Drafter
Clerk 04/07/2021
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A MOTION stating the Flood Control District Zone District executive committee's intent to include the Willowmoor Floodplain Restoration Project in the Sammamish Capital Investment Strategy, explore near-term mitigation strategies for Lake Sammamish property owners, and continue to pursue permits required for ongoing maintenance of the Sammamish River Transition Zone.
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WHEREAS, the Willowmoor Floodplain Restoration Project ("the Willowmoor Project") proposes to reconfigure the Sammamish River Transition Zone ("the Zone") and adjacent undeveloped King County property, and
WHEREAS, the Zone was constructed as part of the overall Sammamish River Improvement Project ("the Improvement Project") in the 1960s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("the Corps") in cooperation with King County primarily to control flooding in the Sammamish river valley, and
WHEREAS, King County is responsible for maintaining the Improvement Project through an operation and maintenance agreement with the Corps, and
WHEREAS, the King County Flood Control Zone District ("the District"), through the King County water and land resources division as its service provider, funds and conducts annual maintenance of the Zone, including mowing, trimming, removal of vegetation, removal of accumulated sediments in the channel and associated mitigation efforts. The District also funds and conducts mitigation activities required to receive maintenance permits, and removal of obstructions from the low flow channel, such as logs and beaver dams as necessary, and
WHEREAS, in order to perform annual maintenance of the Zone, King County must apply for a five-year permit from the co-managers of the Sammamish River: the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe Fisheries Division. The five-year permit contains limitations on the timing and nature of activities allowed in the Zone, including restricting trimming of vegetation to the Was...

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