This conceptual rendering shows multifamily housing above retail one of the project elements comprising Sammamish Town Center The street on the left that parallels the property is 224th Avenue Southeast This conceptual rendering also shows multifamily housing above retail a central courtyard for gathering and dining as part of the future Sammamish Town Center Construction crews work in late January on a large underground stormwater vault in the Sammamish Town Center area The vault will have a capacity of more than 1.6 million gallons and is designed to help prevent flooding and reduce erosion in rivers and streams CEO of Bellevue-based Innovation Realty Partners is seen in late January next to the 25-acre Lower Commons section of Sammamish Commons Park which the first two phases of IRP's Sammamish Town Center project will border the Sammamish Community YMCA is visible and part of the 5-acre Upper Commons section This map shows the general boundaries of the city of Sammamish's 240-acre Town Center planning area Innovation Realty Partners' first two phases of Sammamish Town Center include Nos and commercial/retail space; 6 being Brownstones West townhomes; 9 being multifamily residential and commercial/retail space; and 10 being Brownstones East townhomes Already built and operating within the city's larger planning area are the Samm Apartments Aegis Living plans a senior housing facility at site No Lake Washington School District has site No where plans for a high school were put on hold last year It was 10 years ago that Bellevue-based STCA LLC signed its first contract to purchase land for what would become part of a future Town Center in Sammamish — and work on the project has finally begun “This will be Sammamish’s downtown that it never had,” Matthew Samwick, CEO of Innovation Realty Partners LLC and managing member of STCA, said during a tour earlier this year of some of the 90 acres his company acquired from 2015 to 2019 for the Sammamish Town Center project except where it’s bisected by roads inside the city’s roughly 240-acre Town Center planning area That 240-acre area is generally bounded by East Main Street The city’s Town Center project area also includes the 30-acre Sammamish Commons Park which comprises the Upper Commons with City Hall and grassy areas that border Phases I and II of Innovation Realty Partners’ project STCA owns 70% of the developable acres yet to be built within the Town Center designated area Innovation Realty Partners is responsible for managing the project and overseeing the development and completion of the Town Center The city of Sammamish in 2008 adopted the Town Center Plan a comprehensive vision to transform Sammamish Town Center into an urban hub It aims to create a vibrant and family-friendly gathering place that strikes a harmonious balance between urban and natural elements restaurants and offices spread along 2½ miles of the city’s main drag the largest comprising the Sammamish Highlands strip center that includes a Safeway and a few professional offices next to Eastlake High School IRP’s Sammamish Town Center development will create an urban nucleus that will include much-needed multifamily and attached single-family housing IRP’s initial two phases of the multiyear project is planned to include 83 townhomes and about 640 apartment units including a Merrill Gardens senior-living facility About 100,000 square feet of commercial space is also planned Future phases of the city’s 240-acre planning area in addition to its own green space in a 1.37-acre “notch” park which connects to the nearby Sammamish Community YMCA and other municipal facilities — all integral components connected to the future Town Center hub so it’s the youngest city in western Washington and it doesn’t have a true Main Street … and it doesn’t have the services that the people of Sammamish definitely need — not just want but need — and we will be bringing those in phases to Sammamish,” Samwick said during a late-January tour of the property on the plateau above Metropolitan Market Work that began over the winter included the construction of a large underground stormwater vault designed for a high volume of storage within a small footprint It has a capacity of more than 1.6 million gallons and is served by an existing tributary area of 11.7 acres to help prevent flooding and reduce erosion in rivers and streams who worked 17 years as a lawyer focused on corporate and construction law before selling his practice and starting a partnership that acquired and sold finished or near-finished lots in the Portland area He then founded an apartment-development company IRP is finally bringing to life the plan the city adopted in 2008 to create a mixed-use community known as Sammamish Town Center IRP encountered some roadblocks along its decadelong journey “Those roadblocks were unexpected and disappointing We got into this project because we take on complicated real-estate projects as a mission statement and try to make sure we protect the environment while implementing best practices — and this one fit our criteria,” he said Asked how he maintained his enthusiasm and commitment to the project over 10 years We’re making something very important — (which) keeps us engaged It’s a beautiful city and we’re honored to be able to participate in it and we intend to see it through.” The first housing will start to poke out of the ground this spring beginning with about 38 townhomes Bellevue-based Terrene Homes will build Brownstones West and Scottsdale which has built communities in Kirkland and Redmond but Samwick would like to see the first 300 apartments and commercial space done by 2027 or 2028 Abutting IRP’s Town Center project are the existing Sky Sammamish apartments comprising 159 units above 13,000 square feet of retail space That development sits on the hill above Metropolitan Market and several other businesses and professional offices — all part of The Village at Sammamish Town Center within the city’s Town Center planning area outside IRP’s development but within the city’s Town Center planning area an Aegis Living senior facility is planned on the other side of 228th from Metropolitan Market and just south Just north of that along 228th are the existing Samm Apartments Just north of the proposed Aegis are the existing Sammamish Townhomes with 75 units Bellevue-based Aegis is excited about its project and envisions a 95- to 100-unit property at the site that it anticipates could get underway in first quarter 2026 contingent on broader market variables that are making it difficult to forecast things like materials costs Sammamish Mayor Karen Howe said the Town Center project holds enormous value for Sammamish you’d be hard-pressed to find anything like an obvious center of town,” Howe said in an email “This is one of those rare opportunities where the city and the property owner have been able to collaborate on community-centric outcomes.” who’s in her fourth year on the city council and first year as mayor “Instead of getting a swath of huge single-family homes we’ll be getting a variety of housing types Sammamish residents will not have to leave the plateau for goods and services.” Residents too often find themselves having to leave the plateau and drive to Redmond or Issaquah for certain items they can’t find in Sammamish That also takes revenue from the city and generally requires residents to have a vehicle “That’s actually not what people want,” she said They want to live closer to where they can shop for that aspect of life and so this is as close as I can think that we’re going to actually bring it closer to fruition.” People will use the Town Center services and other features “There’s a strong contingent that still remember when we used to have an Ace Hardware and they deeply miss — deeply “This is a desirable area for services to come into because we will frequent them.” citing the preponderance of existing homes are single-family detached The median sales price for a home in the city was $1.525 million in February “We need to shrink our footprint,” Howe said “We need to increase our density and in order to do that they have to provide these housing options which include everything from duplexes to triplexes to cottage housing to apartments to condos The Town Center project will include some affordable units About 7% of the 83 townhomes will be affordable for people making 80% of the area median income The same applies to about 25% of the first 300 apartment units Samwick hopes the project can offer some units at 50% of AMI “Sammamish has been predominantly single-family detached homes and communities without the proper array of housing stock and housing choices tend to have their own issues,” he said “A person’s life cycle of housing might be to start small and then you go back to what downsizers would want It's really a question of what else besides single-family detached homes does Sammamish need and it's single-family attached and mixed-use opportunities that's what the Town Center is supposed to kick-start.”  