Residents angered by County's plans for East Lake Sammamish Trail

Emotions were high as hundreds of residents turned out for the June 17 Sammamish City Council meeting to voice their concerns regarding the ongoing East Lake Sammamish Trail Project (ELST).

In April 1997, the Land Conservancy purchased the active railroad corridor from the Burlington-Northern/Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) and then sold it to King County a year later. In March 2006, after nearly a decade of litigation, the 11-mile trail officially opened as an interim gravel trail, all with the hopes of paving it sometime in the future. This past April, those hopes became reality as King County began construction on the trail’s northern segment – 2.6 miles from 187th Avenue Northeast to Inglewood Hill Road.

The county’s Master Plan Trail Design includes 12-feet of pavement, 2-feet of gravel shoulders and one foot of clear zone, making for an 18-foot wide trail and $12.5 million project.

The South Sammamish Segment A portion of the project, which is 1.2 miles long and extends from Southeast 43rd Way to Southeast 33rd Street, is in the design phase, and South Sammamish Segment B, which is 3.6 miles of trail from Southeast 33rd Street to Inglewood Hill Road, is in the planning phase.

For the North Sammamish Segment, crews are removing landscaping, trees and any encroachments so they can install safety fencing, barricades, signs and erosion control measures. From there, they will build retaining walls, drainage systems and culverts to grade and widen the roadway. This portion of the project is estimated at $6 million.

“Recently I was down in the north end where it’s under construction, and it’s not very pretty,” Sammamish Mayor Tom Vance said. “But I will say that it’s also under construction, and I hope that it’s going to look a whole lot better in a couple months.”

Monica Leers, capital planning manager for King County Parks, updated the council and community members on what’s happening with the trail, and what to expect in the future.

While most speakers were in support of paving of the trail, concerns were voiced over certain aspects of the project that they feel have been overlooked.

“My family is not against the trail improvements at all,” said Andrea Parrish, a Sammamish resident whose family lives on the trail. “But what we are asking for is your ears, we are asking for your help. I think there is a sense of hopelessness from some of the residents, for just some give and take.”

Tom Masterson of Sammamish said it’s clear the county has its agenda, and everything else is secondary. He said that the county has already knocked down people’s lights, plants, electric gates and more, but has not addressed replacing them. He also showed concern over the trail moving closer to the lake, which is different from the original plans.

Other citizens expressed serious concerns over environmentally critical areas. Reid and Susan Brockway said there are quite a few compliance issues with the county’s design, citing the trail’s environmental footprint, trail runoff and clearing and grating issues.

“It may be too late to get it right for the north part of the trail,” Brockway said. “But it’s not too late to get it right for the rest of the trail.”

Leers said the county is working around eight wetlands, 15 streams and so far they’ve been able to do all of their required mitigation within the trail corridor. She said that with the trail design, they will be improving all wetland buffers and some stream buffers to benefit habitat for natural wildlife. Leers also said that blackberry bushes will be removed and replaced with natural vegetation and improvements will be made to fish passages.

But that wasn’t enough for Masterson, who said the county “doesn’t give a damn about wetlands,” stating that there are currently trees that have been knocked down and tire tracks inhibiting the so-called environmentally critical areas.

And while citizens showed vast frustration with the county, their pleas were aimed at the City Council who ultimately has the final say.

Leers said that there is an interlocal agreement between the county and the city, and that Sammamish is the only one with the authority to issue a permit.

“The county staff provides the city with a recommendation. However, any decision to approve or deny a permit with conditions, that decision is made by the city,” Leers said.

Peter Goldman, a Seattle resident and longtime advocate for the development of the trail, said that trails can make great neighbors, but they also need to be good neighbors.

Goldman was the legal representative for Friends of East Lake Sammamish Trail in a 2002 lawsuit fought by homeowners, yet urged the county to listen to Sammamish residents.

“No trail proponent such as myself would want to see King County install a trail that isn’t sensitive, just because the right of way is legally or technically there,” he said.

Goldman said that any master trail plan should be designed sensitively. He said that if making the trail narrower in places will save trees, then the trail should in fact be narrower in certain places.

“I urge King County to hear folks, what they’re saying, and work with them on a site-by-site basis, not in the spirit of defeating the trail, but to make it better for everyone,” Goldman said.

Matt Cohen, Seattle resident and co-founder of the Friends of East Lake Sammamish Trail, agreed, stating that the amount of litigation the trail has spawned has been appalling. Cohen said that the only thing that has changed between now and when he last testified on behalf of the trail is that now, the trail is almost done.

