The City failed to join a King County regional planning effort in 2014—and still hasn’t.

The consultant, Gail Harris of GCH Disaster Solutions, painted a grim picture to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee. The committee consists of Deputy Mayor Ramiro Valderrama Council Members Tom Hornish and Christie Malchow, Deputy City Manager Jessi Bon and other City staff members. The police and fire departments are also members.

Among the findings:

Continue reading →