noting Sammamish will need to do more as the region grows But the Town Center will get housing production and housing choices “very much down the road for the things that Sammamish doesn't have,” Samwick said The 100,000 square feet of commercial space in IRP’s initial two phases will include “social retail,” or places to gather for meals and other connections “We are honored to build into an underserved commercial market especially in a thriving Seattle metro area,” Samwick said “We've approached every project we've ever started as a privilege,” he said “We look at it as a way of building bridges to community resources — and together we're going to build this; we're just the implementers and planners But it’s the people of Sammamish who have elected people who designed this plan now the east of the Eastside is growing up And that's the world we find ourselves in — and what an unbelievable blessing for the community that Microsoft is in Redmond and is thriving Thousands of Sammamish residents make their living at Microsoft and we couldn't be more pleased to have this opportunity to try to meet the standards of the people of Sammamish Sammamish is a community that's built around excellent educational assets in all respects nearly doubling affordable housing in Sammamish in our first phase So hopefully this will be the beginning of metamorphosis from the challenges of growing from a rural or single-family detached area into a more urbanized Email notifications are only sent once a day Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: by Joel Moreno — An effort to bring high-speed internet service to parts of Sammamish led to angry neighbors and a suspension of the city’s contract with Ziply Fiber People who live in Timberline and other neighbors complained that crews were digging up their yards without notifying the residents and damaging tree roots and garden plantings in the process of installing and upgrading underground fiber lines “Not only a big truck blocking the driveway but two holes had already been dug on either side of my driveway without a knock on the door “They tore through some fairly expensive tulip bulbs and daffodils that we had planted just a few months ago and they could have asked and dug the hole a little bit further up and then those things wouldn't have been damaged plus all the tree roots of the evergreen." Mary North is another resident who wants some accountability from the fiber optic company “The thing that got me really cranked up to start with was when they were cutting through roots of very old trees,” North said “They have just plowed through with their ditch device irregardless of trees and plantings and other things." city officials in Sammamish posted a notice to the home page of their website announcing that nearly all work by Ziply Fiber and its subcontractors would be halted “Due to the volume and significance of issues the City suspended all Ziply Fiber right-of-way (ROW) permits as of January 23 The only work currently allowed while the permits are suspended is the securing of active sites for safety A series of complaints had been pouring in prior to the work stoppage neighbors also said Ziply crews or their subcontractors had dug up lawn plantings or had their irrigation systems damaged a spokesperson for Ziply Fiber told KOMO News that the company would make all reasonable repairs and that many of the complaints had to do with people not understanding where the public utility right of way cut through their properties Ziply Fiber said it notifies all residents with door hangers prior to any construction work beginning and they set up sandwich boards with similar information at the entrances to these neighborhoods Some people in Sammamish said they never got any notification and woke up to find work crews in their front yards City officials indicated that they hope to resolve the outstanding permit issues soon so that the utility can complete the installation work Ziply Fiber plans to add more inspectors and require additional training for its subcontractors to make sure they comply with the conditions laid out in the city contract reliable internet service is needed in the community and they looked forward to having another option but are now reluctant to move forward with Ziply's upcoming service "So I was looking forward to maybe Ziply but they may have lost a customer potentially," Grinbergs said Pacific Northwest utility crews continue to make progress on restoring power after winds from last week's bomb cyclone toppled trees and power lines over a wide area Puget Sound Energy said today that 99% of its customers are back online Cities such as Sammamish on Seattle's east side were hard hit. Officials there opened City Hall as a gathering place. KUOW's Kim Malcom talked to City Manager Scott MacColl about the storm and the ongoing recovery Kim is the local news host of KUOW's All Things Considered Kim covers breaking and developing daily news as part of NPR's afternoon drive time programming John O’Brien is KUOW's All Things Considered Senior Producer He spends his days setting up interviews with newsmakers on subjects from politics and public health to arts and culture John learned to make radio starting in 2006 as an intern on KUOW’s The Conversation with Ross Reynolds nonprofit news organization that produces award-winning journalism Last Monday I was in a Zoom call with reporters and editors pitching stories hearing updates on site traffic and learning about last month’s most-read stories online I’ve sat through many such meetings but this one was particularly inspiring What was different was that the reporters were high school students volunteering their time to produce the Sammamish Independent For five years now the online publication has backfilled the steady loss of local news coverage in the newsy suburban city Founder Lin Yang set out to start a community newspaper and planned to use adult volunteers to launch the publication But he decided during the pandemic to use students from area high schools who were stuck at home and looking for volunteer and learning opportunities “When the pandemic hit I realized I had this ready made pool of talent that was just dying to find something to do and it was all the high school students who were sent home because their school was basically closed,” he said Students not only inform the community and help voters navigate thorny issues like school levies they also receive excellent material for college applications and a $2,000 scholarship if they write at least 10 articles I think it’s a smart and creative way to fill gaps in local coverage It also gives students a great opportunity to learn about civics whether or not they pursue a career in the business There are many proposals to help save local news and the crucial service it provides to voters and democracy they’ll all depend on rising generations that understand and appreciate the importance of journalism The Sammamish Independent could be a model for other communities though they’ll need to find a devoted catalyst like Yang to get started and keep it going Reaching five years is impressive for any digital news startup. A 2023 report on America’s local news ecosystem found 541 digital-only news sites and only half had been around longer than five years Yang grew up in Sammamish and worked as a foreign correspondent in Singapore and Taiwan writing for outlets including The Straits Times The New York Times and South China Morning Post He now works in executive communications in Microsoft’s sales organization During his absence local coverage of Sammamish evaporated as local outlets closed or cut back on coverage even as the city in the Cascade foothills grew and prospered During high school Yang had written a column for the Sammamish Review newspaper which stopped publishing a few years before he returned home He found the new hub of local news to be a Facebook site that turned out to be a forum supporting a particular group of City Council candidates City Councilmember Pam Stuart urged Yang to start a community newspaper and worked with the Chamber of Commerce to line up $6,000 of seed money Yang reached out to the school newspaper at his alma mater and seven or eight students signed up to help out More came when he contacted Eastside Catholic and Skyline “We just started from scratch,” he said including journalists in Asia who spoke to the group and a friend at the nonprofit Poynter Institute who shared training material “Through all of these kinds of initial workshops we kept all the content and created a training program,” Yang said The Independent has now covered several election cycles and wrote 21 election stories during the last one It also broke a story about a candidate who was living in India and not in town for the entire campaign Students also led a virtual candidate forum during the last two elections and broadcast it live on Facebook Yang served as editor-in-chief for the first three years then decided to give day-to-day control to students The outlet also separated from the chamber and established itself as a nonprofit Funding sources include corporate sponsorships and Microsoft through its program that matches employee volunteer hours with a cash donation to nonprofits Yang also recruited others from Microsoft to help edit and guide the publication and the company’s volunteer matching grants now provide around 30% of the Independent’s funding led the call and shared that page views on the site rose 16% to 5,500 in February “That was pretty good,” she told the dozen or so staffers on the call Articles about Issaquah School District were the top three articles by page views The most read was an op-ed arguing that “It’s time for ISD to be fiscally responsible.” They broke into separate sessions to discuss different coverage areas then regrouped to pitch and discuss stories “This is a great crowd to hang out with and a great mission to be a part of,” Hongning Wang told me in a breakout room for the city beat and served as editor-in-chief over the last year He’s also advanced to City Hall editor He joined the Independent after having fun working on his middle school’s newspaper during the pandemic “I was able to see the impacts journalism had on connecting people,” he said “During COVID it was the one source of school unity I wanted to contribute the same thing in my city Wang is graduating from Eastlake High School and is interested in studying public policy there are stories for him and others to cover including the effect of tariffs in Sammamish the debate over raising height limits in Sammamish Town Center and so many more The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser Already have an account? Log in here City officials and Innovation Realty Partners held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 18 to celebrate the project's continuation The next phase of the Sammamish Town Center project is now underway, bringing to the area additional housing and commercial retail space for restaurants, a pub, and other retailers, the city of Sammamish has announced The city and Innovation Realty Partners held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 18 to celebrate the project's continuation The next phase of the center will include 86 townhomes of which six will be designated as affordable housing The core mixed-use area will feature roughly 300 multifamily units including 77 affordable units and a senior living community as well commercial retail space for restaurants “The Town Center will provide more restaurants and gathering places to serve Sammamish residents and downsizing options are vital components of a well-rounded intergenerational community,” said Sammamish Mayor Kali Clark in a press statement “Places that unite communities are more important now than ever before.” started