Let’s set the record straight. Christie Malchow and her supporters seem to be new to the area and therefore confused about how development happens here. The city council does not “rubber stamp” development or allow “massive rampant growth.” In Washington, we are guided by the Growth Management Act that divides growth between cities with an allotment for which they must plan.

The council sets policy and regulation through public processes and in response to public comment. Ironically, the destruction of the environment we are currently seeing in Sammamish is due, in part, to the pro property-rights agenda and lobbying efforts by members of Citizens For Sammamish during the updates of our Critical Areas Ordinance and Shoreline Master Program. Malchow belongs to this group. Citizens for Sammamish successfully lobbied to weaken former regulations protecting the unique environment of the plateau.

While it is true that she and her neighbors recently won an appeal before the hearing examiner, their appeal was based on road standards and variances, which directly benefited and affected their neighborhood. It had nothing to do with environmental issues.

Development is approved by city staff and their interpretation of city code, not the city council. This is why it is so important to have a strongly worded code with none of the “flexibility” that developers use to bypass environmental regulations. I trust Mark Cross because he has experience governing our city and he is a proven protector of the environment. Vote for Mark Cross in our upcoming election.

Lori McIntosh, Sammamish