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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016
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Decision due soon on East Lake Sammamish Trail permit appeal By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@ sammamishreview.com A decision is expected by Feb. 11 regarding King County’s appeal of the conditional development permit handed out by the city for the southern portion of the East Lake Sammamish Trail. The city and the county have been at odds over the trail design for at least a year. In July, the county appealed the city’s conditional development permit saying some of the conditions placed on the county were “onerous and burdensome.” The two sides came together for three days of testimony in mid-December in front of city hearing examiner John Galt. No decision was reached and Galt ordered county and city officials to try and resolve their differences before the hearing continued on Jan. 28. The two sides did get together on Jan. 14, said Doug Williams, media relations coordinator for the county. He added that county and Sammamish officials reached agreement on how to implement four of the city’s conditions. One big issue was the city’s call for narrowing about 550
feet of the trail, a change the city said would save 63 significant trees. The county agreed to narrow its clearing limits rather than narrowing the trail, Williams said, saving the trees Sammamish hoped to save. The county also reached a negotiated settlement with an adjacent property owner regarding drainage requirements. Finally, the county and Sammamish came together on a requirement that the city respond within 24 hours on tree-removal permits. There are at least four other issues on which the two sides still do not see eye-to-eye, Williams said. The city offered few details on their response to the county’s claims. Some other city conditions include a call to redesign or move a stormwater-retention vault to reduce impact on nearby residents. The city intended to supply county officials with its response to the Jan. 14 meeting by Jan. 21, according to Tim Larson, city communication manager. Both the county and the city have the right to carry an appeal into a King County courtroom if they aren’t satisfied with the hearing examiner’s decision.
Council moves to annex Mystic Lake property By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@ sammamishreview.com If all goes as expected, the City of Sammamish will grow by an additional 45 acres March 23. By annexing what is known as the Mystic Lake property, or
the 224th Avenue Northeast annexation zone, the city also will be welcoming 115 yet-tobe-built households into the fold. The city is using the “island” method of annexation as allowed by state law See MYSTIC, Page 3
Spartans grapple their way to third at Kingco tourney, Page 7
Robotics ‘angels’ earn their wings
Contributed
Two Sammamish Girl Scouts helped their robotics team, Blue Angels, win the programming award at the Western Washington FIRST Lego League Championship, a robotics competition for middle- and elementary-school students, Jan. 30-31. The FLL presents this award to the team that understands outstanding program principles and whose robot demonstrates programming mastery. Inglewood Middle School students Emma Shi and Alexandra Batoukova were joined by teammates from Bellevue and Kirkland, including Nika Samsavar, Environmental and Adventure school; Serena Yin, Odle Middle School; Sophia Fang, Odle Middle School; Jessica Massey, International School; and Sofia Blanco, Spiritridge Elementary School. The First Lego League is a division of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which introduces students ages 9-14 to real-world engineering challenges or “missions” by building and programming LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a specific, thematic playing surface. There are more than 500 FLL teams in Washington.
Tent City 4 wins city permit, begins 120-day stay at church As many as 51 people allowed at encampment By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@ sammamishreview.com Permit in hand, the homeless encampment known as Tent City 4 was scheduled to move onto the grounds of Mary, Queen of Peace Feb. 5 for a 120-day stay.
Up to 51 camp members will be allowed to stay at the church. On Feb. 5, Jeff Thomas, Sammamish community development director, said Tent City 4 and the host church had met all conditions laid out in city code. The city spell outs requirements for such things as sanitation, an adequate water supply and screening from any abutting residences. The church also had to hold a public meeting, which it did Dec. 30 with about 30
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people in attendance. The meeting was a quiet one with little opposition to Tent City expressed. Rev. Kevin Duggan said the city seems to be following a pattern regarding Tent City. The first time Tent City 4 visits an area, there is plenty of opposition, Duggan said. “But fears diminish,” he added. “People realize it’s a well-ordered operation.” This is Tent City 4’s second stay at Mary, Queen of See CAMP, Page 3
50¢ Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71