Final EIS Issued on March 31, 2022

Notice is hereby given under WAC 197-11-460 and WAC 197-11-510 that the City of Sammamish has issued the Balanced Land Use and Mobility Analysis (BLUMA) Programmatic FINAL Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) addressing proposed Comprehensive Plan and Code Amendments.

Description:

Proposal: The proposal consists of amendments to the Sammamish Comprehensive Plan and Sammamish Municipal Code (SMC) necessary to amend and implement the City's transportation level of service (LOS) standards and concurrency management program. Amendments may include:

• Amendments to the Transportation and Capital Facilities Elements, Volume I for transportation LOS standards. Amendments to Transportation and Capital Facilities Elements, Volume II, to update discussion of LOS standards and concurrency, the 6-Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), the traffic forecasting model, recommended long-term transportation project list, and financing information. Consistency amendments to other elements may also be required.

• Potential changes could include but are not limited to the Sammamish Unified Development Code (SDC) Title 21 FKA Sammamish Municipal Code (SMC) Titles 14A, 20, 21A, and 21B to update definitions, address internal consistency, and implement the amended transportation LOS standards in the concurrency management program, depending on the preferred alternative.

The Final EIS completes the environmental review process for the proposal.  The Final EIS studies a Preferred Alternative, selected by City Council on December 14, 2021 through Resolution R2021-930,  and responds to all comments received during the Draft EIS process (published on August 26, 2021), describes the existing conditions and identifies probable significant environmental impacts, mitigation measures to mitigate these impacts, and any significant unavoidable adverse environmental impacts from the proposal, in accordance with RCW 43.21C.031.

Environmental Topics: The topics studied under the Draft EIS include: earth, water resources, plants and animals, land use, housing, plans and policies, transportation, and utilities (i.e. broadband).

Alternatives: The Final EIS evaluates a Preferred Alternative for each environmental topic that is in the range of the four alternatives that were analyzed in the Draft EIS, including a no action alternative. Alternatives studied in the EIS process include the following:

• Alternative 1 - No Action Alternative is the continuation of transportation LOS standards and concurrency program requirements currently in effect.
• Alternative 2 - Transportation Level of Service (LOS) Standards is the continuation of LOS standards for intersections and new LOS standards for key roadway corridors and segments. Also includes improvements to transportation infrastructure to meet new LOS standards.
• Alternative 3 - Transportation LOS Standards with transportation-efficient land use measures is the same LOS standards for intersections and key roadway corridors and segments as Alternative 2 with an assumed 15% reduction in peak hour trips. Includes land use measures to reduce overall travel demand and improvements to transportation infrastructure to meet new LOS standards.
• Preferred Alternative (Alternative 4) - Transportation LOS Standards with transportation-efficient land use measures and holistic transportation capacity improvements is the same LOS standards for intersections and key corridors and roadway segments as Alternative 2 with an assumed 15% reduction in peak hour trips. Includes the same land use measures as described in Alternative 3. Transportation capacity improvements intended to address transportation needs holistically, considering local and regional connectivity, improvements to substandard streets, transit and non-motorized needs, and environmental constraints. Also includes improvements to transportation infrastructure to meet new LOS standards.

Proponent & Lead Agency: City of Sammamish

Location: Current incorporated City of Sammamish boundaries

File Number: POL2020-00767, formerly known as POL2020-00331

Document Availability: The Final EIS and associated documents can be reviewed and downloaded at the project website at: https://connect.sammamish.us/eis/widgets/46967/documents.  Contact the City at the contact information below if you are unable to access the documents online. Alternate formats may be available at cost.  For questions regarding obtaining alternate formats please contact:

City of Sammamish

ATTN: BLUMA EIS Team

801 228^th Ave SE

Sammamish, WA 98075

-or-

eis@sammamish.us

RE: Final EIS

Note: Please send all emailed correspondence to the email address listed above.

SEPA Responsible Official:            David Pyle, Director | Department of Community Development