In a recent petition, King County dredged up an August 2015 argument that contests the Sammamish hearing examiner’s authority to review initial appeals against the southern segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail permit.

Despite King County Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Brown stating the examiner had it “right” in his February ruling, the county filed a petition with the Washington State Shorelines Hearings Board March 8, after the Sammamish City Council voted to file its own appeal against the examiner’s ruling.

“We are appealing the process, not exactly the hearing examiner’s decision,” Brown said last week. “We were fine with the hearing examiner’s decision.”

However, the Hearings Board’s decision could affect the city examiner’s ruling and the various negotiations county and city staff reached throughout the process.

Both parties, though, have recently said they would honor those talks when in front of the Hearings Board later this year.

The city of Sammamish had issued a conditional permit last July allowing the county to widen and pave a 1.3-mile stretch of trail from the Issaquah/Sammamish border to Southeast 33rd Street in Sammamish.

Those intending to appeal that decision were notified, per the city’s original instructions, to file with the Shorelines Hearings Board, a quasi-judicial agency the state Legislature established to review petitions against permit decisions and penalties local governments or the state Department of Ecology issue.

However, some Sammamish Municipal Code provisions state this type of land-use decision is within the city hearing examiner’s jurisdiction to review, according to the examiner’s report on the matter.

As a result, all appellants — there were three, including the county — filed with the city hearing examiner and the Hearings Board last July, Sammamish attorney David Linehan told the Reporter.

In August 2015, the city filed an appeal to dismiss the petitions submitted to its examiner, which the county supported.

The city asserted state law and city code “all specify that the state Shorelines Hearings Board is the only proper forum in which to appeal,” according to the city’s August 2015 petition.

The other appealing parties — including the Sammamish Homeowners Association, with then-president and now-Councilmember Tom Hornish — maintained that certain city codes and language suggest the hearing examiner should review the claims before appeals moved to the Hearings Board, Linehan said.

Hornish, no longer the president of the homeowners association, has withdrawn his participation in the matter at the city level.

Thinking back, Hornish said there was no confusion: This was clearly within the hearing examiner’s jurisdiction.

Sammamish Hearing Examiner John Galt agreed the issue was “entirely a matter of code/statutory interpretation [sic]” when he denied the city of Sammamish’s August 2015 petition to proceed with the Hearings Board, according to court documents.

The next several months of public hearings and negotiations between the city and county culminated in Galt’s final ruling on the permit appeals last month. Galt heard more than 23 hours of testimony over four days (Dec. 16-18, 2015 and Jan. 28).

“We don’t want all of this to be rehashed,” said Brown, county parks director.

In its original permit appeal, the county claimed the city overstepped its lawful powers by requiring county staff to adhere to nearly 20 conditions of the permit, such as working with private citizens on trail specifics, managing drainage from nearby properties and relocating a stop sign.

The county petitioned 10 of those conditions in its July 2015 appeal. The city’s hearing examiner dismissed some of those and granted others in last month’s ruling.

If the Hearings Board denies the county’s most recent appeal, the examiner’s decision stands.

If the board approves the county’s appeal, however, Sammamish attorney Linehan said the city’s July 2015 permit reverts to its original state.

In that case, the county asks the board to review nine of the 10 conditions it appealed back in 2015. Though, Brown told the Reporter the county would honor compromises made on five of those nine conditions moving forward with the Hearings Board.

For example, in one area, the county had agreed to “tighten the clearing and grubbing limits,” saving 11 (up from zero) trees, removing seven (up from five) and monitoring seven (down from 20) trees, according to the February report. Similarly, negotiations saved another 43 significant trees in a different portion of the trail segment.

“For us, those points still stand,” Brown said. “We had good conversations.”

The Sammamish City Council voted 6-0 at its Tuesday meeting to also honor those talks in the event the examiner’s ruling is dismissed. Councilmember Hornish recused himself from the vote.

It is unclear, if the Hearings Board voids the examiner’s report, if the Sammamish Homeowners Association 2015 appeal comes back into play. The Hearings Board has yet to respond to the Reporters’ request for comment on this matter.

The Hearings Board is set to review the county’s appeal in June, Brown said.

The city is also appealing to the Hearings Board based on the hearing examiner’s decision, specifically on conditions pertaining to managing drainage from nearby properties and the placement of a stop sign at the 206th Avenue Southeast trail crossing.

The southern portion of the trail is the second of three sections within Sammamish that the county would see widened and paved. The county completed construction on the northern segment in June 2015.

Construction for the southern section had been slated for October 2015, but July 2015 permit appeals postponed that.

The county hoped to begin construction on the southern portion in late-June, Brown told the Reporter in February.