Tag Archives: Issaquah

Issaquah plan threatens Sammamish, Klahanie water supply, lake water quality

Posted on by
4

A proposal by Issaquah to inject storm water from Issaquah Highlands into an aquifer threatens the drinking water supply for most of Sammamish residents.

This is the second assault on the aquifer, which the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District relies upon. I wrote about the first one December 18, 2012. In that case, the Issaquah City Council approved a plan called Lakeside development at the Highlands that will allow a storm water injection well right above a drinking water aquifer.

I wrote at the time something seemed pretty amiss:

The Council, which ultimately approved the agreement unanimously, said it was comfortable with the safeguards and alternatives. Several said they get their drinking water from the aquifer as well and are personally motivated to protect the aquifer. (Emphasis added.)

I’m personally uneasy. Having served on Sammamish City committees and commissions for eight years, I understand the process and thinking that went into this Agreement but I’m nonetheless concerned about the affect on the aquifer.

Now, it turns out Issaquah has applied for a permit with the State Department of Ecology to resume injection of storm water into the aquifer of substantially untreated water. The problem: untreated storm water from the Issaquah Highlands has fecal coliform (ie, bird and pet poop), heavy metal contaminants and a host of other bacteria. This threatens our drinking water. The aquifer serves most of Sammamish, in addition to parts of Issaquah and all of Klahanie. (Note to Klahanie residents: You’re in the Issaquah Potential Annexation Area. Welcome to your new landlords and stewards of your environment.)

[Read more about this issue at a new Water District website devoted strictly to this.]

More alarming: Ecology is poised to grant this permit. Ecology’s pending action is a stunning turn-about from its long history of protecting water. Furthermore, Ecology has been exerting extreme pressure on the City of Sammamish to control storm water runoff into Lake Sammamish, demanding that development runoff be controlled to pre-development conditions (ie, virgin forest). This is a nearly impossible demand in an urban area. While Low Impact Development can help dramatically, it’s impossible to feasibly return to pre-development conditions. The City of Sammamish and some citizens, many represented by the Citizens for Sammamish activist group, have been arguing with the City Council for years over the new, highly restrictive regulations demanded by Ecology. Regardless, treatment and control of polluted storm water is imperative. Why in the world would Ecology be so strict with the City of Sammamish and give Issaquah a pass?

While the permit application is pending, Issaquah is diverting untreated water into the North Fork of the Issaquah River, which flows into Lake Sammamish. This water pollution can accumulate and potential affect home values of lakefront homes (who wants to live with lakefront you can’t use?). The right thing to do would have been for Issaquah to treat the water in the first place–it’s chosen not to do so.

Now Ecology is ready to permit Issaquah to inject contaminated and polluted water into the aquifer. Also keep in mind that this very same storm water injection site was shut down by Ecology in 2008 because high levels of fecal coliform were detected in monitoring wells a short distance from the District’s drinking water wells. Issaquah has been trying to restart the injection of storm water ever since. The city is tired of the Water District’s objections to protect the water supply for 54,000 customers–most of whom reside in Sammamish–so Issaquah has decided to take over the part of the District and the three prime wells inside Issaquah’s boundaries in order to shut the District up and do what it wants with the storm water–the impact to Sammamish be damned.

The Sammamish City Council and City Manager are aware of the situation but so far have not protested either to Issaquah or to Ecology. I find this to be rather perplexing, since our City Council and our City Manager represent us residents (and voters) of Sammamish.

The Sammamish City Council meets Tuesday, May 7.

Here is the Water District’s press release:

Continue reading →

Looking ahead to 2013 for the City of Sammamish

Posted on by
Reply

Here are some of the big issues I see facing Sammamish and our citizens for 2013, in no particular order except for….

  • The future of Ace Hardware. Time is running out. Ace needs a building permit by March (February would be better) if it is to have a new building ready by August, when its lease expires. Staff was directed by the City Council in December to expedite a review of issues facing development of some of the most environmentally constrained land in the city, next to the Washington Federal Bank and the Mars Hill Church on 228th. A land swap with the City is a crucial component. Procedurally, an “emergency” probably would have to be declared to speed up processes required by state and local laws, but there are still certain requirements that suggest to me that even on an expedited basis, I don’t see how it can all come together by February or March. I hope I’m wrong. The City Staff is to report back to the City Council at the first meeting in January (the 8th, I think). Let’s hope. What happens could play into the 2013 City Council race. If a positive solution isn’t found, the issue is certainly going to become a major campaign event. Four seats are up for election: Mayor Tom Odell, Deputy Mayor John James, and Members Don Gerend and John Curley. Failure to find a solution will be used against these guys, and the issue will become a major one. Success will be used by these guys.

