City of Sammamish Planning Commissioner Stan Bump, who owns property in the proposed Town Center, has been advised by the city’s attorney to excuse himself from future Town Center deliberations.
Director of Community Development Kamuron Gurol told The Reporter that Bump and the city had sought the advice of City Attorney Bruce Disend following the planning commission meeting last Thursday night, where fellow Town Center property owner John Galvin, during public comment, said Bump was “a person who is on the record as being in opposition to town center development east of 228th.”
“Commissioner Bump has a serious conflict of interest as an owner of land in the town center,” Galvin said. “Commissioner Bump has advocated that completion of the zoning and ordinances be delayed, and it has been reported to me that in private conversations he has indicated that it
is his intention to delay and impede town center work.”
Galvin noted that Bump, citing a conflict of interest, had excused himself from previous deliberations relating to the Town Center earlier in the year, but had slowly reintroduced himself into discussions.
Galvin claimed that Bump’s property, near the corner of South East 8th Street and 228th Avenue Southeast, received a special “E” zoning, as a “concession from the city council.”
The purpose of the E zone is to allow current uses to remain while preserving the opportunity for future development. It allows for single detached dwelling units.
“This zoning was never part of any deliberation and was introduced as an amendment to the Town Center Plan minutes before the city council voted on that plan,” Galvin wrote in a letter to the planning commission. “E-zoning was restricted to an area where Mr. Bump has a home. Landowners in other areas of the town center who expressed a desire not to be part of the town center at this time were not offered E-zoning.”
Gurol, taking at least part of the blame for Bump’s involvement in Town Center related discussions, said it was sometimes difficult to draw a clear distinction between issues were that solely pertinent to the Town Center and those that had city wide implications.
For example, the planning commission’s recommendation on electronic reader boards at high schools is directly related to plans for visual amenities in the Town Center.
Similarly, city councilors who owned waterfront property in Sammamish did not excuse themselves from Shoreline Master Program (SMP) discussions that would directly affect the future development of their land and homes.
Disend was consulted on that matter also, and the decision was made that the SMP regulations were considered to be of a wider importance, and so the involvement of the councilors was allowed.
“The advise we gave to Stan was to err on the side of being conservative, and to excuse himself when dealing with exclusively Town Center issues,” Gurol said.
Galvin also claimed that other residents who applied for a position on the Planning Commission were rejected because they own land in the Town Center, and this was perceived as a conflict of interest for them, but not Bump.
Gurol said although the distinction between Town Center issues and those of city wide importance had been diluted in recent months, he didn’t believe Bump’s involvement in them had adversely affected the process.
“There are a few reasons for this,” Gurol said. “Firstly, he is one of seven. Secondly, the planning commission as a whole is not a decision maker – it makes recommendations, which go on to another group of seven. It is a process that very deliberately dilutes the influence of any individual.”
Gurol said the city was paying close attention to the state’s Appearance of Fairness doctrine, a rule of law that requires government decision-makers to make decisions in a way that is both fair in appearance and in fact. He said it would take steps to alleviate any concerns if there was even an appearance of unfairness.