the multiyear process of assembling 90-plus acres for development and creation of the Sammamish Town Center is taking place in multiple phases over a period of several years find out how a Kirkland contestant fared on an episode of 'Wheel of Fortune' this week downtown Bellevue debuts its first head spa Security Properties purchased SKY Sammamish a 159-unit multifamily property built in 2018 and located in Sammamish Security Properties now owns 28 assets and over 6,400 units in the Greater Seattle marketplace Sammamish ‒ a highly desirable suburb east of Seattle situated between Bellevue and Issaquah ‒ offers an irreplaceable combination of top tier school districts access to local employers and proximity to some of Washington's most desirable nature While its population has grown quickly over the past 20 years being one of the most supply insulated submarkets in the entire Seattle metropolitan area This has caused the barrier to entry to be extremely high with median home values exceeding $1.6 million the median household income in Sammamish is about $215,000 higher than any other US city with a population over 50,000 the city's primary north and south thoroughfare with access to both I-90 (to the south) as well as SR-202 (to the north) The property was developed as a phase of the expanding Sammamish Town Center ‒ a multi-phase mixed-use development project that will serve as the new town center for Sammamish The property is the only housing located within the town center development and sits adjacent to a variety of commercial spaces the site is adjacent to Metropolitan Market The business plan is a core-plus investment with moderate upgrade characteristics While the asset currently offers a best-in-class amenity package and well-appointed living units Security Properties has identified several opportunities to further emphasize these strengths "SKY Sammamish is a prime example of our firm's investment thesis of identifying newer-vintage assets in markets with high barriers to entry and a diverse mix of stable drivers We feel that we have the best asset in a submarket with a very limited historical supply and strong demand for high-quality housing The Issaquah and Sammamish submarket has been a strong performer for us for many years and we are excited to add to our existing portfolio in the area." The property will be managed by Security Properties-affiliate Security Properties Residential Security Properties Residential is the affiliated property management firm of Security Properties created to increase the value of its real estate holdings by more closely managing its assets Operating throughout the Western United States and select markets Security Properties Residential is committed to delivering exceptional service to its apartment communities and residents and compliance management services that create positive living environments for residents and build value for clients News media contact:Ed McGovern, (206)-622-9900[email protected]  Security Properties in partnership with RGA ReCap Incorporated (ReCap Real Estate Investments) on behalf of Reinsurance Group of America,.. A partnership between Security Properties and an affiliate of Rockwood Capital closed on the acquisition of NV Apartments Real Estate Residential Real Estate Commercial Real Estate Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers Do not sell or share my personal information: the partnership provides a gateway for the Greater Seattle community to connect with the Pacific Northwest's natural environment The partnership is working to connect urban dwellers with nature inspire stewardship of the shared watershed Learn more about the Lake Sammamish UWRP More than 50 partner groups work together as part of the Lake Sammamish UWRP to conserve fish & wildlife & enhance community connection to the natural environment Partnership programming inspires King County communities to connect to their natural environments & each other growing the next generation of watershed stewards and advocates The Lake Sammamish UWRP was born from a community powered effort to save Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon from extinction Together we are working to improve habitat and water quality for all of our native fish species Designated by the Department of the Interior in 2014 the Lake Sammamish UWRP was one of the first in a network of Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships across the nation These place-based partnerships bring together nonprofits and federal agencies to foster education and improve access to nature and outdoor recreation Events and Volunteer Opportunities From habitat restoration to educational events and lakeshore clean-ups, events take place from UWRP partners year-round. For additional information: www.lakesammamishrefuge.org or contact Alix Lee-Tigner at alix.lee-tigner@tu.org Kokanee salmon are native to the Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington watershed but now spawn in only a few streams that feed into Lake Sammamish Unlike their larger relative the sockeye salmon kokanee do not go out to the ocean but spend their entire lifecycle in fresh water They migrate from streams as inch-long fry and spend three to four years in Lake Sammamish before returning to spawn in the late fall and early winter in their natal streams This kokanee population’s habitat once encompassed the lower Cedar River smaller tributaries to Lake Washington and the Sammamish River but today its range is only Lake Sammamish and primarily three of its tributary streams used for spawning This population once numbered in the tens of thousands of fish Since 2007-2008 the number of returning spawners has dipped below 150 spawners four times Causes of this decline are currently understood to include altered stormwater flows and lake temperature and dissolved oxygen levels plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people CRIME BLOTTER 7:06 AM | Updated: 9:58 am Stock image of activated cop lights responding to a crime scene BY FRANK SUMRALL Reports of a burglary and a shooting sent deputies with the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) on a police chase from Sammamish to Renton KCSO deputies responded to a call about a vehicle prowl and attempted theft in Sammamish Reports also mentioned shots were fired from someone in a Dodge Durango along 2nd Place in Sammamish More overnight news: Truck driver crashes through wall of a Taco Bell in Graham with the suspects driving on Interstate 90 (I-90) and then Interstate 405 (I-405) all the way into Renton more shots were “potentially” fired during the chase KCSO confirmed that three suspects had been arrested and detained in Renton Washington State Patrol (WSP) is investigating the incident alongside KCSO’s Major Crimes Unit More WA news: Good Samaritan saves elderly person after they drove into Lake Stevens Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest and producer of the Seattle Seahawks podcast, The Reset with Gee Scott. You can read his stories here and you can email him here Ziply Fiber also saw operations suspended in Sammamish 2025 – An Internet competitor to Comcast in a Northern Virginia city is now pausing its fiber deployment in the region Ting Internet, a small fiber ISP, has reportedly “temporarily paused fiber deployment” in Alexandria, Va., a community adjacent to Washington, D.C., and the home of many federal officials, Capitol Hill staff, and lobbyists. The city has begun to raise concerns about Ting construction crews having damaged other utility lines.  Another outage accident Saturday night caused by a fiber break in Alexandria led to the Ting announcing Monday that it ‘has temporarily paused fiber deployment’ in the city but its team is still in the process of conducting repairs to get all customers back online did not respond to an email Monday or phone call Tuesday seeking comment The ISP ended the third quarter with 49,637 broadband subscribers Ting is not the only ISP that is running into fiber installation issues. Ziply Fiber has run into trouble with Sammamish, Wash., (pop. 65,000) over community concerns about the installation of fiber lines. As a result of the public unease, the city of Sammamish has suspended all Ziply Fiber right-of-way permits as of last Thursday.  "The only work currently allowed while the permits are suspended is the securing of active sites for safety, restoration, and erosion control," the city said.  Already have an account? Sign in The bill would codify the USDA’s existing Broadband Technical Assistance Program public and private leaders discussed how they choose where Other broadband resources are doing the job Operators turn to gas and coal to meet data’s power demands An expansive project, known as Sammamish Town Center, is set to bring hundreds of new apartments and town homes to one of the region’s wealthiest cities, where the vast majority of homes are single-family and many residents lament potential changes to their community’s small-town feel.  The project has been in the works since at least 2008 with city plans describing a “wedding cake approach” of taller buildings in the center of the development and smaller buildings on the edges While several apartment and retail buildings are already finished in the area near 228th Avenue Southeast and Southeast Fourth Street the larger plan for additional housing and retail space in the Town Center stalled for years amid concerns from local politicians and residents Former City Councils adopted development moratoriums and traffic regulations a state board repeatedly found the city out of compliance with the Growth Management Act But more recently, significant turnover on the town’s City Council has ushered in a more development-friendly City Hall Mayor Kali Clark said in an interview Friday that recent elections show Sammamish residents are more open to growth at the Town Center site “Things have changed here and I think we’re building excitement,” said Clark who was elected to the City Council in 2021 and became mayor the following summer the sole council member to vote against a development agreement for the Town Center project in December 2022 did not return requests for comment.  