A superior court judge dismissed two petitions that King County filed, which called for the city of Sammamish to approve two permit applications for the completion of the final segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail.

King County Superior Court Judge Beth M. Andrus denied the county’s petition for a statutory and constitutional writ of review on Jan. 24. Andrus also denied a county petition for a writ of mandamus, rejecting the county’s argument that the city has a duty to deem its clearing and grading permits complete.

The county’s Land Use Petition Act appeal, as well as its Declaratory Judgment Act claim and claim for monetary damages, all remain pending.

Kevin Brown, King County director of Parks and Recreation, said the case was an effort by the county to determine its best course for review of its application.

“At the end of the day, the courts decide which avenue is most appropriate for your case,” Brown said. “This is strictly a procedural issue we had to go through to determine where our avenue for review was going to be.”

King County sued the city of Sammamish earlier this month after its application for two clearing and grading permits, which was submitted last November and is needed to complete the final segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail, was deemed incomplete Dec. 13.

Court documents state the city had deemed the county’s shoreline substantial development permit (SSDP) applications complete but ruled the clearing and grading permit applications incomplete without an approved SSDP.

The county saw “no basis for requiring the permit applications to be filed sequentially.” The city argued “it cannot review the clearing and grading permit applications until it knows what the final trail design will be and thus cannot consider the applications simultaneously.”

In the court ruling, the judge stated the city’s determination that the county’s clearing and grading permits were not complete fell in line with state code for land use decisions. The judge also ruled the city met its statutory requirement to provide a written determination of an application’s completeness within deadline.

Per city code, the judge ruled Sammamish was granted “the discretion to determine what information it needs for ‘continued processing.’”

“The ordinance gives discretion to the city to determine what information it needs from an applicant before it can begin its review,” the court documents state.