SHO April Update
Shoreline Neighbors,
Here is the latest on two matters of concern to lakeshore property owners along the east side of Lake Sammamish. The “bottom line” is that not much has changed since our last Update.
East Lake Sammamish Trail
Trail closure/construction:
Trail construction work is ongoing for Phase 1 of Segment 2B, as reflected in the monthly ELST updates the county sends out. These updates no longer say when the current phase is expected to be done or when construction of Phase 2 will begin. The ELST website still says, for Phase 2, “Construction is anticipated to begin in spring 2022”, and “construction on the two phases will overlap for approximately 12 months”. So it sounds like there may be a year left before the current phase is completed.
County lawsuit in federal court:
As SHO has been reporting, in January of 2020 King County filed suit in federal court against eight property owners in a 200-foot-wide section of the former rail corridor in Segment 2B. The suit claims their use of the land within the rail corridor, and the adjoining wetlands, constitutes trespassing, and demands that they pay for “remediation and restoration of the public lands, along with the payment of back rents”. This includes not just the rail corridor, but their docks, boat lifts, and anything else on the lake side of it.
Those property owners are fighting this, and the result, of course, has implications for the rest of us. Currently the case is still awaiting decisions by a new judge on the case as regard several questions that have arisen.
An impending issue we all face:
As SHO previously reported, the county is now claiming the entire rail corridor is “public land” and has stated the intent to charge adjacent property owners for crossing permits and to charge rent on any so-called “encroachments” – gardens, landscaping, structures, etc. – that they decide to allow to remain. Note that this applies to the full width of the former rail corridor, not just the portion the county needs for the trail. This is despite the fact that the county’s claim of ownership of the entire rail corridor has not been substantiated in court.
If you have been, or will be, impacted by this new, broader imposition of control by the county, SHO needs to hear from you. We need some good examples of this abuse in order to take action. Please contact SHO at sho5.org@gmail.com or by calling 425-868-7899. Or if you know of a neighbor who is being subjected to this please tell them to get in touch with us.
High lake water levels
SHO continues to work with the Bellevue group, Washington Sensible Shorelines Association (WSSA), in its effort to get the King County Flood Control District (FCD) to address the problem of damaging extreme high water events. This will include an upcoming meeting of the group with the new King County Council member, Sarah Perry. Otherwise no significant developments have occurred since our report on this in January.
For more information about this issue visit the WSSA website at:
SHO Board of Directors