Sammamish taxpayers to bear $2.5 million price tag for SE 6th Street in amendment to the Town Center development agreement

Sammamish City Council debates amendment's public benefits, costs, and transparency

The Sammamish City Council voted 5-1 on February 4 to approve an amendment to the development agreement for Brownstones West and Brownstones East. The amendment realigns Southeast 6th Street for reasons explained below. It also transfers the $2.5 million cost from the developer to taxpayers, drawing pointed criticism from multiple residents and a lone councilmember.

Amendment Details and Financial Impact

The Second Amended and Restated Development Agreement primarily concerns the realignment of SE 6th Street in Sammamish's Town Center development. The amendment centers SE 6th Street on the property line between the Lower Sammamish Commons Park and the development property to the north, consolidating the street with the park's parking area. The plan changes from parallel parking to diagonal parking along SE 6th Street, resulting in a net loss of 13 parking spaces at the Lower Commons Park. Perhaps the most controversial part of this amendment is that it transfers a $2.5 million burden onto taxpayers for the southern portion of SE 6th Street that was originally the developer's sole responsibility under the previous development agreement.

Benefits to Sammamish residents

City staff and STCA LLC, who partnered on the amendment, presented the changes as beneficial to the community in their joint presentation to the Council. They pointed to reductions in impervious surfaces of approximately 11,500 square feet and decreased pollution-generating areas by over 15,600 square feet. Staff also cited reduced long-term maintenance costs by eliminating redundant infrastructure maintenance, improved integration of the park with the Town Center neighborhood, better overall traffic circulation, and 24x7 access to parking spaces outside the Lower Commons Park.

Benefits to the Town Center Developers

The amendment delivers substantial benefits to the developers. Three lots in Brownstones West will gain over 3,300 square feet of buildable space, with lot sizes increasing by as much as 1,203 square feet in one case. The Brownstones East subdivision will similarly gain additional square footage across multiple lots. Beyond the added property value, the developer would save millions in construction costs previously agreed upon. Additionally, the realignment paves the way (no pun intended!) to extend SE 6th Street to 226th Avenue, potentially enhancing the development's value and accessibility.

Opposition Voiced at Public Hearing

One resident wrote a detailed email to the Council highlighting that "the realignment of SE 6th St. provides material benefits to the applicant to the detriment of the citizens of Sammamish. Moving SE 6th St. south onto City property would increase Brownstone West's buildable lot size by over 3,300 sq. ft....Street construction which was agreed to be paid for solely by the applicant would now cost the City approximately $2.5 million more than the existing agreement." The same resident noted that the realignment would effectively gift up to 20,000 square feet of city land to the Town Center developer.

Another resident reinforced this position, stating that "the agenda bill and the drawings make it clear that the developer is benefiting far more than the City or the neighborhood adjoining the development," adding that "the only logical conclusion is that the developer should bear the cost." Other commenters reminded council members that they have a "fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the City of Sammamish," urging them to "assess all such costs to the developer, not the residents."

Council debates the changes

The Council debate focused on weighing these benefits against the costs. Deputy Mayor Amy Lam, who made the motion to approve the amendment, argued that the project represents a collaboration that improves with each amendment. She cited benefits including 4,000 square feet of sidewalks and improved pedestrian connectivity. Councilmember Sid Gupta highlighted environmental benefits, noting, "We're reducing the pollution generating impervious surface by 15,600 feet, which is about a third of an acre." Gupta also said the changed plan, when compared to the original plan, “obviously works better as a pedestrian.”

Councilmember Kent Treen strongly objected to the amendment, arguing that the process lacks transparency. On the cited benefit of sidewalks, he reminded, “if you’re going to build a roadway, the sidewalks would have had to be built anyway.” He went on to question why taxpayers should bear the cost of realigning SE 6th when the developer primarily benefits. "If we wanted to increase the taxpayers' property tax for $6 million, we'd have to go to a vote, but tonight this council is going to commit that spending on a very short stretch of road with very little public benefit….We are failing to protect the public interest if we continue to manage the Town Center project, the largest development in the city, in this piecemeal way.” Treen further criticized the city's road planning approach, pointing out that historically, Sammamish has "built our roads based on what benefits the individual developer’s development, not what aligns with a well-designed citywide transportation plan."

Councilmember Pam Stuart expressed concerns about the cost to residents, calling it "an awful lot of money for a fairly short stretch of road," but ultimately supported the amendment after hearing potential cost-saving opportunities during the design phase.

Mayor Karen Howe supported the amendment, stating, "I appreciate the safety features that are going into this." She emphasized that the city owns half the street and therefore needs to pay for it, adding that the green spine connecting the park from the top to its base is "really being lived up to in a lot of ways here."

Amendment Passes in a 5-1 vote

The City Council ultimately approved the amended development agreement in a 5-1 vote, with Councilmember Treen dissenting and Councilmember Roisin O'Farrell absent. Later in the meeting, the Council also approved Ordinance O2025-579 to vacate a portion of public right-of-way at the southwest corner of Southeast 4th Street and 225th Place, with the same 5-1 voting result.

The amendment's approval marks a significant and controversial step in the ongoing development of Sammamish's Town Center. The debate over who should bear infrastructure costs to support the Town Center remains a contentious issue in Sammamish, with many questioning whether the public benefits of the Town Center indeed outweigh the substantial financial and square footage concessions being made to the Town Center developer.

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