Ramiro’s law: Council member Valderrama distorts reality to gain legal support for his pro-development policies

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By Miki Mullor
Deputy Editor

Sammamish Council Member Ramiro Valderrama distorted advice from an organization

Valderrama

Ramiro Valderrama

before the City Council August recess that misled fellow council members about key laws governing growth, traffic and development in Sammamish.

Emails obtained from Municipal Resource Service Center (MRSC), a non-profit legal advice organization, reveal Valderrama’s selective citing of laws and legal advice from MRSC painted a picture that support his strategy to continue over development in Sammamish.

In fact, the emails, when read in their entirety, paint a different picture.

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Mayor Malchow: “the law doesn’t say grow at all costs”

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Sammamish Mayor Christie Malchow took a public stand on

Mayor Malchow

Tuesday against a years old mantra by former councils and former administrations that the “GMA mandates growth.”

In a comment made on a Facebook post on Tueday, Malchow referenced an interview she had with KIRO radio, in which she came out against the years old “head in sand:”

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City pays former City Manager $300,000 to separate

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The Sammamish City Council approved a $300,000 payment to

Lyman Howard

former city manager Lyman Howard, to separate from the city, according to a Separation and Release Agreement obtained through a public records request.

Howard’s employment with the city terminated as of August 1, 2018.

The payment includes:

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All or nothing

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Commentary

By Scott Hamilton

By Scott Hamilton

At yet another meeting, the Sammamish City Council was consumed by the traffic concurrency-driven building moratorium.

In a surprise move, Deputy Mayor Karen Moran moved to lift the moratorium for the Town Center and for short plats. (Short plats are small developments of only a few homes, those projects typically sought by the “moms and pops.)

The meeting ended without taking a vote.

This action would be unfair to other developers and provide preferential treatment to STCA, the developer of the Town Center.

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City council in chaos

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In a wild and chaotic meeting Tuesday, dealing with the city manager’s position, concurrency and development the Town Center, it became clear the business of Sammamish is done behind closed doors and that developers’ influence is running strong.  

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