In an unconventional move, county staff will produce a 95 percent design plan for the southern segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail as a good-faith effort to show Sammamish residents their comments will influence the county’s plans.

“We know there’s a long road in front of us,” County Parks Director Kevin Brown said during the Sammamish City Council meeting Tuesday.

It was standing room only at the meeting, as at least 90 people packed into city hall eager to hear Brown’s updated tail presentation.

More than 20 attendees, several from neighboring city’s, spoke about the trail during public comment.

Community uproar ensued after the county released the 90 percent design plans for the southern portion of the trail in February. These design plans were released without considering city comments, which addressed issues concerning tree removal and the width of the trail.

“There was a mistake by the county’s design team,” Sammamish Public Works Director Laura Philpot at the Tuesday council meeting.

Philpot and Brown had met Feb. 20 and negotiated, point-by-point, segment A, which stretches from 43rd Way Southeast to Southeast 33rd Street. They came to a resolution on the majority of the concerns, like filling in a ditch to widen the trail instead of chopping down trees.

“You’ve recognized there are ditches on the east side and that’s a big move there,” Council member Ramiro Valderrama-Aramayo said at the Tuesday meeting.

The county had originally opted from filling the ditches, as some of them had been classified as wetlands. However, many of the ditches were manmade.

There are four remaining issues the county and city have not come to a consensus on. This issues include establishing the standard for line of sight at intersections and how to handle drainage.

Public comment varied as some appreciated the updated design plan and others felt the county could be more flexible. Regardless of their stance, most everyone brought it back to a strong concern for safety.

A couple of people informed the council of some legal action some waterfront Sammamish property owners had filed against the county.

The Sammamish Home Owners Inc., an organization that represents lakeside owners in Sammamish and certain individual property owners, filed a suit against the county.

The suit asks the court to define the county’s legal rights over the railroad corridor, which the trail follows along Lake Sammamish.

Above all residents were grateful the council stepped in to address segment A when they did.

“Thank god you stepped in at the last minute,” Reid Brown said.

Brown is a property owner within segment B, the portion between the northern and southern portions of the trail.

This will be the final part of the county’s project; it is still in the planning phase.Brown, along with many citizens, felt the homeowners living near the northern section of the trail had gotten the short end of the stick.

There hadn’t been much mediation involved with addressing public concerns along the northern section, which is nearing completion.

Brown wants the city and county to establish communication channels on segment B before reaching the end of the design plans.

The county hopes to produce the 95 percent design plan for segment A by spring.