Category Archives: Town Center

Development gates are wide open again

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

** Special coverage ** 

After four years of battle, in which city council was able to temporarily put control on over development, a one-two punch by former mayor Don Gerend and city staff ended the fight.  

As of July, development in Sammamish can continue uninterrupted, regardless of inadequate infrastructure. 

The concurrency measure known as Volume over Capacity, or V/C, that gave City Council a tool to prohibit development that exceeds the ability of infrastructure to handle it, is gone and so was a development moratorium that has been in place in hopes of restoring it. 

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Sewer connection moratorium enacted on part of Sammamish; current development unimpacted

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

The Sammamish Plateau Water District board voted unanimously enact a moratorium on new sewer connection certificates in the northern part of Sammamish. Current development in the permitting process, including Town Center Phase I 400 homes project, are not impacted by this decision. Future development in the Town Center and elsewhere within the affected area will be blocked while the moratorium is in place.

In January, we reported the Sewer District’s warned King County a moratorium is coming, yet apparently no progress has been made.

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City staff opposes restoring a stringent Town Center stormwater regulation designed to protect creeks and homes

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

A months-long investigation by Sammamish Comment that includes email interviews with staff and public records requests reveal city staff opposition to restoring a stringent stormwater standard in the Town Center area.

  • Staff opposes the former standard because the soil in the Town Center makes it “infeasible” to implement. 
  • In public, staff said the standard or an equivalent to it, is in place.
  • In private meetings with council members, staff admitted it was eliminated and opposed restoring it.
  • STCA’s Phase I 400 homes permit’s stormwater section was approved although the developer said it is not implementing it because “it is not feasible”. 
  • The City does not know the impact of the currently enacted and relaxed standards on the creeks and downstream homes.
  • City Manager David Rudat on The Comment’s investigation: “a take down”.
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BREAKING NEWS: Council Member Jason Ritchie resigns over Town Center; calls city council obstructionist

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

In a bombshell announcement at the end of the Sammamish City Council meeting tonight, Council member Jason Ritchie resigned from his position effective immediately.

Earlier in the meeting, the Council extended the moratorium on development for six more months, with an exception for single family homes on existing lots.

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Sammamish Water District warns Constantine on a development moratorium in Sammamish

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

A moratorium on development is coming to Northern Sammamish, unless King County commits to fund short- and long-term improvement to the sewage infrastructure.

A moratorium on sewer connections will impact not only future development but also permitted development that has not yet been connected to sewer.

In December, we reported that the Sammamish Water and Sewer district is out of capacity to handle sewer for development on an irregular line roughly north of SE 8th St., including the Town Center development site. 

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