A Resident PetitionTo Regulatory Agencies

Whereas -

A. King County agreed with the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to maintain the ACOE's 1960's "Sammamish River Flood Control Project" in the vicinity of Marymoor Park (a.k.a. "The Slough"), and

B. The ACOE Flood Control Project's improvements, especially the weir and transition zone at Marymoor Park, are critical to maintaining reasonable lake levels via their effects on outflow, and

C. The County deviated from annual maintenance as early as 1989 and began placement of flow obstructing vegetation in the floodway in the early 1990's, and

D. The ACOE repeatedly, during the early 2000's, warned King County of potential flooding of lake properties following these plantings if not properly maintained each year, and

E. The ACOE, in 2008, found it necessary to decertify the entire Sammamish River Flood Control Project finding that "King County has adhered to a less stringent maintenance and inspection (program)" than called for in agreements, and

F. Lake residents, in 2010, provided evidence to King County showing outflows substantially reduced over the prior decade, raised water levels, and damages to real property attributable to these conditions (e.g., dock submersion, erosion, etc.) Subsequently, the County returned to annual maintenance, and

G. A 2014 report by hydrology consultants to King County attributes reduced lake outflow to the County's plantings and failure to maintain the floodway, and

H. The City of Bellevue contracted for a study to determine a lake Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) in 2004, but conducted the study during the period of documented, artificially raised lake levels, and

I. Bellevue did not adopt the study's average observed OHWM, but arbitrarily raised it to a level higher than would be found on 90% of lake properties, and

J. Use of the resulting Bellevue Study level to regulate development actions would impose an estimated 10 to 15 ft. shift landward on many lake properties, thus denying use of private property, and

K. The loss of property use resulting from this unrealistically high water level constitutes a 'taking'. The 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and a number of legal rulings require "due process" and "compensation" for takings of private property; yet no compensation has been considered, and

L. Several Lake Sammamish jurisdictions, including Bellevue, Sammamish, and Issaquah either are using or intend to use the Bellevue Study OHWM to regulate development actions by lake shore owners.

Now therefore, we the undersigned -

1. Request that jurisdictions on Lake Sammamish - (a) reject the Bellevue study's erroneous OHWM, and (b) seek a rational, justified alternative OHWM or, (c) use the historic ACOE OHWM.

2. Request King County's long term improvements to the weir and transition zone (a.k.a. Willowmoor Project) assure that, in concert with environmental objectives, the project also achieves the objective of returning to conditions the ACOE designed and incorporated in the Flood Control Project; thus assuring protective outflows and consistent lake levels.

PLEASE NOTE - Donation request following petition is to support iPetitions' website, not WSSA.