“Now, it’s not a matter of finishing it or not finishing it,” Cohen said. “You need to finish it, and you need to try to do it in a way that is sensitive to the concerns of the neighbors, and that protects the rights of both parties…it’s important to try and do it right.”

Vicki Beres, a lakeside resident since 1975, addressed Cohen’s comments, stating that the reason the trail has taken so long is because it’s goes over private property, splitting lots in half.

“They are inserting a public use park in the middle of our yards,” she said. “At the north end, I see all the devastation that is occurring…in my area that is split, I have no idea of the devastation that’s in store.”

Beres said that the lack of concern the county has for what they’re doing frightens her.

“It’s very personal to me,” she said, and urged the council to consider what trail homeowners are going through.

“We’re not against the trail, nobody is here to stop the trail, or stop paving the trail,” she said. “We want it done so that our neighborhood stays the nice neighborhood that we moved here to enjoy.”

Samuel Rodabough, a Bellevue resident, spoke as the legal council of behalf of Sammamish Homeowners (SHO), a nonprofit organization that works for shoreline property owner issues.

Rodabough said that SHO appealed the county’s shoreline development plan and was able to reach a settlement that would allow the trail project to move forward without construction delays. However, the spirit of that settlement called for greater transparency and responsiveness by the county, a more robust public process for the permits in subsequent stages of the trail, certain safety improvements, and more flexibility and predictability for property owners on design, Rodabough said.

“I intended my comments this evening to be a report card, if you will, on implementing the settlement agreement,” he said.

Rodabough said that he does see positive signs moving forward in the remaining stages of the trail, but there is still much to be done.

“The measuring stick for success of this project will not be about the number of public meetings held, the number of mailers that are received by property owners, the number of Facebook followers on the county’s trail page. …Instead, it will be the responsiveness of the county and, by extension, the city as the permitting authority to the public as it pertains to the trail,” he said.

Rodabough said that a major issue is trail alignment. In many circumstances, he said, the trail is being moved closer and closer to people’s houses, causing issues with vegetation, privacy screening and personal property. He asked the county to find some way to be flexible with this issue as they move into the next phase of the permitting process.

“Property owners should not have to ask the county to plant on their own property when the county owns the easement, and the easement only,” he said.

Ray Spencer, a Sammamish resident since 1981 and lake resident since 1992, has been expressing concern over the county’s power for more than 15 years. As president of Citizens for Safe and Legal Trails, Spencer said he’s had a lot of experience with the county regarding the trail.

“I have found them (the county) to be pros at pushing their agenda through, regardless of legal implications or their rights,” he said. “They tend to give little information to the people that they affect, and when they do give information it’s often inaccurate, not legal and confusing.”

Spencer has been involved in multiple court cases regarding the trail, explaining that local residents have had no choice but to challenge the county in court simply in an effort to have some say.

“As City Council members, you represent us, the citizens of Sammamish, not the county,” he said. “I ask that you consider that when you go through the approval of this project.”

Councilmember Nancy Whitten said she has been involved in the trail issue since she came onto the council in 2004, and she read every comment that had been submitted during that time.

“I came to the conclusion that the trail was the greater good, and even though it split yards and things, it was a necessary evil,” she said.

However, she expressed concern over sensitivity and working with residents on certain issues, such as landscaping and safety.

“When we have an inflexible position on a major issue, which is causing intrusion into property owners, I think we have to look and see if it’s absolutely necessary,” Whitten said.

She said that going forward, she thinks it would be best for the county to gather public concerns as early as possible, working with residents instead of waiting until the last minute.

“These are passionate issues because you’re intruding right under the bedroom windows,” she said. “It’s a huge issue for some people.”

Councilmember Ramiro Valderrama was frustrated with the amount of time it took to get a formal update from the county.

“These are not new questions, nor new issues,” he said. “I know you’re bureaucratic, that’s why we left the county and created our own city.”

Valderrama then asked how many significant trees had already been removed, and how many the county was planning on removing altogether. Leers said she didn’t have that number on hand, but she would get back to him.

“What I think the council is hearing is that everybody wants the trail, everybody is supportive of the trail, but I think the frustration is stemming from timing of some of our responses,” Sammamish City Manager Ben Yazici said. “But let us help you in the next phase to see what we can do to address some of these concerns.”

Other council members had some questions following the presentation and public hearing, and will be sending them to Yazici for follow-up.

Leers addressed those who spoke and were in attendance, thanking them for their testimonies, comments and concerns. She said that she would work with Yazici to compare notes and respond to people as soon as possible, either individually or in small groups.

“We realize this is very difficult,” Leers said. “The county wants to be a good neighbor. I pledge that we will work in good faith with property owners.”