After Ace, here are some of the other key issues I see:

  • Staying with or defecting from the Eastside Fire and Rescue (EF&R): This is going to be a Big Deal. A decision will be controversial. The outcome has the possibility of becoming a major election issue for the 2013 City Council race. There is some significant sentiment to leave EF&R because of the costs (it, along with police service, is the highest single item in our budget and it’s going up) and long-running disputes over Sammamish’s fair share of the EF&R budget. Ambitions to expand the district by other EF&R members would have the effect of neutralizing our influence on the EF&R board and place our two representatives at a disadvantage to protect our taxpayers. But, according to several City Council members and others we’ve talked to, our City Manager Ben Yacizi is adamantly opposed to the City forming its own fire department because he doesn’t want to deal with unions. The City Council, which in my long-held view, is too subservient to the City Manager, may well be out-maneuvered by him in his opposition. A committee of former City Council members appointed by the current City Council to study the issue recommended leaving EF&R. The committee included Ron Haworth, a former fire chief himself, Kathy Huckabay and Lee Fellinge. Our City Council so far has ignored this recommendation. A decision comes before the election in November. It will be interesting to see if the four Council Members whose seats are up will have the political courage to withdraw from EF&R; the time, I believe, has come to do so.

Read more: Continue reading →

Does Issaquah action threaten Sammamish water supply?

Posted on by
3

The Issaquah City Council December 17 approved a Developer’s Agreement with Lakeside Development, the owners of the huge gravel pit by I-90 and East Lake Sammamish Parkway, to redevelop the property over 30 years into a series residential complexes that could hold up to 1,200 homes.

Part of the agreement allows for the possibility of substantial infiltration that, if it goes wrong, could contaminate an aquifer that supplies some of the drinking water to Sammamish, Issaquah and some neighboring unincorporated King County.

Even if required studies pre-dating permits for storm water management determine that infiltration is not going to work, using conventional storm water management control (i.e., a retention pond) might not be the best solution for the aquifer, either. According to Issaquah staff presentations at the meeting, the water from a retention pond would eventually be released into the North Fork of the Issaquah Creek, which also finds its way into the aquifer and Lake Sammamish.

A standing room only crowd testified at the public hearing that they were concerned over what they termed inadequate studies in the Agreement about the aquifer. Ilene Stahl of Sammamish, past president of Friends of Pine Line, and others asked the Council to defer approval of this portion of the Agreement for more study. Stahl, a well-known environmentalist and protector of Lake Sammamish and the kokanee salmon that inhabit the lake, said she trusts the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District (SPWSD) to protect the aquifer; drinking water and had concerns about the storm water drainage plan in the Agreement.

Several residents from Overdale, which is nearby the development and which also gets its drinking water from the aquifer, were similarly concerned. One, Dale Timmons, a hydrogeologist, cited the variety of pollutants that come from a major development and criticized the storm water plan as aggressive in its assumptions.

Lloyd Warren, a commissioner for the SPWSD, said the Commission was concerned about the plan, noting the aquifer serves 18,000 people. He said the storm water plan had “conflicting goals.”

The Council, which ultimately approved the agreement unanimously, said it was comfortable with the safeguards and alternatives. Several said they get their drinking water from the aquifer as well and are personally motivated to protect the aquifer.

I’m personally uneasy. Having served on Sammamish City committees and commissions for eight years, I understand the process and thinking that went into this Agreement but I’m nonetheless concerned about the affect on the aquifer.

Poor economy slows Issaquah Highlands, Lincoln Square projects

Posted on by
Reply

The poor economy is making it difficult for Issaquah Highlands to attract retailers, and it also prompted Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman to delay expansion of Lincoln Square.

The Issaquah Press last week had this article explaining the problems the developer of the Highlands is having attracting retailers. The developer is asking the city to pony up $3m to help fund changes to the infrastructure to ease the cost of development.

The article explains:

In order to complete a long-planned business district in the Issaquah Highlands — and transform 14 acres into a cinema, shops, restaurants and more than 1,700 parking stalls — the developer behind the project said about $3 million in city funds is needed.

The developer, Florida-based Regency Centers, said the highlands project needs the dollars to complete roadwork and other infrastructure.

Regency and highlands developer Port Blakely Communities announced a deal in July to sell the land for a retail center, but before Regency completes the deal, company planners asked city leaders to commit public dollars to the project.

Regency is the prime landlord of the commercial centers in Sammamish.

Regency told the city, according to the newspaper:

Meanwhile, interest is low from prospective tenants for the proposed retail complex, as retailers remain reluctant to expand amid a difficult economy.

“We don’t have tenants for all of this space right now. We have some,” [Regency] said. “We have some demand, but it’s a challenge. It’s a very, very tough economic environment right now.”

Over in Bellevue, Freeman acquired the property immediately south of Lincoln Square that previously housed a supermarket. This was closed, with the intent to raze the buildings and expand the square. But because of the poor economy, these plans were put on hold and the supermarket was recently leased to another grocer.

These actions are significant for Sammamish. Our Town Center has been stalled since adoption of the enabling ordinances in January as the economy floundered and banks continue to withhold lending into new projects. Despite claims during the election that the Town Center plan is unworkable, the reality is other factors are driving the non-action.

Our city council’s economic develop committee is trying to figure ways to kick-start the Town Center. The council is considering setting aside $3m (which happens to be the same amount being asked of Issaquah by Regency) to apply toward infrastructure.

Considering the dwindling cash reserves of Sammamish, this proposal is going to come under scrutiny next year.