County delays Sammamish park decision

After listening to more than a dozen people speak heatedly for and against the proposal, the Metropolitan King County Council delayed until next week making a decision Tuesday to transfer 30 acres of the 627-acre Soaring Eagle Park to the city of Sammamish.

Sammamish city officials — who want to develop part of the parcel for active recreational use — say the transfer is crucial to help deal with residents' growing demand for more sports fields.

"It's really exciting that we're so close to having a win-win situation," said Jessi Richardson, director of parks and recreation. "We believe this is a very, very good idea."

Those who oppose the move say it threatens "high-value habitat," disrupts a contiguous forest, and sets a dangerous precedent, because, for the first time, the county would be transferring land that is outside of the city's potential annexation area.

"The real danger is ... that in order to develop the site, the Urban Growth Boundary will need to be moved to bring underground services, such as sewer lines," said Jennifer Harrison, director of the Partnership for Rural King County. "That goes against the service and intent of the [state] Growth Management Act."

To reach a compromise, County Council members said they wanted to study amendments to the proposed ordinance that would: prohibit paved through-roads; ensure the city not seek future land transfers from Soaring Eagle Park; and clarify that the transfer is unique. The city supports those stipulations, Richardson said.

The proposed 30-acre development is at the south boundary of the park adjacent to the Trossachs Boulevard access road. The transfer means that care and development of the 30 acres fall under the city's direction.

Originally, when the county purchased Soaring Eagle Park, it mapped out a master plan to use 80 acres for recreational use. But that fell through because of costs. As the county continued to struggle with budget shortfalls, it looked to transfer park parcels to adjacent cities willing to take on the cost of developing them.

If the transfer goes through, it remains to be seen what kind of development winds up there, Richardson said. The city will hold extensive master-plan meetings and public-review sessions before anything gets built, she said.

The county is scheduled to take up the issue again at its Monday meeting.

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546