Sammamish: Future Town Center Development

The City of Sammamish has initiated an immediate and indefinite pause on its critical zoning overhaul for the Town Center neighborhood, a decision directly attributable to the recent election that will usher in a growth-skeptical city council majority in January. This halt impacts a planning update that began in mid-2023, driven by both newly approved state laws pushing for increased housing accommodation and the manifest failure of the original 2008 Town Center plan to generate the necessary density and mixed-use development over the past fifteen years. The core of the suspended work addressed the neighborhood's development capacity; the preceding council had advanced an alternative for environmental review proposing to raise the housing cap to 4,000 units. This substantial increase was deemed necessary by staff to attract mid-rise and low-rise mixed-use buildings that could integrate retail, community spaces, and affordable housing, in contrast to the lower-density townhouses that are otherwise likely to be built, a crucial consideration given the city's high $1.6 million average home price and severe shortage of affordable units.

With the incoming council expected to reject the 4,000-unit ceiling, all work has stopped until new direction is provided in the new year. While the city cannot completely abandon the plan—it must still enact fundamental updates to align with state regulations concerning middle housing, parking, and Accessory Dwelling Units—the overarching future development strategy is now highly uncertain. The central risk lies in the city's ability to maintain compliance with the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA) and its requirements under House Bill 1220. This law mandates that Sammamish demonstrate sufficient zoned capacity to accommodate housing for lower-income households, which account for the majority of the 2,100 new units the city must plan for by 2044.

Currently, Sammamish relies on a delicate strategy of actively maintained compliance, assuming that publicly and religiously owned parcels, which are subject to inclusionary zoning, will redevelop with affordable housing. However, as Community Development Director David Pyle noted, if these key sites are developed without the required affordable housing component, the city’s capacity is instantly diminished, jeopardizing its compliance status. Sammamish has a historical pattern of GMA non-compliance, including rulings in 2016 and a building moratorium in 2020. A decision by the new council to implement significantly scaled-back growth plans would invite another appeal under the GMA, a threat underscored by the recent legal precedent set against the growth-resistant City of Mercer Island. Consequently, the future of development and the path to long-term state compliance for the Town Center will remain in a holding pattern until the new city council convenes its retreat in February.