The Sammamish City Council has selected three new members to the city’s Planning Commission, replacing outgoing commissions Scott Hamilton, Richard Amidei and Erica Tiliacos.
The new commissioners are Kathy Richardson, Joe Lipinsky and Jeff Wasserman. Mahbubul Islam was successful in his application to continue on the commission, after the expiration of his term in 2009.
The city council went into an executive session behind closed doors to deliberate on which of the 14 candidates it would appoint to four vacancies.
The planning commission will play an important role in the development of the proposed Town Center plan, regulations for low impact development and storm water management, and controversial issues such as electronic reader boards on the Plateau.
This round of appointments is seen as being among the more important commission turnovers in the short history of the city.
Kathy Richardson was one of many residents involved with the city in the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) process, and said she was inspired by this interaction to be more involved with city planning issues.
Richardson, who works in business development and project staffing and recruiting for a Bellevue firm, said in her interview with the council last week “I don’t have a vision for the Town Center. I believe the vision needs to come from the community.”
Richardson holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Denver.
Joe Lipinsky, anti-trust attorney, applied for the planning commission in 2008, and since then has taken several classes with the Washington State Bar Association in the Growth Management Act, land use, impact fees and zoning.
He is a good example of the young professionals who are moving to Sammamish, attracted by the quiet neighborhoods and open spaces.
In his interview with the council last week, Lipinsky said “preserving the natural beauty of the area while adding family friendly amenities” would be his focus, adding that the Plateau needed a recreational pool and better access to transit.
Jeff Wasserman is an architect and planner who went into business for himself this year, specializing in retail and small office projects. He said in his interview “you should never look at something the way it’s going to look when you finish it. You should look at what it will look like in 30 years.”
Wasserman said that getting on and off the Plateau, and places for community interaction were two issues that concerned him.
“We need more greenspace,” he said, pointing to Piedmont Park in Atlanta as an example of green spaces that encouraged community engagement.
“If I think about it now, the only place my kids can go to interact is Safeway.”
Due to the staggering of the terms, Islam’s term in Position 1 will end in Dec. 2011. The term of Richardson in Position 5 will end in Dec. 2012. The terms of Lipinsky and Wasserman, in Positions 6 and 7 respectively, will end in Dec. 2013.
The new commissioners will join incumbent commissioners Stan Bump, Mahbubul Islam, Jan Klier and Tom Vance at their first meeting of the year on Thursday, March 4.
