Growth That Works For Sammamish.

Fact: That's completely false. Sammamish's housing target isn't just about quantity - it's about income-specific affordability. Every one of the 2,100 required units must serve residents across different income levels, as defined by King County.

Here's the official breakdown:

• 499 units for residents making 0-30% of Area Median Income (AMI), often designated as Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

• 950 units of Non-PSH affordable housing (still for residents making 0-30% AMI)

• 419 units for those earning 30-50% AMI

• 232 units for those earning 50-80% AMI

In addition, King County has identified a need for 401 units of emergency housing, which is not counted in the city's official 2,100-unit target - but it's still a real community need.

If you're a visual person, check out the graphic below from Sammamish's 2024 Comprehensive Plan.

Bottom line: Anyone claiming affordability isn't part of the requirement is misleading you. These targets are specifically about building homes that working families, seniors, service workers, teachers, first-responders, and people with disabilities can actually afford.

Fact: It's completely understandable to think that infrastructure should come first - it's a concern many residents share. But in reality, housing and infrastructure are planned together.

Sammamish's housing targets are based on long-term population projections that already take infrastructure needs into account. The city's Capital Improvement Plan includes road upgrades, utility investments, and stormwater improvements designed to grow alongside new housing - not before it.

And importantly, growth is how we fund those improvements. The Town Center alone is forecast to generate $36 million in impact fees, which will help widen roads and build new connections to relieve pressure on 228th Avenue. Without those fees that are paid by the developer, we don't have the resources to build the infrastructure we need.

Waiting to build until everything is "ready" may sound safe - but it would actually delay progress, limit options, and continue to place the city's tax burden on existing homeowners.

Fact: This is false. On April 1, City Council directed staff to no longer consider building heights of up 150 feet. In the draft plan, the maximum height is currently 70 feet (6 stories), with the potential for allowing up to 85 feet (8 stories) if a developer is willing to provide more affordable housing than what is legally required.

Fact: This is not true. Providing quality education close to home is a priority, and the Lake Washington School District plans years ahead using the same growth projections that guide the city’s housing targets. Current projections actually show declining enrollment - a 6% drop by 2030. Some of the most acute enrollment declines are happening in Sammamish’s elementary schools, with not enough kids to fill classrooms. For instance, McAuliffe Elementary has capacity for 598 students, but only 480 enrolled in 2024. Carson Elementary has capacity for 529 students, but only 433 enrolled in 2024.

There are several reasons for declining enrollment, but one of the major reasons is the high cost of housing, which has priced out families with young children from Sammamish. Thoughtful growth can help keep families in our community and maintain strong neighborhood schools.

Fact: This is false. At the July 15, 2025 meeting, the council voted to keep studying the environmental impact of the draft Town Center plan. They also asked city staff to expand the range of units studied after recognizing that, by doing nothing, the City would not be on track to meet its affordable housing allocation.

In the original plan, the City only required 10% of all units to be affordable. If nothing changes, that would mean just 200 affordable units. That’s nowhere close to what we need.

The 2024 Comprehensive Plan envisioned 1,102 affordable units in the Town Center alone. But with the current approach, we wouldn’t come close to that number - and we wouldn’t be making a meaningful dent in the citywide goal of 2,100 affordable units over the next 20 years. This housing is critical for our teachers, firefighters, first responders, working families, and seniors on fixed incomes.

Lin believes we need to carefully study what it would take to deliver a larger share of affordable units in the Town Center. Mixed-use developments like this don’t come along often. We should take full advantage of the opportunity to meet our affordable housing goals while also avoiding any unnecessary increase in the development’s environmental footprint.

That’s why the council asked staff to include more total units in the study - to fully evaluate the environmental impacts and understand what tools and incentives the City could use to get back on track toward its affordable housing allocation. Without this step, we risk falling short and having to push more growth into other parts of the city that weren’t originally planned for it.