Tag Archives: Sammamish Town Center

Looking ahead to 2013 for the City of Sammamish

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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.

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City advances SE Quadrant Docket Request

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Overruling the Staff recommendation opposing action on the SE Quadrant Docket Request, the City Council approved moving forward with it. The City Council also approved a revised Staff recommendation putting the issues raised by the Docket Request on a parallel track of examining the issues at the Council’s Economic Development Committee.

The Council also decided to expand the Quadrant’s Docket Request issues to the entire Town Center.

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Treat land owners the same, Galvin asks–and he’s right; give him his Docket Request hearing

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At the very end of the Council meeting last night (which eventually will be on the City’s website), John Galvin commented that while he favors action to keep Ace Hardware in business, the expedited approach and focus on Ace raised concerns over fairness and treatment of his Southeast Town Center project, and the Docket Request for increased density.

Staff recommended denial of his Docket Request, and it recommended denial of the Ace Hardware docket request. (More on this in an upcoming post.)

Setting aside for the moment that the community turned out in droves in support of Ace and nobody other than the landowners in the SE quadrant has turned out in support of Galvin, and that Ace owner Tim Koch is respectful and Galvin is a poster child for anger management requirements, this time Galvin is right. (See his appearance during the two hour public comment section of the same Council meeting.)

The Council should override the Staff recommendation and send the Docket Request to the Planning Commission for consideration.

In 2009, Galvin and his fellow landowners submitted a Docket Request to upsize the commercial allocation from 90,000 to “up to” 300,000 sf, plus some density increase, in the SE Quadrant of the Town Center. The Council rejected the application and in my view properly so. The Town Center plan hadn’t even been completed in September 2009, when Galvin submitted the Docket Request and regulations hadn’t been adopted when the Council rejected the request.

This is three years later. Galvin and his colleagues have asked for reconsideration of the 2009 Docket Request, along with a host of changes to regulations.

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Civilized Nature is next locally owned store to leave Sammamish

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Civilized Nature, the local pet store in the Sammamish Highlands shopping center, is the next locally owned store that will be leaving the City.

I confirmed today (Dec. 4) that the pet store will move because it won’t be able to compete with mega-chain Petco, which will move into the former Hollywood Video that has been vacant for a couple of years, and the Rancho Grande and Sushi restaurants whose leases weren’t renewed to make way for Petco.

Ace Hardware’s lease expires August 28, 2013. Petco is said to start construction in January and to open several months later. Civilized Nature did not tell me where it will move to, but since there is no commercial space in Sammamish that is available, Civilized is all but certain to move out of the city.

At the City Council meeting tonight, which was standing room only, I presented recommendations to rezone more land commercial to serve local businesses. I’ll be posting my remarks later.

The City is about to undertake a Comprehensive Plan Amendment process. Astounding as it seems, the City Administration did not put commercial rezoning on the agenda for the Council, even after the lack of commercial zoning outside the Town Center became clear and may be a death knell for Ace. In fact, the Staff report recommended against a rezone for Ace Hardware, for a number of complex reasons.

In more posts this week, I’ll publish various documents concerning the Ace situation.

Citizens for Sammamish push Initiative Vote Right Dec. 4; also Comp Plan changes on the agenda

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Citizens for Sammamish plan to push Tuesday for the Initiative at the City Council meeting. Harry Shedd, head of C4S, sent this email to the Council last week:

Next Tuesday’s meeting will offer you one more chance to certify the “Initiative Process” for Sammamish citizens. It is a simple offering and you have discussed it in the past. Personal freedoms should trump any reasonable alternatives. Please don’t kick this matter down the road…vote YES to allow this right to the citizenry and end your year on a high note.

As I’ve written previously, I’m conflicted about the Initiative process.

Also on the agenda Tuesday is an item starting the process for changes to the Comprehensive Plan, including the Town Center. Citizens and land owners may suggest changes in zoning, policies and permitted uses.