Get off our lawn — or in this case, stay away from our woods.
That’s what a group of Sammamish neighbors are saying to the proposed 38-lot Benham Ridge development between 212 Avenue Northeast and 216 Avenue Northeast, just west of the traffic circle on Inglewood Hill Road.
A group of about 40 residents have recently voiced their traffic and environmental concerns in a series of emails and letters to the city.
“We’ve received a lot of public feedback on the issue,” Emily Arteche, senior planner for the city of Sammamish.
Cynthia Dwyer, who lives on 212th Northeast, is one of those concerned with the potential 38-home sub-division.
“We’re constantly moving forward by staying in check with city hall, letting them know we’re following every move and we’re putting the word to people out there,” she said.
Benham Ridge, LLC, a subsidiary of Lynnwood-based Sunquist Homes, purchased the 8.25 acres this past fall. The heavily-wooded property is bisected by Northeast Inglewood Hill Road, creating two sub-parcels — a larger 6.3 acre plot on the north side would have 34 homes and a smaller 1.9 acre plot on the south side would have four homes.
According to the developer, the probable range of the single-family homes will be between 2,700- and 3,200-square feet.
Area homeowners are worried about the potential impact on everything from wildlife, to traffic congestion, to water drainage.
“There are numerous concerns about the wildlife that live back there,” said Marilyn Favre, who has lived in the neighborhood 36 years. She noted people frequently see deer, bears, woodpeckers and owls on the property.
Dwyer is also concerned about increased traffic on one of Sammamish’s main arterials.
“It’s bad now watching the kids waiting for the school buses out here,” she said. “I can’t imagine a back up on this curve, or people trying to come in and out on that curve, I don’t know how it would work.”
Valie Eberhard, who lives farther down Inglewood Hill Road along George Davis Creek, is uneasy about possible water runoff into her backyard.
“Once they pave all of this, get rid of the trees and it’s all pavement, how much water is going to be going down and going into our creek,” she asked.
Arteche wants to assure residents the city is in the very early stages of reviewing the applicant’s proposed development and nothing has been approved. She said city of Sammamish engineers are in the process of conducting their own thorough reviews, including wildlife, traffic, wetland and geotech reports.
“We’ve gotten a lot of negative feedback,” she said. “I think a lot of it is that people aren’t familiar with the city’s procedures.”
Arteche said she sympathizes with resident’s other concerns like loss of trees and construction noise.
“There’s other concerns the city simply can’t address,” she said. “It’s hard for people to see things change and I completely understand.”
Bob Vick, senior vice president of Sundquist Homes, has a goal of setting the Benham Ridge development in motion by June.
“If possible, if we can get through the entitlement process in a timely manner, we’d like to start laying the groundwork this summer and we would start vertical construction by the end of the year,” he said.
According to Arteche, it typically takes eight months — sometimes less, sometimes more — before a hearing examiner makes a decision as to whether a property will be built. She said citizens will also have an opportunity to participate in a public comment session before any final decision is made.
It’s safe to say there will be a certain group of Sammamish residents on hand, whenever that time rolls around.
“When I drive by there and think that it could be gone, it makes me sick,” Dwyer said. “It’s just too beautiful.”
