Sahalee Road proposal draws criticism from public, heat between Council Members

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Six Yr TIP Sammamish

Sammamish’s Six Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) includes a proposal to widen Sahalee Way to three lanes from NE 25th north to the City Limits and beyond to SR202, outside the City Limits. This is the red line at the top of the City map. Click on image to enlarge. Source: City of Sammamish.

A plan to widen Sahalee Way from NE 25th north to the Sammamish City limits drew criticism from the public and prompted a heated exchange between council members at the July 7 City Council meeting.

The City Staff presented the proposed Six Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to the Council for approval (which it did), including plans to widen Issaquah-Fall City Road along the eastern border of the Klahanie Annexation Area, a promise made by the City Council in advance of the April 28 annexation vote.

This expensive project–some $23m–drew little comment from the Council, outside of how it will be funded. But the proposed widening of Sahalee Way to three lanes, sidewalks and bike lanes, caused Council Members Ramiro Valderrama and Tom Odell, normally reasonably closely aligned on budget issues, to figuratively come to blows.

Members of the public also criticized the plan.

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Cost of Klahanie annexation to Sammamish taxpayers: $4m-$5m so far

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  • $3m in tax revenues to King County;
  • Forfeiture of $1m-$1.5m in sales tax equalization;
  • $700,000 to Fire District 10 for tax revenues lost;
  • In return, King County provides $500,000 in services;
  • Klahanie residents don’t get to vote in November 3 City Council elections; must wait until 2017 to vote in next City Council election;
  • Taxes get lowered for 2016;
  • Klahanie gets some services from King County it should have been doing anyway.

The cost of annexing Klahanie to Sammamish is adding up to $4m-$5m before the annexation becomes fully complete on January 1.

The cost to Klahanie voters is two years of disenfranchisement because the Sammamish City Council voted July 7 to make the annexation fully effective January 1, 2015, rather than July 31, in two weeks, when everything else procedurally effectively becomes part of Sammamish. The January 1 effective date means residents in the Klahanie annexation area won’t be able to voter for candidates in the Sammamish City Council races November 3. The next city election is in 2017.

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Sammamish leadership moves up readings on Initiative and Referendum ordinance

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Sammamish City Council leadership advanced the first and second readings of the enabling ordinance for the Initiative and Referendum from July 21 and September 1 to July 14 and July 21, calling a special meeting of the Sammamish City Council for this Tuesday.

City Manager Ben Yacizi told Sammamish Comment that the Council decided to get the first and second readings completed before the August recess.

The cover page to the Special Meeting, for which the first reading of the ordinance is the only item on the agenda, is below the jump.

The Council meeting was originally scheduled as a Study Session to discussion the Comprehensive Plan updates.

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Sammamish adopts Initiative Resolution on 5-2 vote

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The Sammamish City Council tonight (July 7) adopted a resolution declaring its intent to adopt an ordinance granting residents the right to Initiative and Referendum.

Due to legal requirements in State law, a separate vote will be forthcoming to adopt the enabling ordinance. The effective date is estimate to be on or about October 10.

Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay and Council Member Tom Odell voted against the resolution. The rest of the seven member council voted for it.

Odell was the lone vote against even sending the issue to voters for an Advisory Ballot. Voters said Yes in an April 28 vote by a 55%-45% margin.

Huckabay, who led a stealth campaign against the April 28 vote, stood by her long-held opposition to the I&R. She professed neutrality while leading the stealth campaign.

Hank Klein drops out of Council race against Valderrama (developing)

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Hank Klein has dropped out of the Position 4 race for Sammamish City Council, but too late to pull is name off the ballot.

“I have decided to drop out of the race for City Council because of personal reasons,” Klein wrote Sammamish Comment today after I left a voice mail for Klein seeking his website address. Through yesterday, no website had been created.

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