It’s not every Sammamish City Council meeting that the city manager hands out little chocolate bars as a job well done.

After the council unanimously approved its comprehensive plan at a special meeting Tuesday night City Manager Ben Yazici did just that.

For their work on the 2035 Sammamish Comprehensive Plan, as well as their work on the recently adopted tree ordinance, Yazici gave Community Development Director Jeff Thomas and the seven-member council a “you make a difference chocolate,” little treats he keeps in his desk for his staff on such occasions.

“This is not a small accomplishment,” Yazici said. “This truly is one of the most important, if not the most important, policy document that you developed for the city. I want to thank you from the bottom of the heart.”

Cities must update their comprehensive plans, per Washington state’s Growth Management Act (GMA), every eight years. The state deadline for jurisdictions in the central Puget Sound region, including King County, was June 30.

Those who miss the deadline are considered “out of compliance;” noncompliant cities run the risk of being a lower priority to receive state grants.

Yazici apologized to council for pressing members to adopt the plan sooner. He said the council was right to slow down and take its time on this.

The comprehensive plan has been in council review since March. The process, as numerous council members put it, involved blood, sweat and tears, patience, compromise and discussion.

“There’s a 150 pages in just the first volume here and we’ve been through this I don’t know how many times. I’m sure if any one of us picked up any single page we can find something wrong with it … but by and large this document has evolved a long way from what it was when we first got it,” Councilmember Tom Odell said. “I can’t believe we’re here. I really can’t. I’m tempted to ask where is the champagne or at least the cake.”

Prior to council review, the Sammamish Planning Commission and staff began working on the comprehensive plan in 2013.

The Tuesday meeting was about two hours, short compared to the numerous special meetings in the summer and fall where council spent sometimes seven hours at a time discussing policies and making amendments.

And still nothing compared to the hours of study and education necessary to finish it, Councilmember Bob Keller said.

Keller, and other council members, recognized and thanked the Sammamish Planning Commission, staff and community members for their time and attention throughout the process.