In a voters’ guide statement last fall Treen wrote that he has “consistently voted to protect our community from haphazard development which would fundamentally alter life in Sammamish.” commemorated with a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday Future phases are expected to add 48 more town homes roughly 600 new apartments and a total of about 100,000 square feet of commercial space in coming years The town homes and apartments will be predominantly market-rate Six town homes and at least 77 apartments will be affordable to people making 80% of area median income, or about $71,000 for a single person in King County Discussions between the city and developer about how many apartments will be affordable are ongoing While the developer has not yet determined exact costs, town home prices are likely to “start somewhere just above $1 million apiece,” said Matthew Samwick, CEO of the project developer, Innovation Realty Partners. That cost is still decidedly high-end but below the $1.6 million median price of a single-family home in the Sammamish area last month.  To keep up with growth in the coming two decades Sammamish needs to add 2,100 new homes between 2019 and 2044 all of them affordable to people earning 80% of area median income or less “We’re really trying to find that balance of … yes we have to take on growth and we would rather concentrate it than spreading it out and having to take down way more trees and way more land by putting [in] single-family homes,” Clark said.  As construction begins on the first group of town homes the permitting process is still underway for some of the apartments and retail space The development comes as high interest rates and construction costs are slowing the commercial real estate market But if the full vision comes to pass — with town homes coming online in 2026 and hundreds of apartments finished in the following years — the development will mark a notable shift for a town that is today dominated by single-family homes and winding cul-de-sacs The region’s population has boomed in recent decades leading local leaders and planners to warn against sprawl “It is just not possible anymore to balance the interests by creating another suburb and once that decision has been made to not grow outward but upward; the smaller cities have to catch up.” — Tree removal companies were scrambling to help homeowners save their properties in the Sammamish area after huge firs and other conifers came crashing down on their rooftops during Tuesday’s storm Jason Leniski said nearly all the trees in his backyard crashed down onto his two-story home while he and his wife were inside but now Leniski is trying to assess how much damage was caused by the impact he hired a crane operator to hoist two massive trunks that are teetering over the top of his house “I always knew that some of these trees were kind of dangerous and I thought but when they all came down it cascaded and I think the only thing that saved the house was this arbor right here It took the first impact," Leniski said A number of roads were blocked by fallen trees and crews have been busy clearing those for the past several days Barricades and road closure signs remain positioned in various neighborhoods One neighbor who gave his name as Allan said trees were down along several streets where he lives and he hoped city officials would take some preventative actions for future storms “I really hope we can try to get power lines underground We have been without power for days here and we still don't know when it is going to come up,” Allan said “Another thing for people's safety also is that there's been a lot of trees coming down on houses and it would be good if we let people take a few more trees down so it's not a threat to life or property." Eastside Fire and Rescue reported storm-related damage at Inglewood Road 216th Street as well as the area around Fire Station 81 Drone footage taken by a KOMO News photographer showe crews using cranes to remove large tree trunks from homes in the Issaquah area of east King County Much of the Sammamish Highlands remains without power and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) crews are working throughout the community to restore service They anticipate having the lights back on for most customers at some point on Saturday PSE is finding a lot of damage on the eastside and southern end of Lake Sammamish Similar damage has been located in the Issaquah Highlands which could keep some neighborhoods in the dark even longer According to a social media post from the city of Sammamish, the library and YMCA are open and operating as a space for residents to go The post also said the car chargers at the Sammamish City Hall are operational Gasoline is available at Klahanie Shopping Center and the Red Fall Quick Stop on State Route 202 SAMMAMISH — Before the bomb cyclone canceled their tournament at Beaver Lake Middle School the Sammamish-based Emerald Bots youth robotics team had been preparing their “Gyromaniac” machine to compete against other students and their bots all day Sunday.  the team decided to take the robot to a new audience: the dozens of families holed up in Sammamish City Hall to charge their phones or just keep warm after the storm took out their power Tuesday night whose family still lacked power in Sammamish maneuvered the Gyromaniac’s robotic arm to pick up a block and dunk it in a basket.  Over 18,500 Puget Sound Energy customers were still without power Sunday evening, five days after a windstorm killed two people and left more than a half-million customers in the dark Many lingering outages were east of Lake Washington said crews have been out “in full force,” with more than 150 line crews and 70 tree crews working to get things back to normal “We now have substations back in power and continue work on repairing distribution lines — the lines in neighborhoods,” Tracy said in an email Sunday “Much of this work is time-consuming and slow-going as it requires extensive work and restores power in much smaller numbers.” The utility company said crews had restored power to more than 96% of customers in a Sunday update The last of the fixes are time-consuming and require restoring power for five The utility is prioritizing its fixes for outages that affect schools.  Sammamish City Hall opened its warming center and charging stations Wednesday Several residents said this has been the longest they’ve ever been without power city manager Scott MacColl said Sunday afternoon “I think for the most part folks have been weathering it fairly well but we’re on day five now and folks are getting a little cranky,” MacColl said most folks have lost by now any food in their house.” the city struggled to communicate with residents who weren’t getting updates by cellphone or computer It’s made officials rethink how they might deal with something like this in the future city crews were still waiting for utility workers to finish dealing with some downed lines before they could clear all debris from the roads.  The Mirrormont and Hobart Valley areas were among the hardest hit by the bomb cyclone’s winds Specialized equipment is needed to remove the trees before line repairs can be made About 1,900 Snohomish County Public Utility District customers were also still without power as of Sunday evening. Seattle City Light reported virtually all outages in city limits were resolved Most of the City Light outages had been in the North Seattle area. The cities of Snohomish and Lake Stevens were the most damaged areas in Snohomish County, according to outage maps. The National Weather Service noted wind gusts were highly erratic when the storm peaked: up to 74 mph in Enumclaw with top speeds varying in neighboring cities.  As outages on the Eastside wore on into Sunday Puget Sound Energy set up two resource hubs for customers to charge small devices use Wi-Fi and get light snacks at the Maple Valley Fred Meyer and Klahanie QFC parking lots The company also hosted a warming center at the Issaquah Senior Center.  had been coding a program when the storm cut his power Tuesday evening visited the Puget Sound Energy tent in the Klahanie QFC parking lot where utility officials handed out chargers and pizza.  who had kept warm in a sleeping bag under his comforter when he lost power said he was “officially happier with Puget Sound Energy” after receiving pizza.  another Sammamish Puget Sound Energy customer who lost power earlier in the week approached utility officials at the QFC to thank them.  “It’s been a really long week for them,” he said They’ve been putting in a Herculean effort just to try to get power back for as many people as they can.” the Emerald Bots robotics team decided to use the canceled competition time to expose other kids to robotics and work out improvements on their machine “It’s not the best thing that could have happened because we lost our opportunity to kind of showcase our robot and improve as a team,” Vihaan Maheshwari The utility company said crews have restored power to more than 96% of customers in a Sunday update. The last of the fixes are time-consuming and require restoring power for five, 10 or 20 customers at a time. The Mirrormont and Hobart Valley areas were among the hit hardest by the bomb cyclone’s winds, as hundreds of trees fell into power lines. Specialized equipment is needed to remove the trees before line repairs can be made. “We also continue to prioritize restoring outages that are impacting schools,” the update reads. “We’re confident that nearly all schools will have their power back on in time for the school day tomorrow and are proactively coordinating with schools so they can help plan.” “Work will be at a slow and steady pace as we make complex repairs that impact fewer customers,” Snohomish PUD reported in an update. “Many of the remaining outages will be restored today, but some outages in severely damaged areas will linger into early next week.” Correction: The original version of this story misspelled Sammamish in the first paragraph. