Category Archives: King County

City Council gets earful over preference for Issaquah-Fall City Road improvement

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June 11, 2016: The Sammamish City Council got an earful from a resident about a six year wait to improve Duthie Hill Road on the City’s Northeast side.

“I don’t think you are hearing my level of frustration,” said Robert Nielson, 2311 277th Ave. SE, following an explanation by Council Member Tom Odell about efforts to reach an agreement with King County that would allow Sammamish to take over County-owned portions of Duthie Hill Road.

“We were told this six years ago when we were annexed into the City. In six years, nothing has happened. So why should I believe you now?”

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Lake Trail overhangs Sammamish politics for 20 years

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  • This is about 10 pages when printed.

City_of_SammamishJune 5, 2016: Development of the East Lake Sammamish Trail has been an overhang of Sammamish politics for 20 years.

It was a dominate factor in the first City Council race 1999 and surfaced again in 2001. It became a key issue in the 2003 election, with a flood of “outside” money flowing to candidates favoring the Trail.

The issue surfaced periodically in subsequent elections. It wasn’t until 2015 that once more it became a key election issue, as Trail residents rallied behind three candidates to win bitterly contested races. For the first time, they helped elect a resident who lives along the Trail.

And the issue hasn’t subsided, either.

In April, three Council Members voted to undercut the City’s own Hearing Examiner and side with King County, developer of the Trail, on a jurisdictional issue in an appeal before the State Shoreline Hearings Board.

This is the story behind the 20-year battle of the ELST.

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House said to be historic at risk of tear down

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440 218th Ave SE - House West (primary) elevation 1999frame

The Eddy House at 440 218th Ave. SE in Sammamish is said to have historical value as a residence for members of three Indian tribes. It’s at risk of demolition for a development, say the Harry Shedds.

A quiet effort to save a house that is called historical in nature faces an uphill fight with the City of Sammamish.

Harry and Claradell Shedd want to prevent the demolition of the Eddy House at 440 218th Ave. SE, just north of Big Rock Park and South of SE 4th.

The boarded-up house is “a singular landmark-eligible residence of Indian tribal members’ importance,” they say. Members of the Duwamish, Yakima and Snoqualmie tribes have lived here, they said.

Sammamish is processing a development application from Quadrant Corp. that would result in tearing down the home, the Shedds say.

The Sammamish Heritage Society and the City have reached an impasse, they said.

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Give Sound Transit an earful May 2 over ST3

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Sound Transit 3: Parallel rail lines, two stations from Issaquah/Bellevue and Seattle/Bellevue along the South Bellevue corridor.

Sound Transit will hold a public intake meeting Monday, May 2, at Sammamish City Hall beginning at 6:30m to receive comments on Sound Transit 3 (ST3), the $27bn tax hike for $50bn in projects over the next 25 years.

This is on top of tax increases approved for Sound Transit 2.

Sammamish citizens should attend this meeting to make it clear to Sound Transit and King County officials that ST3 is poorly conceived, ill-timed, extends over too long a period and short-changes not only Sammamish and the Eastside, but also Everett City Center and the Boeing Everett plant, where so many people from our local environs work.

Our citizens also need to urge the Sammamish City Council to opposed ST3.

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Sammamish, the first two years

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City_of_Sammamish

The new City’s logo was adopted from a combination of entries from school children in a contest.

After the first City Council election for the new Sammamish, the task of creating a new city was enormous.

The City Council had to select its leadership and committees for key “needs,” such as transportation. Ordinances had to be created. Contracts for essential services had to be negotiated. An interim City Manager and staff had to be hired. Eventually a Comprehensive Plan would have to be written. A temporary City Hall had to be located, no small task in a community with no business complexes. A place to hold City Council meetings had to be identified.

And these are just some of the priority issues.

One of the top issues, the reason for incorporating in the first place, was to put a halt to the runaway development.

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