Issaquah to consider annexation of Lake Sammamish State Park
Published 1:10 pm Friday, August 15, 2014
UPDATE: The August 18 meeting of the Issaquah city council has been canceled. The next scheduled regular meeting is September 15.
Is Lake Sammamish State Park on its way toward obtaining an Issaquah address?
After discussion in the Land and Shore committee Wednesday night, the Issaquah City Council will vote Monday, Aug. 18, on whether to declare its intent to pursue annexation of roughly 380 acres of the park. Lake Sammamish State Park sits on the southern tip of its namesake body and borders Issaquah to the south, east and west.
Washington State Parks and Recreation contacted the city in March requesting the city consider annexation to make permitting construction projects more efficient, among other reasons.
Slightly less than 18 acres of the park is already in the city limits, but the majority of its land resides in unincorporated King County. This puts permitting of the park’s construction projects under the purview of county offices in Snoqualmie.
But “The State Park is across the street from our city permitting offices,” Planning Manager Trish Heinonen wrote to the Reporter. “Site visits, inspections and anything to be clarified on site can occur faster since our locations are so close.”
The city and citizens were also heavily involved in the drafting of the park’s 2007 concept plan, which included several projects completed or underway, including a replacement boardwalk (finished in September 2013), a replacement bathhouse (underway) and other beach improvements.
If the bill to pursue annexation passes Monday, Mayor Fred Butler will submit a notice of intent to the county Boundary Review Board and City Manager Bob Harrison will continue to craft an interlocal agreement with state Parks and Recreation.
