Government Notes: Sammamish to Hold Public Hearings Tonight

Park Recreation and Open Space Plan

At its regular council meeting tonight, the city of Sammamish will hold a public hearing on the 2012 Park Recreation & Open Space (Pro) Plan at its meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. You can read the PRO plan ahead of time here.

If adopted, the PRO plan would guide the Parks and Recreation Department for the next six years.

Though the plan covers goals for planning for Sammamish Parks and Rec facilities for the next six years, residents have attended recent Parks and City Counicil meetings to express concern over the designs for new parkland recently donated to the city.

Neighbors of the new Southeast Eighth Park, as well as members of the Sammamish Historical Society, are expected to be in attendance at the meeting to voice their opinions about locating a proposed parking lot near the neighborhood.

Neighbors of the park’s Parcel B have expressed concerns about some of the city’s proposed parking area plans near what is commonly referred to as “Frog Pond,” off SE 20th Street, due to potential increased traffic in the neighborhood. At the May 1 city council meeting, Janet Wilson, a Sammamish resident who lives near the SE 8th Street Park, told the council she believes that  the proposed entry to the park will be on their very private road and will destroy the neighborhood’s serenity.

Meanwhile, plans to move the historic Reard House to the property this spring could be jeopardized if the city backs away from its three current alternatives (you can see the three alternatives here) for developing the new parkland, . The Parks Department is expected to present the site alternatives to the council at its June 12 meeting.

Home-Based Business Regulations

The city also will continue hold a public hearing on proposed alterations to its Home-Based Business regulations at the meeting.

Concerns raised at previous meetings have included a number of concerns. Deb Sogge, executive director of the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce, explained at the council's May 1 meeting that Sammamish has a large number of home businesses, many of them are operating out of offices  in their homes. She wanted the council to remember that Sammamish is unique in this area and Council should perhaps be more lenient with the business hours of operation. Sogge has previously estimated that there are in excess of 3,500 home-based businesses operating in Sammamish.

The council plans to consider in  the new regulations allowing home-based businesses to operate until 7 p.m. on weekdays and between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends.