SHO January Update
Shoreline Neighbors,
Here is the latest on two matters of concern to lakeshore property owners along the east side of Lake Sammamish.
East Lake Sammamish Trail
Trail closure/construction:
According to the Capital Project Manager overseeing the ELST, South Segment 2B Phase 1 construction is expected to be completed and that portion of the trail re-opened at the end of this calendar year. That segment runs from SE 33rd to roughly the 900 block SE, north of Mint Grove. He says Phase 2 is likely to be started in late March of this year, with that portion of the trail closed until early 2024. That segment continues to the base of Inglewood Hill Road.
County lawsuit in federal court:
As you may have heard, 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. So far no ruling has been made on that case, and a new judge was recently assigned. Currently the case is awaiting decisions by the new judge on 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
As evidenced by the recent high level of Lake Sammamish with less-than-extreme rainfall, the problem of inadequate lake outflow remains unsolved. The Bellevue group, Washington Sensible Shorelines Association (WSSA), is continuing its efforts to get the King County Flood Control District (FCD) to address the problem of damaging extreme high water events. A SHO board member continues to work with WSSA in this regard.
As reported in previous SHO Updates, the main problem is that development in the Bear Creek basin has resulted in dramatically increased discharge from Bear Creek into the Sammamish River just downstream of Marymoor Park. This creates a backwatering effect during periods of substantial rainfall that essentially stops the lake from draining. But there appears to be a practicable near-term solution in the form of a “dynamic weir” that could be constructed at Marymoor. The FCD has, for several years, stated its intention to contract with a consultant to study the feasibility of a dynamic weir, but so far it has not happened.
For more information about this issue visit the WSSA website at:
SHO Board of Directors
SHO mailing address:
Sammamish HomeOwners
167 E Lk Sammamish Sh Ln NE
Sammamish, WA 98074