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King County Appeals SSDP to Shoreline Hearings Board

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On January 5, the Hearing Examiner for the city of Sammamish issued a decision denying the Shoreline Substantial Development Permit (SSDP) for segment 2B without prejudice because the 60% design plans on which the application was based are incomplete. Denial without prejudice allows the County to resubmit the application after incorporating the missing information.

The County decided to appeal the Hearing Examiner’s decision to the Shoreline Hearings Board (SHB) rather than provide the additional information.

SHO also filed an appeal with the SHB. Our appeal asserts that there are insufficient conditions protecting the environment within the Hearing Examiner’s decision. The following are the specific conditions requested in the appeal:

  • Disallow any improvements that serve purposes other than providing a hiking and biking trail.

  • Condition any future approval of the Permit on a trail width, in areas where the stream and wetland buffers are not implicated, based on AASHTO guidelines of 16 feet, including 2 feet of graded shoulder on each side.

  • Condition any future approval of the Permit on a trail width, in areas where the stream and wetland buffers are implicated, based on AASHTO guidelines of 14 feet, including 2 feet of graded shoulder on each side.

  • Condition any future approval of the Permit on the use of the existing interim Trail centerline, which follows the rail bed, minimizing the negative impact to the environment.

Three homeowners who live in Mint Grove generously agreed to be the appellants or the appeal. SHO’s legal council recommended that SHO not be included as an appellant to simplify the appeal process. In the past the County has claimed that SHO did not have standing because it owns no property along the trail.

SHO plans to continue preparing the arguments and exhibits for the hearing and will be responsible for finding expert witnesses. Anyone qualified as a wetland biologist, civil engineer with trail/road construction experience, or traffic engineer is asked to contact SHO to volunteer their services.

SHO will need exhibits to provide to the SHB showing where and how the relocation of the centerline of the proposed trail will damage the environment. This includes damage done by clearing within the CG lines shown on the drawings. If you have or willing to take photos, please contact SHO; we need your help.

SHO Board