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser! highly curated editorial content brings attention to hidden gems Share LinkVisit The Friendliest Town In Washington The Next Time You Need A Pick-Me-UpSammamish known for its friendly atmosphere and beautiful surroundings is considered the friendliest town in the state If you aren't exactly sure where Sammamish is The little city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east While it has a population of 65,000 people Sammamish definitely has a small town vibe Sammamish Chamber / FacebookThe Sammamish Town Center is known as Sammamish's "living room," and the retail and future living space is the closest thing you'll find to an urban feel The Sammamish Farmers Market runs from May - September Sammamish Chamber / FacebookGiven its close proximity to so many agricultural communities, it's no wonder that this market is a fantastic one. and there are nine beautiful parks surrounding it it could be the breathtaking beauty of the lake that makes Sammamish such a beloved spot it appears you can count on a friendly greeting when you visit Sammamish and that reputation has remained as the city has continued to grow What do you think the friendliest town in Washington is? Looking for more charming small towns in Washington? The Evergreen State is full of them! Choose your stateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasNorthern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubscribe... Mount Rushmore Resort and Lodge at Palmer Gulch in Hill City, South Dakota is perfect for slow travel. Thanks for subscribing. We’ll see you in your inbox! SAMMAMISH — Growth and development have long driven heated community and political debates on the plateau stretching from Lake Sammamish to the Cascade foothills “Almost everyone shared a basic assumption about the new city: ‘Growth is bad, roads are good,'” read a Seattle Times report from a Sammamish City Council candidates debate Cut to 2021 and it may feel like not much has changed.  Sammamish, one of the wealthiest cities in the nation is mired in ongoing litigation about whether it is wrongfully blocking new commercial space apartments and townhomes in a partially developed area known as Town Center The debate that rages in Facebook groups and local politics can feel like bloodsport. The city’s former mayor is battling Sammamish in court and one City Council member this year abruptly resigned over the issue The themes echo the past: rapid growth and concerns about lagging infrastructure such as sewers the debate is playing out against the stark backdrop of climate change “We’re all going to have to face the facts that our children and our grandchildren are not going to be able to continue to live the suburban lifestyles we have without dire environmental and climate consequences,” said Pam Stuart “We have to make changes to how we live,” Stuart said “One has to ask oneself: Can we do that if we continue to build large single-family homes on cul de sacs that require cars?” As Washington prepares for its next wave of growth — 1.5 million people and 1.1 million jobs predicted in the next 30 years — the fight in Sammamish offers a case study in the dicey politics and delay tactics that can meet efforts to build denser housing Skeptics of new development say the city of 67,000 risks being overburdened without needed infrastructure such as road improvements “What we’re saying is we’re going to try to figure out our own house here get it in order,” said Deputy Mayor Christie Malchow during a council meeting last fall about county growth planning (Malchow and other council members declined interview requests When Sarah Hawes Kimsey hears her fellow Sammamish residents’ worries about traffic crowded schools and protecting the area’s natural beauty I think growth is going to happen whether we want it to or not,” she said “The best thing to do is get in front of it … We can’t just slam the door behind the most recent people to move here,” said Kimsey who previously worked for the city and then ran a blog about Sammamish politics Kimsey said she lost her Sammamish condo to foreclosure after the 2008 market crash and struggled to find a rental envision a “wedding cake”: Taller development at the center two upscale apartment complexes and several commercial buildings are already finished and in use but a series of actions at City Hall have blocked the next phase Sammamish is roughly 86% single-family homes and the median home price is just more than $1 million the city council adopted new rules governing what’s known as traffic concurrency meant to ensure local roads keep up with growth a former Sammamish mayor and City Council member accusing the city of using unrealistic traffic rules to block development As that argument wound through a state hearings board the city passed a series of development moratoriums.  Throughout 2020 and 2021, the Growth Management Hearings Board found the city out of compliance with the GMA three times. At one point, the board asked Gov Jay Inslee to withhold tax dollars from Sammamish the City Council repealed its most recent moratorium on development.  Sammamish has asked for review by the Court of Appeals and the City Council approved spending for ongoing legal expenses He sees the project as a place where empty-nesters could downsize and stay in town “They’re really not seeing the great vision for the future of this city,” he said of the current council they’d like to shut the doors to the city.” Jason Ritchie didn’t wait for his term to end The former councilmember clashed with his colleagues over the Town Center and resigned in January He says the opposition reflects “a sense of entitlement.” “What you have here is people who are very opposed to the Town Center and the type of housing they think is going to attract the wrong people,” Ritchie said some residents aren’t aware of the particulars of the proposal but are anxious about more development Ahmed Elmetwally said he moved to Sammamish after living in Seattle Bellevue and Kirkland because he was looking for a more residential feel to raise his kids.  they can live closer to the city,” said Elmetwally While Elmetwally said he worries growth has happened too quickly he said he wouldn’t necessarily oppose more houses or townhomes developed at a slower pace “I feel it’s actually changing how Sammamish used to look changing it from a more residential area to more a city area.” the area is feeling busier and more clogged with traffic “Sammamish is not quiet anymore,” Elmetwally said Simmons said she moved to Sammamish for a small-town feel but has struggled to find a house she and her husband can afford “All the houses seem to be in the million-dollar range,” said Simmons who works as a mountain bike instructor and cares for her 2-year-old son (Both Elmetwally and Simmons said they weren’t familiar with the specifics of the Town Center proposal Simmons said she wishes there were more lower-cost housing but is wary of new development and all the commercial buildings getting put in I kind of like the way Sammamish is,” she said “There’s already a lot of people everywhere Somehow it feels like Sammamish doesn’t have quite as many,” Simmons said But I don’t want to keep anybody else from living in Sammamish and enjoying it as well.” city and county governments all over the region are facing similar questions King County is estimated to need another 418,000 units of housing in the next 30 years the region’s population will be “older and more diverse with smaller households than today,” driving a need for more housing according to the Puget Sound Regional Council Across King County in recent years, fewer than one housing unit has been created for every new household, by one estimate The shortage drives up prices and pushes people to live farther away Some cities have absorbed more growth than others The number of housing units in Seattle climbed 23% from 2008 to 2017 Newcastle and Snoqualmie each increased their housing supply by 20% or more Sammamish’s housing supply increased by 10% Much of the region’s new housing is market rate and still out of reach for many will be mostly market rate with an expected 80 units for people making 80% of area median income “Multifamily housing on its own is not a guarantee of affordability,” said Alex Brennan executive director at the pro-density nonprofit Futurewise “without the opportunity to have some type of multifamily development you’re not going to be able to get more affordable housing options.” 2:39 PM | Updated: 7:15 pm Pasco man sentenced for possessing a large amount of fentanyl BY BILL KACZARABA A Sammamish man is facing a second-degree murder charge after allegedly shooting and killing his wife of two weeks in their home last Thursday The suspect then fled to Seattle with their 1-year-old son The 35-year-old man is in jail after a King County judge held him in the death of 36-year-old Yiwen Lu spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office he is being held in King County Jail on $3 million bail Other news: Mother, 29, arrested after son, 14, allegedly beaten to death for failing to do chores attorney Andrea Kim contacted the King County Sheriff’s Office on Jan 30 to report a possible shooting at the couple’s home She indicated that someone at the location had life-threatening injuries and the caller had left with his son Deputies arrived at the scene to find a woman in bed with a gunshot wound to her cheek and two shell casings nearby A firearm was discovered in another room next to a drum set Detective Laura Peckham was briefed by Sergeant Kim Detectives confirmed the child’s well-being at the residence Attorney Andrea Kim stated she received a call from a distressed client The client later met with detectives at Sammamish City Hall and was taken into custody A 9mm Ruger registered to Brent was recovered from the home where probable cause was found for second-degree murder Prosecutors anticipate receiving a case referral for a charging decision later this week Crime Blotter: Puyallup tribe member sentenced to 13 years for killing friend on reservation and no previous cases have been referred to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court Editors’ note of clarification: The suspect in this murder case purchased a gun a day before the shooting of the victim But official documents don’t state that particular gun was used in the commission of this crime or any other crime Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here A Sammamish father is charged with second-degree murder after investigators say he allegedly shot and killed his wife of two weeks in their home Thursday night — one day after he purchased a gun — then fled to Seattle with their 1-year-old son A King County Superior Court judge found probable cause Friday to keep 35-year-old Brent Hamamoto in jail on suspicion of second-degree murder in the killing of 36-year-old Yiwen Lu He was being held in King County Jail on $3 million bail Monday King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney said Lu died from multiple gunshot wounds to her head according to a report by the King County Medical Examiner Hamamoto shot Lu twice in the face while she was in bed according to the charging document filed in King County Superior Court on Tuesday Hamamoto had filed a protection order petition against Lu saying Lu had threatened to leave the country with their son A person who identified herself as an attorney called police Thursday night to report someone had been shot in a home on 262nd Avenue Southeast The attorney told police that the person who notified her of the shooting had left the home with the boy and that she could not provide more information according to a King County Sheriff’s Office report filed in court Friday The attorney did not reveal her client’s name Deputies responded to the home at 11:35 p.m finding Lu on a bed in a bedroom with a sheet covering her body past her neck revealing what appeared to be a gunshot wound on Lu’s cheek and two shell casings near her head Deputies kicked down the locked door of another room where they found a gun next to a drum kit the detective’s affidavit states.  