How the STCA 419 homes development passed concurrency – after failing it for 9 months

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By Miki Mullor
Editor 

Aug. 19. 2019: Town Center developer STCA last week received two traffic concurrency certificates that clear the way for 419 new homes and 82,000 square feet of retail space on the southeast corner of SE4th and 222nd Ave. SE.

Three members of the council, staff and STCA believed its Town Center project would not pass concurrency testing as a result of the new concurrency standard adopted earlier this year by a split City Council. Indeed, unofficial test runs over nine months indicated this was the case.

Yet, last week, city staff ran an official test and STCA Phase I passed concurrency, with no improvements to the roads.

How was this possible?

This article unpacks and explains the details behind the approval and raises serious questions. It is unusually long and reads best on a desktop.

Mayor Christie Malchow and Deputy Mayor Karen Moran called a Special Council Meeting to discuss the issues with staff.

The Special Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug 20, at 4pm at City Hall. 

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2019 Election: Candidates Speak in First Public Forum

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

Four Sammamish City Council candidates participated in a first candidate forum out of a few planned this election season.

The forum, held at the Sammamish Library on Sunday, August 11, was organized and moderated by the South Asian American Together (SAAT-WA) organization. The forum also included Issaquah candidates.

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BREAKING NEWS: City Issues STCA Phase I a Concurrency Certificate for 419 Homes in City Center

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

The City of Sammamish announced today that two STCA projects for the
Town Center development have passed their concurrency tests and that Certificates of Concurrency have been issued for 419 homes and 82,000 sq/ft of commercial space.

As we reported, until recently, STCA Phase I was deemed to fail concurrency. On May 23, Council Members Pam Stuart, Jason Ritchie and Ramiro Valderrama unsuccessfully moved to exclude the Town Center area, and with it STCA, from the concurrency failure on Sahalee way.

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City launches long waited TMP project to address traffic

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

The City of Sammamish has launched its long waited Transportation Master Plan (TMP), to help achieve the city’s goals over the next 20 years.

“The TMP will provide a strategic framework and prioritized investments to help improve how we get around town,” says the city’s web site.

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Meet the Candidate: Kent Treen

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By Miki Mullor
Editor

Kent Treen

The Sammamish Comment interviewed Kent Treen, a Sammamish City Council candidate running for Position 4, currently held by Council Member Ramiro Valderrama, who is not seeking re-election.

Treen is opposing Karen Howe, who ran for City Council in 2017 and lost to Deputy Mayor Karen Moran.

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