Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Town Center and why is it happening?

What is the Town Center? 
The Town Center (TC) is a specific area zoned to accommodate the TC Plan, which is a comprehensive vision to provide Sammamish with an urban hub that includes diverse housing options, more businesses, retail opportunities and gathering spaces. The goal is a walkable community that provides people with things to do in the area.  

Why is this project update happening now? 
Last year, the City updated its Comprehensive Plan, which includes the goal of adding more affordable housing. In order to incentivize builders to build more affordable housing, the City would have to approve more units at Town Center. Considering the original plan was drafted in 2008, the City always needed to revisit the development cap once we reached 1/3 of the planned development, which we have. 

Why is the City focusing on the Town Center and not other parts of the City? 
The Town Center was designed through the subarea planning process to centralize housing, services, retail, and infrastructure. This will create a compact and walkable neighborhood in the heart of the City and minimize impacts to other neighborhoods. 

Why is 4,000 units being considered? 
4,000 units is the amount of housing capacity that was originally studied as part of the Town Center Plan’s Final Environmental Impact Statement in 2007. Since the environmental impacts of 4,000 units has been studied previously, we can now update those findings to reflect current conditions by completing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to make sure they are current. 

How does this project relate to the City’s 2,100 housing unit growth target? This project does not relate to the City’s 2,100 housing unit growth target established through the Growth Management Act (GMA). This number was set at Sammamish’s share of regional growth. 

Why is a 150-foot building height being considered? 
An increase to the maximum building height in the Town Center’s A-1 zone from 70 feet to 150 feet would save on open space. This will be studied as part of the SEIS and the change would be limited to only the Town Center A-1 zone, which is 10 percent of the area of Town Center. This change can also reduce construction costs, which can help when needing to build affordable units. 

At what rate is the Town Center being developed? 
Since the adoption of the Town Center Plan (2008) and Development Regulations (2011), 326 housing units have been built and another 434 are in the permit phase with an additional 344 expected. All totaled – from constructed to build – there are 1,104 units expected in approximately 20 years. If the remaining 896 units of the 2,000-unit cap are built at an average rate of 61 units per year, it would take until 2044 to build-out the remaining units in the 2,000-unit cap. 

Why is the City paying for infrastructure? 
The Town Center Plan and subsequent 2021 ruling by the Hearing Examiner both indicated that the City has responsibility for some of the infrastructure requirements in Town Center, including roads, parks, open space, stormwater, etc. It is also important to note that this is not unique to Sammamish. 

What steps are required to proceed with updating or adjusting the Town Center Plan? 

What is a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)? 
A SEIS is an addendum to a previously completed Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and is required when new changes or new information arises. A SEIS also ensures transparent decision making regarding environmental impacts and mitigation strategies while also providing an opportunity for the public to provide feedback.  

What steps are involved in the SEIS process? 
We are currently at the very beginning of this process and are establishing the scope of the SEIS. After we establish the scope, we will then identify impacts and potential mitigation measures before developing findings. After the draft SEIS is completed, the City Council will evaluate the study and make a decision on proposed actions. 

What is an “Alternative” and how many alternatives will we be studied?  
An alternative is a distinct course of action outlining a possible approach to plan implementation. Only two alternatives are being considered currently. The No Action Alternative and Alternative 1. The Council could choose to direct staff to study an additional alternative, however we would need to amend the consultant contract to expand the scope of work, which would impact the budget. 

If we were to take no action, does staff have an opinion on the types of housing that we would be likely to see in Town Center?  
If we choose the No Action alternative and the 2,000-unit capacity remains in place, most of the Town Center would be developed as market-rate townhomes. The core area would likely be 4-6 story mixed-use buildings, but the rest would be townhomes.  

Can a private developer conduct their own SEIS? 
If we choose the No Action Alternative, as density approaches 2,000 unites, a developer has the opportunity to update the FEIS with their own pursuit of the SEPA process. They would pay for the study. This would be an incremental review and available for each property owner in the Town Center.  

What potential impacts will be studied?

Will the Town Center impact traffic? 
The last study on traffic impacts was completed in 2007 and did not find significant impacts on traffic in the area. The City will do updated traffic counts to determine if the changes in the area and any possible changes to Town Center will impact traffic given our current transportation network. These findings will be included in the draft SEIS published in May for public review and comment. 

Will stormwater drainage be impacted? 
According to the last study in 2023, Town Center will not have negative impacts on our stormwater system. In fact, the study showed that new development in the Town Center will likely improve stormwater protections as stormwater facility retrofits will better address impacts. Updated findings will be included in the draft SEIS published in May for public review and comment. 

What will the impacts be on the natural environment? 
Sammamish has robust environmental protections that apply to development including critical/sensitive areas regulations, stormwater regulations, and site development and building regulations. Analysis in this area specific to Town Center was completed in 2007. The report highlights that the urbanization of the area will increase density, which saves more land than the traditional single-family homes in the area. The potential impacts to the natural environment resulting from an increase in the number of housing units in the Town Center is currently being studied as part of the SEIS.  

Will school capacity be an issue? 
Town Center is within the boundaries of the Lake Washington School District, where enrollment is projected to decline. The forecasted decline in school enrollment comes from the 2024 Lake Washington School District Capital Facilities Plan. 

 What is a shadow analysis and what will its impact be on Town Center? 
A shadow analysis is a process of studying and evaluating how sunlight interacts with a building or urban environment by analyzing the patterns and effects of shadows cast by structures throughout different times of the day and year. The shadow analysis will be completed in preparation of the draft SEIS near the end of April. 

Will undeveloped land be saved to balance high density development? 
The Town Center plan and code requires protection of critical areas (including wetlands, stream corridors, and steep slopes) and the incorporation of buffers and setbacks within development plans. We are not expecting any changes to these requirements.   

Part of the Town Center Plan includes using undeveloped land as purposeful open, green spaces. As part of the update process, we are examining impacts that may occur if we allowed taller buildings as a trade-off for preserving open space. The existing Town Center Plan already includes a lot of open space via a “green spine” and town square, which would essentially expand the Sammamish Commons Park north into Town Center.  

We continue to try to identify additional opportunities to require active open space. For example, the Brownstones West and East Townhome developments, which are currently under construction, includes a publicly accessible landscaped area in place of a street. 

The Town Center plan and code requires protection of critical areas (including wetlands, stream corridors, and steep slopes) and the incorporation of buffers and setbacks within development plans. We are not expecting any changes to these requirements.