The attorney’s client allegedly sent the lawyer a video of his son “who appeared safe,” but investigators told the attorney they needed to see the child in person to confirm he was safe The lawyer said the boy was at an aunt’s home in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood where detectives found him “in good health,” according to the affidavit.  The aunt told detectives that Hamamoto dropped off the boy at her house and told her there was an emergency and that his father planned to return the next day to pick up the boy also told investigators he received a “distressed” call from Hamamoto who said something had happened The attorney told investigators one of her clients called her asking for legal advice and they decided she would call 911 who is registered with the Washington State Bar Association did not respond to inquiries Monday to confirm whether she is Hamamoto’s lawyer Records showed a 9 mm Ruger pistol registered to the man had been purchased Wednesday Investigators conducted a search warrant of his home Prosecutors said it appears Hamamoto used the 9 mm Ruger pistol in the shooting Hamamoto went to speak with detectives at Sammamish City Hall where deputies arrested him Friday — A three-vehicle collision in Sammamish sent three people to the hospital with varying injuries Eastside Fire & Rescue (EFR) along with Redmond fire crews responded to the scene on East Lake Sammamish Parkway NE near NE 33rd Pl The 3400 block of East Lake Sammamish Parkway NE was closed for a few hours while the crash was cleared from the roadway One person sustained life-threatening injuries and two others had non-life-threatening injuries The type of vehicles and how many passengers were in each is currently unknown Sammamish Mayor Christie Malchow and Councilmember Karen Moran both announced resignations this week joining a growing list of leadership departures from the Eastside city is leaving her position one-and-a-half years early She was chosen as mayor in January; Sammamish City Council members choose a mayor and deputy mayor among themselves every two years She was first elected to the City Council in 2015 and selected for a two-year mayoral term in 2018.  Malchow wrote in a letter to the City Council she is “burning the candle at both ends,” with serving on the council wanting to be more present with her family and starting a new day job within the last year She hasn’t been able to make several recent city events because of family obligations “I’ve sacrificed being able to make my own health a priority my family and my ability to be involved more fully with my kids is no longer something I’m willing to put on a back burner for the Council,” she wrote Moran, whose resignation takes effect Wednesday, said frustrations with the current City Council and decisions made in the past month led her to resign. She was first elected to the council in 2017 and reelected in 2021; her second term would have ended in December 2025 After the City Council adopted new traffic rules in 2019 former Mayor Don Gerend challenged those rules arguing they were a tactic to block development As that fight played out before a state hearings board the city passed a series of development moratoriums (which it later lifted) and then appealed its case to the Washington State Court of Appeals.  Dropping that appeal clears a significant hurdle for the project where developers plan to add 300 apartments and 48 town homes.  were in the minority vote against dropping the appeal.  “It goes against everything I have argued for,” Moran said in an interview and I can’t serve on a council that goes against everything I have fought for Moran and Ken Gamblin — have resigned from their positions Seattle Times reporter Heidi Groover contributed to this report MYNORTHWEST NEWS 1:01 PM | Updated: 2:11 pm (Peter Stevens, Flickr) BY MYNORTHWEST STAFF Sammamish, Washington, has been no stranger to accolades when it comes to rankings of best cities. This week, it scored another honor courtesy of WalletHub named the best small city in the country to live in Study: Seattle is the best place to live, if you can afford it WalletHub’s criteria scored 1,322 cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 residents on 43 separate criteria While Sammamish ranked just 1,228th out of 1,300 small cities in quality of life it was the third ranked small city for economic health Coming in just behind Sammamish was Carmel Live in Sammamish for the schools and then get out A separate ranking from Safewise in May 2021 also crowned Sammamish as the safest place to live in all of Washington state based on rates of violent crimes and property crimes per 1,000 residents In 2018, MONEY magazine ranked Sammamish among the top 10 best places to live in the entire country. Washington also grabbed the top spot on the list of best states in the country for the second year in a row in 2021 as part of an annual ranking from U.S. News Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest host of the same tournament just eight years ago in 2016 And there's a distinct reason why the LPGA wanted to return to the eastside so quickly "Seattle is a great city for women's sports," LPGA CommissionerMollie Marcoux Samaan said We looked a little at statistics when we were looking at how many fans will we have out this week and we see they're among the top in both of those leagues in terms of attendance That's really important to us when we think about what we're trying to accomplish "We want people to turn on the TV and see big crowds with people with their arms up in the air cheering for the best players in the world So coming to a city that values women's sports and we know the fans are going to come out and watch the reason they brought a major back here so quickly was all of you that's been rewarded and on display with the 2026 World Cup on the way or what we saw with the 2023 MLB All-Star Game the Pacific Northwest: a beacon for big-time sports one that after the first round featured Korda and another fan favorite And let's see who wins the cup on Sunday it's a golf course that's very first-shot oriented but I would say I probably got pretty lucky on my first — not the first hole "Hit it in the rough and ended up getting some pretty decent shots out of the rough and gave myself some birdie opportunities But just tried to stay in the moment out there and really visualize my shots and pick small targets and just commit to it You know there is going to be shots that hit a tree and you have to punch out and make.. Take your bogey and go to the next hole and keep on playing aggressively so just tried to keep rolling and be confident with that." "Just stay in my bubble," said Korda who finished Thursday tied for second place one shot off the lead after the first round and you just — even though you have a game plan and you're on the tee box Sometimes you're going to get a bad bounce or hit the shot the way you're visualizing Just like our region is for these major events are conducting city business with pens and paper after a ransomware attack prompted them to take their municipal computer systems offline The city of about 65,000 residents just east of Seattle discovered Wednesday that some of its data had been encrypted by an unknown source declared an emergency and began shutting down services City officials now say they are working with a security consulting firm to uncover details of the cyberattack Many of the city’s shared storage drives are inaccessible city spokeswoman Sharon Given told StateScoop The city also cancelled its credit cards as a precaution provided through third-party website SeeClickFix 911 and other emergency services have not been affected “We’re continuing the work of the city the old fashioned way with paper and pens and phone calls and talking to people in person,” Given said Many of the steps the city has taken so far have been precautionary and administrators are still working to identify if any data has been lost and what must be done to bring the city back online Sammamish announced Thursday evening that it had contracted LMG Security which was recommended by officials in neighboring Issaquah Given said some employees took to enabling mobile hotspots on their personal phones after the attack and have since switched to mobile hotspots provided by the city though much work is still being done manually can no longer be processed because the city is required to share data through the State Department’s online system Residents can still apply for passports in other locations like post offices “People worked without computers for quite some time before they came along,” she said “We should have more information by Monday LMG is here on site now and they’re working overnight.” -- The Eastside suburb of Sammamish was named the Best Small City to Live in America by a new survey though it was quite a bit of company from fellow Eastside neighbors near the top of the list Wallethub compared 1,200 cities across the nation with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 and scored them against 43 indicators ranging from housing costs to school system quality to restaurants per capita -- even how they are handling the COVID-19 outbreak They were broken into 5 main categories -- affordability 1 in Economic Health and 11th in Education and