The Sammamish City Council voted June 3 to adopt a bundled set of amendments to Title 21 of the Sammamish Municipal Code intended to clean up drafting errors, clarify implementation and carry out portions of the 2024 comprehensive‑plan update.

The amendments were described by David Pyle, director of community development, as mostly technical corrections and adjustments to implementation detail. Pyle said the changes remove obsolete references (for example, to a cluster‑development requirement inconsistent with state law), shift final subdivision approvals from council to the hearing examiner to match state law changes, clarify how building height is measured, and standardize definitions.

On affordable housing, the ordinance refines the city’s inclusionary program: it raises the square‑foot exemption that triggers a fee in lieu to 1,500 square feet (from a lower prior number), increases the fraction eligible to pay a fee in lieu to 0.9 for fractional units, and updates the fee‑in‑lieu calculation to use a defined total floor‑area measure. Staff and builders told the council they expect a 1,500‑square‑foot exemption to better support smaller, family‑sized market units; Master Builders of King County asked the city to consider 1,750 square feet to provide more flexibility for builders.

Pyle also reported that the Department of Commerce had provided late comments questioning spacing and operational requirements for emergency, transitional and supportive housing; staff said they plan additional research and meetings with Commerce and may return in the fall with targeted code changes. Council members asked staff to assess operational requirements for potential duplication with state licensing or funding conditions.

Council member Pamela Stewart moved to approve the ordinance as presented; the motion passed on a voice vote after brief discussion and a single amendment to change the chapter title from "mandatory" to "inclusionary" housing language. Staff said this was the first of two code‑correction batches expected in 2025 and that additional, substantive refinements tied to town‑center implementation would return after summer work on the project.

The code package also removes a redundant section on moving buildings, clarifies when demolitions forfeit nonconforming status, and corrects references to lot coverage by replacing it with hardscape to allow better regulation of artificial turf and similar surfaces. Pyle said the changes aim to make the code easier to use for applicants and clearer for enforcement.