Council sets February hearing on town-center right-of-way vacation and approves contract to complete Town Center plan work

The Sammamish City Council voted to set a public hearing on Feb. 4, 2025, to consider vacating a portion of public right of way at the southeast corner of Southeast Fourth Street and 225th Place Southeast, and later approved a contract to complete Town Center plan and code amendment work with the consultant Framework.

The right-of-way petition covers a narrow strip the city described as roughly 30 feet by about 220–230 feet adjacent to existing improvements on Southeast Fourth Street. Public works staff said the petition was submitted in November, certified as sufficient, and that the vacation is a condition arising from a 2021 hearing examiner decision and its remand. Under that decision staff told council the city is not entitled to appraisal-based compensation for the strip because the vacation was imposed as a condition of the hearing examiner’s ruling. Public Works staff identified RCW 35.79 (state law governing city right-of-way vacations) and the city’s public works standards as the procedural authorities governing the process.

Council set a Feb. 4, 2025 public hearing by resolution; the resolution itself only establishes the hearing date and does not vacate the right of way. Council discussion included questions about whether the city should seek compensation, and the legal and litigation risk of following the hearing examiner’s required actions. The city attorney advised that the regular vacation process (which can include a petitioner payment of up to 50 percent of appraised value) does not apply where the vacation is a condition of a hearing examiner decision, and that discussion of legal risk might require executive session.

That discussion led the council to hold a brief impromptu executive session on potential litigation under RCW 42.30.110(1)(i).

Relatedly, the council later debated and approved a contract for Framework to complete outstanding Town Center plan and code amendment work needed to accelerate housing delivery and implement aspects of the 2024 comprehensive plan. City staff said the work was started in 2023 but was delayed by consultant changes and staffing turnover; unspent 2024 contract funds were not carried forward under the city’s updated budgeting approach, so council authorized a 2025 contract in the amount of $235,732 to complete the remaining tasks. Council members debated fiscal priorities versus housing goals before the motion carried by voice vote.

Why it matters: The right-of-way vacation and the Town Center plan and code amendments are pieces of the long-running Town Center land-use project. The council’s actions move the administrative process forward: the vacation resolution schedules public notice and hearing; the contract funds the technical work to prepare plan and code amendments intended to facilitate housing in the Town Center.

Next steps: The city will publish notice and hold the Feb. 4 public hearing on the right-of-way vacation. If the council later votes to vacate the right of way, an ordinance would be required to finalize the city’s relinquishment; that ordinance could include compensatory terms only if permitted by the controlling hearing-examiner decision and applicable law. Framework’s contract work will proceed under the new 2025 agreement; staff said the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement scoping notice will be issued to the public the next day as a first visible step in the plan update process.

Quoted from the meeting: "Right-of-way vacations are governed by state law. It's under RCW 35.79 for cities," Public Works staff Audrey Starce said. "This is part of the Town Center project and it is required from the 2021 hearing examiner decision," staff added.

Votes at a glance: The resolution to set a public hearing for Feb. 4, 2025, was adopted by council voice vote. The contract authorization with Framework for $235,732 was approved by voice vote; the specific roll-call tallies were not recorded in the meeting transcript.