Health It also scored extremely well in Safety (34th) It was above average in their affordability rank (146th) and only fared poor in their Quality of Life rank which factored in such items as average commute time entertainment & shopping options and even parks per capita But fellow Eastside suburb Redmond ranked No Other small Puget Sound cities to score in the top percentiles were Kirkland (98th) MORE | Full list of cities and their rankings on WalletHub When I heard earlier this month that a lady by the name of Mary Pigott had decided to gift her sizable property to the City of Sammamish to be preserved as a community park my first though was "I've got to see this place." Puget Sound area organizations and businesses strive to normalize the topic of dying “It’s so wonderful connecting with all these women,” said breast cancer survivor Jennifer Dovey For people who may be new to house plants or those who want a way to help spruce up their living space Monday (May 5) for more than 3,200 seats on city councils No fish or people were harmed in the April 22 fire The prosecutor reported that Chase Jones was traveling at 112 mph when he crashed into the victims connected and protected alternative to the East Lake Sammamish Parkway road the trail will connect Sammamish to Issaquah and Redmond — to the regional trail network and the forthcoming regional light rail network the East Lake Sammamish Trail is a legacy project the trail will carry an estimated 5-7,000 people per day by foot and by bike The trail’s legacy for future generations can’t be overstated: Our region is growing Preserving natural spaces now and setting aside dedicated places for active transportation and recreation is essential to keep us connected to what’s important travel options that will keep us safe and healthy Join Cascade and friends January 17th to celebrate the new segment and take a walk or ride to take in the beauty of this one-day-completed trail cast an eye north along the trail to the final segment yet to be completed North along the trail is the final 3.5-mile unpaved segment. Just 8 feet wide and of packed gravel, it’s hard to imagine that the entire 11-mile trail looked this way eight years ago. And by 2020 – with the help of people like you – this final trail section too will be completed to safe and accessible regional trails standards This final segment through Sammamish has long been predicted to be the most challenging Lakeside homes are sited close to the trail in this segment A patchwork of permitted and unpermitted buildings block views and large privacy fences create a tunnel like effect in areas Homeowners and the county are locked in litigation with seeming never ending appeals: this spring a suit regarding trail right of way ownership is to be heard in federal court (the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals) The City is also a key player in this segment the Sammamish Hearing Examiner hosted hearings to determine whether the City of Sammamish should issue the shoreline permit for this final segment to King County to allow for design finalization Cascade and trail users testified at the hearing about the importance of the trail as a safe place for people to get outside to walk The issue was escalated last year when the latest appeal ruled in favor of King County Sammamish has now turned to the Surface Transportation Board to fight the latest stop sign court ruling which favored King County which wants to orient two sets of stops signs toward the trail rather than the two small roads that cross the trail Petitioning to the Surface Transportation Board this winter the City of Sammamish has requested to be able to have veto-authority over King County in decisions on the trail right of way That would require a change to one of the fundamental tenets of federal railbanking rules that have enabled King County’s extensive network of trails on disused railways and could have impacts on trails far and wide nationally The petition has attracted the opposition of the national Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC) Cascade is supporting the RTC’s efforts to fight this petition While it seems like a long shot that Sammamish will succeed here, the petition underscores the reality that Sammamish leaders need to know – and respond to – their constituents want a safe trail, built to regional trail standards, and accessible to users of all ages and abilities. Send a letter to Sammamish City council now to let them know that completing the East Lake Sammamish Trail matters to you. The Seattle Times reports that Sammamish is the nation's richest city Its median household income of $183,000 even beats San Francisco We wondered – what’s it feel like to live in a city that rich But her world is more defined by lack of resources She feels the lack of enough money to stave off rising property taxes so she continues to work as an interior designer at age 72 She feels the lack of blue collar tradespeople to work on the homes she designs who must drive long distances from places like South King County And she feels the lack of young people willing or skilled enough to work in the fast food restaurants her husband manages "One kid looked at me and he didn't know how to use a can opener," she said Kid didn't know how to sweep — 18 years old!" Reed said the young people do know how to spend “These kids are going into Starbucks and they’re buying $8 The presence of wealth in a community can make it hard to parent whose husband works at a nearby technology company She took a hard line with her 11-year-old son who wanted his own mobile phone — no Kaushik said it's important for her children to learn the value of money even in an affluent city such as Sammamish It's a lesson she learned growing up in India Imagine you lined up everyone in Sammamish and arranged them in ascending order of household income you pulled out the person in the middle of the line That person's income would be the median income That spread between the haves and the have-nots has put a strain on people communications manager Sharon Gavin said many kids in Sammamish suffer from an abundance of anxiety "The anxiety comes from kids wanting more and trying to fit in," she said "It's hard to fit in if you're not wearing the right clothes how that is something that leads to more bullying in the schools," she said Addressing that problem requires more counselors in schools and more resource officers Sammamish households’ median income beat out every other large U.S. city including New York, San Francisco and Seattle, reports Gene Balk of the Seattle Times The percentage of the population living in poverty has held steady at about 2.5 percent in recent years That's about a quarter of the rate in the larger Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma metro area As KUOW's Growth and Development reporter and co-host of KUOW's Booming podcast Joshua's "growing pains" beat sits at the nexus of housing His favorite stories also include themes of history I never imagined there’d come a time when I’d write two consecutive columns about Sammamish After I reported on new census data showing stratospheric incomes for Eastside cities including a $183,000 median for Sammamish households it generated a tremendous amount of response “I have been following your columns on median household incomes in the Seattle area I have a question — what are these people doing to earn so much money?” one reader asked in an email “It is also not clear if the household includes more than one wage earner if the household is made up of two people earning $50,000 a year I might not feel like such a chump with my pathetic job.” That last part was a little hard to read — nobody should feel like a chump for not being rich the census income data that I used in my column includes the contributions of every member of the household (age 15 years and up) who is employed So two $50,000 salaries would indeed combine into a $100,000 household income And household structure is one reason the median is so high in Sammamish In most big cities — and even in a medium-sized city like Bellevue — there is a higher concentration of unmarried people There aren’t a lot of renters in Sammamish About 88% of housing units are owner-occupied only a slim majority of housing units (53%) are owner-occupied the main reason the median is so high in Sammamish is because its residents are largely in high-paying fields which account for 83% of all employed people living in Sammamish five have median full-time earnings over $100,000 The median represents the midway point — in other words 1 for Sammamish residents — more than 6,500 people work in a computer-related field That’s 20% of the roughly 33,000 employed residents of the city For Seattle residents working in tech jobs Nearly as many Sammamish residents work in management occupations That’s about $50,000 higher than the median for Seattle residents in management jobs In Seattle and the three other Eastside cities included in the new data — Bellevue Kirkland and Redmond — tech and management are also the two most common occupations sales-related jobs are third most common in Sammamish This is not necessarily a field that we think of as lucrative (the national median for a full-time sales job is just $47,000) the median for people working in sales is $107,000 The three most common occupations among Sammamish residents have more in common than six-figure salaries But that’s not true of the fourth most common job About 63% of Sammamish residents working in this field are women When you consider that a lot of Sammamish households are married couples with two incomes it’s not that hard to understand how the median income could hit $183,000 Nearly one in five Sammamish households make less than $100,000 And a small number — 6% — make less than $50,000 which is money made from the sale of stocks or other assets the census data can sometimes make an affluent household look poorer than it is — for example One final note: There are about 25,000 people on Mercer Island and I think I heard from nearly all of them wondering why I left “The Rock” off the list of high-income cities The income estimates for 2018 released by the Census Bureau last month were only for cities of at least 65,000 people The Census Bureau separately publishes income estimates for smaller communities using an average of five years’ worth of data — the next release will be an average of the 2014-2018 period which will include Mercer Island and other wealthy enclaves Data released last year estimated Mercer Island’s median household income at $137,000 But the highest median in the state in last year’s release was the town of Yarrow Point on Lake Washington This marks the highest increase for small employers in the last decade separated from traffic for nearly 44 miles from Seattle around the north end of Lake Washington all the way to the foothills of the Cascades This vision has taken a long time to materialize and many people have worked to make it a reality. The East Lake Sammamish Trail stretching 11 miles from Redmond to Issaquah King County is moving forward on paving a 2.6-mile stretch from 187thAve NE to Inglewood Road.  