Shoreline Neighbors,
It has been nearly two years since the last SHO Update (April 2022) addressing matters of concern to lakeshore property owners along the east side of Lake Sammamish. That is largely because we have been in the doldrums as regards the two topics of major concern we have been reporting — litigation pertaining to the East Lake Sammamish Trail and efforts to reduce extreme lake levels. There is now some news to report.
East Lake Sammamish Trail
First, as you probably know, the entire trail is now open. Construction of the last two segments was completed and the opening occurred on October 7th. Use level has been moderate based on SHO’s observations, and we haven’t heard of any incidents since the opening. If you have information to the contrary please let SHO know by email at sho5.org@gmail.com. We can reply with a phone number if you prefer.
The doldrums have recently been interrupted by Washington Supreme Court opinion published on January 25th. That opinion, while not the last word, is good news for all trailside property owners. An explanation follows.
As SHO has been reporting, in January of 2020 King County filed suit in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington 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 shorelands, 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 outside the corridor on the lake side, plus their right to cross the trail to get to them.
As part of its deliberations, the federal court asked the WA Supreme Court to determine, based in part on the state constitution, whether the shorelands outside the corridor were owned by the railroad and thus now by the county, or if they were owned by the state at the time of statehood and therefore passed to whomever has deeds to the property today. The Supreme Court’s opinion is that the railroad possessed only an easement and the shorelands are thus not owned by the county.
While this is only an opinion passed from one court to the other, and the federal court has yet to rule on the broader case, it is an important step in the direction of ultimately countering the county’s claim that the rail corridor is now “public land” and that they have the obligation to charge us for “private use of public land” for any enhancements – parking, gardens, landscaping, etc. – that we maintain within the corridor, as well as the right to cross the corridor to get to our homes.
An article about this appeared in the January 26th Seattle Times.
Of course, SHO will continue to monitor the progress of the federal case and report that ruling to you when it comes out.
High lake water levels
SHO also continues to monitor efforts of the Bellevue group, Washington Sensible Shorelines Association (WSSA), in its attempt to get the King County Flood Control District to address the problem of damaging extreme high water events on Lake Sammamish.
So far the county has not settled on a plan to solve the problem, but possible solutions are under consideration. Three notable thrusts are as follows:
- Sammamish River Capital Investment Strategy
- King County Flood Management Plan
- Willowmoor Floodplain Restoration Project
All are works in progress at this point.
Of these, the Willowmoor project has the most direct bearing on the matter, as it includes options such as a dynamic weir to actively control lake level, but that project effectively has been on hold for five years pending a county decision on how to proceed. There currently exists a “Decision Memo” in draft form that identifies alternatives, the release of which is anticipated shortly. WSSA has been closely monitoring this process.
WSSA has been steadfastly working this issue for many years and deserves our support. For more information, and references to the three citations above, visit the WSSA website at:
SHO Board of Directors
SHO website: www.sammamishhomeowners.org
SHO mailing address:
Sammamish HomeOwners
167 E Lk Sammamish Sh Ln NE
Sammamish, WA 98074