City gives peek at new maintenance building
October 22, 2008
By J.B. Wogan
Chip and Karen Lang, residents of Northeast 18th Street, attended the city’s operations and maintenance facility meeting Oct. 15, and they liked what they saw.
Wade Tiedeman, a resident of Northeast 18th Street, discussed the city’s new operations and maintenance facility with Project Manager Sevda Baran. Photo by J.B. Wogan.
“I think that the design provided is in keeping with habitat and the general character with the trees and not putting in tons of concrete,” Karen Lang said. “It’s pretty well done.”
The two-story building, 14,000 square feet in size and set for completion by 2010, would house trucks, backhoes, mowers and a variety of other city vehicles and tools. It would also be the official site for repairing and maintaining city equipment. The 4.8-acre property is located northwest of the intersection of 244th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 18th Street.
The preliminary designs showed a building set back about 150 feet from 244th Avenue Northeast, with a detention pond for collecting water runoff between the facility and the road. The site would retain 54 percent of its “significant” trees. That is, there are 315 trees on the property — Douglas firs, cedars and hemlocks — with diameters of 6 inches or more, and the plan would save 170 of those. Most of the remaining trees would serve as a buffer between the site and its neighbors, including motorists on 244th Avenue Northeast.
The two-hour open house at City Hall had six residents signed in; Project Manager Sevda Baran said she heard four major concerns from citizens: Would there be increased noise? Would the new building be visually unappealing? Would new construction at the site exacerbate traffic on 244th Avenue Northeast? Would the new site cause pollution problems for the area?
Chip Lang voiced a specific interest in plans for modifying the nearby roadway for the new building.
“We’d like to see a roundabout there,” Chip said, adding that he believed the portion of 244th Avenue Northeast near the new city facility should have sidewalks, too. “That road is very un-pedestrian friendly.”
Donna Howard, another resident on Northeast 18th Street, said she came to the meeting wondering how the city would blend the new building in with the surrounding rural area.
“We live in a very environmentally conscious area. I’d prefer for it to stay empty acreage. It’s hard to let that go,” she said.
Baran said the Oct. 15 open house was the first opportunity for citizens to see site designs. Residents could view and comment on the landscaping and site schematics, now available online, by going to www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/OandMFacility.aspx, she said.
The permitting process for the building would likely finish by fall 2009, allowing the city to begin construction by late next year or early 2010, according to Baran. Residents will have another chance to meet with staff and discuss the designs at a public meeting in January 2009, she said.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
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