When completed comfortable and useful connection for the 60 percent of Puget Sound residents who want to ride a bike more but have concerns about traffic and safety The City of Sammamish, in partnership with King County, has been working to address neighborhood concerns and has shown strong support for moving this project forward.  It is these partnerships that have created a world class system of trails in our region Sammamish River Trail and now the East Lake Sammamish Trail Please take a moment to send a thank you to City Manager Ben Yazici (byazici@sammamish.us) and the Sammamish City Council (citycouncil@ci.sammamish.wa.us) for their continued leadership on this project more than 450 Cascade members and supporters from around the Puget Sound region wrote letters in support of King County’s shoreline permit application and for completing the final segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail Sammamish City Council and King County Parks staff along with the city staff charged with processing the permit received every one of those letters — which included over 60 messages from Sammamish residents and another 100 or so from neighbors in Issaquah and Redmond people like you were moved to write in support of the trail because regional trails connect us to one another to the outdoors and to the places we want to go Each individual letter you sent made a difference and let city and county officials know that we’re paying attention Several supporters amplified that impact at the Sammamish Council meeting this week by telling council that they are looking forward to a completed trail to use and enjoy We’ll let you know about upcoming opportunities to reiterate this message The stories people shared in their comment letters were both moving and inspiring — from explicit hopes for using the trail in future to safety fears for themselves and their children in using the current on-road alternative This outpouring demonstrated the breadth of support for completing the East Lake Sammamish so that the entire community — regardless of age and ability — can use and enjoy the lakeside trail As King County gears up to complete this regional trail Let’s make sure King County and the City of Sammamish get the message that we want them to work together to finalize plans and permits needed to complete the trail and provide the community with the amenity we have invested so much energy and money in 9:43 AM | Updated: 10:24 am A member of the Sammamish City Planning Commission has resigned following anti-LGBTQ+ remarks he made at a meeting last week BY L.B. GILBERT A Sammamish City Planning Commissioner has resigned following anti-LGBTQ+ remarks he made at a meeting last week Planning Commission member Wassim Fayed asserted that members of the LGBTQ+ community are “promoting diseases and infestation into the minds of our kids in schools.” Garfield HS the focus of school safety precautions following nearby violence He went on to say that he believed that “God created us as a male and a female and to go against the creation of God and to spread diseases in the community is something that we should speak up against.” The comments and video were posted to Reddit pointing out that Wassim Fayed is also the owner of Tanoor Before the Council could meet and discuss the comments and possible discipline Fayad offered his resignation from the planning commission The City of Sammamish said that Fayad’s remarks do not reflect the values or views of the city The opinions expressed by the Commissioner do not reflect the values or views of the City of Sammamish While we acknowledge the Commissioner’s right to free speech we were shocked to hear the comments made and we strongly condemn them These comments do not represent our city or community The City of Sammamish is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment where hate has no place who is Sammamish’s first LGBTQ+ mayor MYNORTHWEST OPINION 7:27 AM | Updated: Jul 1 BY DYER OXLEY Sammamish: The best place to live in Washington. Or at least that’s the latest hype about the city. Similar rankings often pop into my email boasting of the city’s affordability, or even how much cheaper it is to buy a car there “Really?!” John Curley exclaimed when I told him this But it’s a plateau and it’s a pain in the butt to get off of and it’s a pain in the butt to get back onto.” Curley lives there and is a former council member. Gee Scott has lived there for more than two years “I do think that Sammamish is the best place to raise your kids … you don’t need a car to get around in the Sammamish area,” Gee said In the summer time is pretty cool for the kids This is not meant to be a dig at the city or the people who live there and I could go on with other very negative criticisms But it’s not like it’s different from most any other suburb On the other hand, it’s understandable why some people are drawn to the area — family. Nearly half of all households in the city have children and 77 percent of households have married couples What isn’t as understandable is the claim that it’s the best place to live in Washington state. It’s frequently rated as the best place to live by Money Magazine I asked these two KIRO Radio hosts and Sammamish residents to weigh in feel free to weigh in with your own opinion below “My kids go to Eastside Catholic,” Gee said “It was a family decision and I wanted them to live very close to where they went to school … When you are getting ready for the ACT and the SAT that school system gets you prepared – very good test scores.” the biggest problem we would get was ‘there’s a dead raccoon on the side of the road.’ And we were quick to respond.” “I’ll tell you something that stands out about Sammamish,” Gee said “I love the fact that if you call the police the police will be there at your house in 30 seconds I had a situation where I had a knock at my door at 4:30 in the morning ‘We caught somebody going through your car.’ Well the neighbor saw them going through my car in the middle of the night The police were on the scene before the person who was going through my car was done That’s how fast the police response time is in Sammamish they don’t have anything that stands out,” Gee said “Are we talking about the QFC or the Safeway overpriced almond milk … and we don’t call them strip malls they are ‘open air shopping village experiences’ with really “We have hardly any good restaurants,” Curley said “I think we give Federal Way a run for its money when it comes to fast food If you’ve done the Jack in the Box and the McDonald’s They’re all within a stone’s throw of each other.” the food there needs more seasoning.” I would not move there thinking about affordability And the beauty of it is you can know exactly what your neighbor is cooking for dinner; you can smell it because they are 15 feet away You have a $1 million house and you can look across and see the guy’s Levi waist band size Note: According to the latest census data (2017) There’s more night life in Redmond than there is in Sammamish you go to a soccer field and drink $9 lattes from Starbucks and you watch your 7-year-old kick another 7-year-old in the shins while you read Facebook,” Curley said “That’s when they are young … I don’t know what people do there otherwise then I go to the gym … there’s the Pine Lake Ale House where you can get a fried chicken sandwich Pine Lake Ale House is the restaurant people go to.” Sammamish is a great place to go,” Gee said “If it’s just you and your significant other but realize your children are going to be surrounded by very very wealthy children and you really have to make sure that you have a solid foundation so your child is not swept up in the materialism that is all around them,” Curley said “I’m talking about kids getting brand new cars for their birthday and going to school or racing around on boats on Lake Sammamish They are going to be surrounded by money and hopefully they got some strong values.” Follow @https://twitter.com/DyerOxley Sammamish pays $90,000 in settlement fees to longtime residents last week The city of Sammamish announced Thursday it will remove 18 Douglas fir trees at Pine Lake Park due to laminated root rot 2022 at 1:36 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Sammamish Redmond and Issaquah are among the best small cities to live in America according to new rankings released this week by WalletHub WA — Three Seattle suburbs featured high in new rankings released this week WalletHub's 2022 Best Small Cities To Live in America list focused on 1,319 U.S cities with between 25,000 and 100,000 residents consulting 43 metrics to assign an overall score based on each area's affordability "Not everyone craves the bright lights and crowded space of big cities," WalletHub wrote Tuesday. "In fact, nearly half of Americans (46%) say they would prefer to live in the suburbs compared to 19% for urban areas and 35% for rural communities Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes quality of life scores include metrics like restaurants per capita and average commute times while economic indicators include factors like job growth and poverty rates Read more about WalletHub's methodology here Sammamish was the lone West Coast representative in WalletHub's top 20 ranking 12th overall and in the 99th percentile of all cities analyzed followed by Issaquah at 37th to round out the top 50 Mercer Island and Kirkland also placed on the higher end Lakewood and Spanaway posted Washington's lowest scores in the rankings Here are WalletHub's top 15 Best Small Cities To Live In America for 2022: >> Check out the full report on WalletHub's website Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.